What Causes Calcium Buildup in Pipes?

Plumbing blockages can happen for a number of reasons. Common culprits include food, grease, and paper products, which you can prevent from going down the drains and are generally easy to clear. However, if you have hard water, the situation changes, as you might encounter problems with calcium deposits accumulating in your pipes.

Why is Calcium an Issue in Your Plumbing?

Calcium is an essential mineral for human health. Nevertheless, it can gradually accumulate in your drains and pipes, leading to a reduction in their interior diameter. Over time, this can result in complete blockages. Additionally, calcium buildup, or limescale, can speed up corrosion, which shortens the lifespan of pipe materials and raises the likelihood of leaks.

How Does Calcium Accumulate in Pipes?

Calcium is an essential mineral for human health. Nevertheless, it can gradually accumulate in your drains and pipes, leading to a reduction in their interior diameter. Over time, this can result in complete blockages. Additionally, calcium buildup, or limescale, can speed up corrosion, which shortens the lifespan of pipe materials and raises the likelihood of leaks.

How to Get Rid of Calcium Build Up

Blockages can occur in your plumbing for various reasons. Food, grease and paper products are common causes, but fortunately, you can avoid washing these down drains and they’re relatively easy to clear up. If you have hard water, it’s a different story. You may then be facing issues related to calcium build up in your pipes.

Why Is Calcium a Problem in Your Plumbing?

Calcium is a mineral humans need for good health. However, it can slowly build up in your drains and pipes, eventually causing their interior diameter to narrow. Over time, complete blockages can occur. Calcium build up, or limescale can also accelerate corrosion, reducing the lifespan of pipe materials and increasing the risk of leaks.

How Does Calcium Accumulate in Pipes?

Hard water has a variety of suspended minerals in it that are picked up as groundwater flows through rocks and soil. As water passes through your plumbing system, these minerals slowly precipitate out of the water and stick to the sides of pipes and to material that’s previously adhered to pipe walls. Magnesium and potassium can behave in a similar way. These minerals not only block pipes, but can also cause stains and buildup in sinks, dishwashers, and toilets as well as on your dishes and clothing.

How to Get Rid of Calcium Build Up

Calcium can be dissolved with acids. However, acidic drain cleaners may harm your plumbing and are often toxic. The simplest way to prevent mineral scaling is by installing a water softener, which removes harmful minerals from your water supply.

Eliminating calcium buildup is challenging. Some suggest using vinegar, but this involves replacing all the water in the pipes with vinegar and leaving it for at least 24 hours. The pipes would then need a thorough flushing. Even if effective, a vinegar taste may linger for a while.

Even if you succeed in removing the deposits, they are likely to reappear. Often, the best solution is to replace old piping. For instance, swapping old copper pipes with PEX piping, which is more resistant to limescale, can solve the issue. However, the most effective method, as mentioned earlier, is to install a water softening system in your home. Ideally, it should be installed where water enters your home to protect your entire plumbing system.

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