# Cleaning hard water deposits out of pipes - Is there any way?



## canfossi (Sep 18, 2005)

My water softener has died about 6 months ago and I had the water hardness tested yesterday. , it's 19 on the hardness scale. I am getting a new one in a week or so, is there any way to clean out the scale in the water pipes that has accumulated in them? Any solutions or chemicals? I have noticed that the flow is less from my tub faucet since this has happened. Hope you can help, Thanks Chris


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## J2E1 (Oct 15, 2009)

I'm not sure what scale you're refering to but on the scale I'm thinking of 19 is very soft water. You shouldn't have much deposits if it's that low. My hardness was around 180, beyond hard.


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## Hooligan (Jul 18, 2007)

Friend of mine just called a plumber to find out why his hot water supply was down to a trickle. The plumber used an acid wash to clean out the copper coil on the boiler that supplies his hot water. It did the trick.


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## rambler (Jan 20, 2004)

19 isn't all that hard, can't see you having a problem from a few months of that water?

The new water softener will likely slowly remove any thin film that came with softened water that will be in the pipes?


The pros have various acids that can loosen different types of hardness (mag, iron, etc.) but if you have scaly pipes, it only loosens the flakes and plugs the pipes, as well as openning up pinholes in old pipe, so it's not really a worthwhile solution for scaly pipes. It can work to unplug screens on deep wells.

Anyhow, if pipes are actually scaled up to the point of reducing flow, you likely are best off replacing the pipe.

--->Paul


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## Wanda (Dec 19, 2002)

canfossi said:


> My water softener has died about 6 months ago and I had the water hardness tested yesterday. , it's 19 on the hardness scale. I am getting a new one in a week or so, is there any way to clean out the scale in the water pipes that has accumulated in them? Any solutions or chemicals? I have noticed that the flow is less from my tub faucet since this has happened. Hope you can help, Thanks Chris


 Take the screen out of the faucet and check it. The problem is probably a few flakes of scale.

It would take a long time for the pipes to gunk up enough to restrict the flow.


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## jross (Sep 3, 2006)

""The new water softener will likely slowly remove any thin film that came with softened water that will be in the pipes?""

It certainly will, but not overnight. We put in a softener and over a period of time the coil in our summer winter hookup ( House heater) started increasing the amount and the temperature of the hot water. This was a buildup of almost 30 years. A new submersible pump helped to clear the water lines. All is not rosey however, as now we will have to keep checking for thinning copper and marginal solder joints, again over a long period of time. Fortunately the guy who built the house put in the heaviest copper available.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Over 10.5 is VERY hard.

http://www.fcwa.org/water/hardness.htm


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

I think there are different scales used to show hardness. 19 ppm is soft. 19 grains is very hard.

ppm and mg/l are essentially the same number.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

What kind of pipe? Do you have build up in the screens on the fixtures? Usually tubs are not affected as much, they usually don't have a screen and have a good flow. Is there more restriction on the hot side as heat can cause more build up? Vinegar will clean it up some if not to bad, usually needs to soak in vinegar for a while. Shower heads and such can be soaked. Pipes.... you can hook a hose to a high fixture and fill a drained pipe, not practical though. Are you sure the restriction is after the softener? I take it you are on a well and the pipe from the pump to the softener is usually the worst. It does not happen in 6 months, it could have been building up for years though and getting worse. Remove screens from your fixtures and let water run full flow, both hot and cold after you get the softener working again. If galvanized pipe it will need replaced....James


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## Deb862 (Jun 22, 2005)

Yes, 19 is hard, as we not too long ago had the Culligan guy out and he told us that our city water in our village was 21 and our ppm was 480!! Wow, guess we really needed that softener LOL. We ended up replacing the hot water heaters (2-family home) and kitchen faucets but other than that haven't really had a problem.


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## Ross (May 9, 2002)

I forget how hard our water is (its supposed to be very hard) but after 40 years of no water softener, I wouldn't say the pipes have reduced flow. We do get cakes of lime every time we mess with the plumbing though


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## ryanthomas (Dec 10, 2009)

Soft water is a strong solvent itself. It will dissolve mineral deposits over time.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Vinegar will turn hard water accumulation to sludge. I've used it to clean fixtures and a water meter.


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## Use Less (Nov 8, 2007)

We just had a new softener installed. The old one stopped working several years ago. I asked the plumber this same question, and he said that only bits of pipe that are horizontal would accumulate much. In vertical or leaning pipe the water drains away before much can stick. The soft water will clean out scum over time. Sue


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## canfossi (Sep 18, 2005)

Great! I was hoping there was a solution. The only faucet that is getting slow is the bathtub one and one hot, seems slower than it used to be. New softner is being installed Thursday, a bit later than they said. Where do I put in the vinegar if I go that route? Thanks again Chris


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

My water is so hard that I have to chisel it out of the faucets.


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