Kitchen Faucet Aerator - Removing Crusted on Calcium & Preventing Same
Have you looked at your kitchen faucet's aerator lately?...I did - and I was surprised to find that it and the rubber o-ring were totally crusted with calcium deposits. Fairly disgusting.
REMOVAL PROCESS
PLAN-A: I got out my trusty jug of Distilled White Vinegar, poured some in a cup and dropped the aerator parts into it. There I stood anticipating the little bubbles to start floating up as the calcium dissolved. And I waited....didn't happen.Went to PLAN-B.
PLAN-B: Since I'm a pool owner I have some nifty pool tile scale removers handy. I went for the heavy duty gel scale remover called "BIO-DEX ™ 300 Swimming Pool Tile Cleaner". This is a concentrated corrosive acid so full Safety Precautions were followed (rubber gloves, eye protection). I poured a small amount over the aerator parts in a ceramic cup [note to self...do not use a ceramic cup - use plastic due to etching].
The acid immediately started dissolving the calcium and bubbles and foam were boiled to the top. Fairly cool. Even with the aggressive acid, it took 15-30 minutes for all of the calcium to be removed. I rinsed the parts thoroughly with water to remove any acid residue, then let them dry on a paper towel.
PROTECTION PROCESS
Since I didn't want to go through this nasty chemical de-calcification process again, I treated all of the aerator parts with a high-tech, protective coating called "SELF-CLEEN ST3 ™". The coating repels water, calcium and oils; as it inhibits the growth of bacteria, mold & mildew. I coated the entire faucet as I reassemble it and continued on to the sink to make it easy cleaning.
Project complete!
REMOVAL PROCESS
PLAN-A: I got out my trusty jug of Distilled White Vinegar, poured some in a cup and dropped the aerator parts into it. There I stood anticipating the little bubbles to start floating up as the calcium dissolved. And I waited....didn't happen.Went to PLAN-B.
PLAN-B: Since I'm a pool owner I have some nifty pool tile scale removers handy. I went for the heavy duty gel scale remover called "BIO-DEX ™ 300 Swimming Pool Tile Cleaner". This is a concentrated corrosive acid so full Safety Precautions were followed (rubber gloves, eye protection). I poured a small amount over the aerator parts in a ceramic cup [note to self...do not use a ceramic cup - use plastic due to etching].
The acid immediately started dissolving the calcium and bubbles and foam were boiled to the top. Fairly cool. Even with the aggressive acid, it took 15-30 minutes for all of the calcium to be removed. I rinsed the parts thoroughly with water to remove any acid residue, then let them dry on a paper towel.
PROTECTION PROCESS
Since I didn't want to go through this nasty chemical de-calcification process again, I treated all of the aerator parts with a high-tech, protective coating called "SELF-CLEEN ST3 ™". The coating repels water, calcium and oils; as it inhibits the growth of bacteria, mold & mildew. I coated the entire faucet as I reassemble it and continued on to the sink to make it easy cleaning.
Project complete!
#1 Kitchen Sink Aerator parts (plastic aerator and rubber o-ring) that are heavily crusted in calcium (hard water deposits) sitting in a cup of Distilled White Vinegar. The vinegar was too weak to remove this level of calcification.Go to Plan-B.
#2 The same heavily calcium crusted aerator parts submerged in a small amount of Bio-Dex 300 Swimming Pool Tile Cleaner. Instant bubbling action took place as this heavy duty pool tile scale remover started dissolving the calcium. The parts were left in the acid for 15-30 minutes. CAUTION: Highly corrosive acid - take full safety precautions (rubber gloves, eye protection); do not leave metal parts soaking in the acid for more than a couple minutes - or the metal may get damaged. Best to use a plastic container for cleaning, as the acid etched the ceramic cup. Cover working area to protect surfaces from the acid.
#3 The Results of the De-Calcification: same aerator parts are calcium free after Rinsing with lots of water to remove any acid residue.Next step - prevent the heavy calcium from building up again.
#4 To prevent heavy calcium build-up in the future, the aerator parts were coated with SELF-CLEEN ST3. This high-tech coating Repels Calcium and Inhibits the growth of bacteria, mold & mildew at the same time.The entire faucet was coated as it was re-assembled (along with the sink to make it easy-cleaning).
Frequently asked questions
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