How do I get limescale off Filter?

[venymae]

Hey guys, I recently picked up a used HOB filter (came with the lights I wanted). I live in liquid rock country and our water is HARD. Unfortunately the HOB is covered in lime/calcium deposits and looks horrid. How do I get it off? Razor blades don't work on plastic, and my arms have turned to limp noodles trying to scrub the darn thing, with little to show for my effort! (I even used chemicals). Anyone have that magic solution...or at least an idea?

 

[Aquariumfish123]

Hey, I know how you feel, I have EXTREMELY hard water! You could use a product called CLR

 

[jwh0818]

Soak it in vinegar. Extra strong vinegar. Do 1 part water 1 part vinegar and let it soak for a few hours to a few days

 

[jwh0818]

Don't use clr. It's an extremely harsh chemical and may make your things unusable

 

[FishEggs]

vinegar

 

[venymae]

The vinegar has not worked for me in the past, but I'll try again. I've used CLR to good effect (it's my hard water build up go to but I'm out atm), but not on plastic...I'll keep it in mind if all else fails. Has anyone tried a butterknife? Do you think it would really scratch it? Here's a pic of how much I've done so far. Lot of elbow grease and an "organic" limescale remover spray.

 

[jwh0818]

Wow that's bad! I think I would opt for a new one!

 

[venymae]

Yeeeeeahhhh...not an option financially Guess I'll give it a go with the butter knife for a bit. I'll probably going to have to settle with less than perfect on this one. Ugh.

 

[venymae]

Update: butter knife scratches, but its a heck of a lot better than white build up!

 

[Old Scales]

Holy Moly! That's some build up. I'd go for straight pure white distilled vinegar and a two day soak if you have the time. Don't dilute, use full strength. OS.

 

[venymae]

Holy Moly! That's some build up. I'd go for straight pure white distilled vinegar and a two day soak if you have the time. Don't dilute, use full strength. OS.

Alright, vinegar has the most votes so vinegar bath it is! The sad thing about this is it actually looked better in the picture.

I might start a new thread "making it work, when your wallet can't!" or something like that. Haha.

 

[Old Scales]

Veny, there's lots of us "grown up poor boys" in here. We have many cost saving and DIY tricks we've learned. If you get a problem or have a question, we're here. OS.

 

[Grumble69]

I use a product called Bar Keeper's Friend for hard water deposits, particularly my kitchenware. It's oxalic acid. It's a big step up from vinegar. But it's not a harsh acid. Runs about $2 at Lowe's.

 

[Old Scales]

+1 on the Oxalic acid. After treatment, rinse well and soak in 4 tsp. Baking soda f/10 min to neutralize, then rinse again. Good tip Grumble. Os.

 

[venymae]

Veny, there's lots of us "grown up poor boys" in here. We have many cost saving and DIY tricks we've learned. If you get a problem or have a question, we're here. OS.

Yeah, I keep telling myself two more years, two more years! The hubs in grad school, doulas don't make bank, and we've got the best little 2 year old in the world. So finances get tight some times

I use a product called Bar Keeper's Friend for hard water deposits, particularly my kitchenware. It's oxalic acid. It's a big step up from vinegar. But it's not a harsh acid. Runs about $2 at Lowe's.

Great! I'll try some vinegar tonight and see if I can find oxalic acid tomorrow while I'm out running errands. Thanks for the tips everybody! I'll update you on the progress soon. (well you know, after the soak and scrub)

 

[venymae]

So update, I can't get my camera to work, but I did soak the interior of the filter with vinegar for a day or two and it seemed to help on the grain-like build up, but the sheet style had no effect really. Kept working at it with a butter knife and credit card, it would flake/pop off if I got it just right some times. Looks TONS better, however where the plastic was textured, I can't get into the little grooves so I have a couple white spots still. Not bad though. It's a bit louder than most of my other HOB's so I may replace the impeller some day, but it's ok for now. Will post pics as soon as I can.