Not bleach, not specialist spray: the £1 cupboard staple that lifts limescale from taps in 5 minutes, say cleaning pros

Thomas Wilkins • December 10, 2025 16:24

Steam was curling off the bath and the tap looked… tired. That chalky white ring where the water hits, the dull spout you keep promising yourself you’ll “sort at the weekend”. You reach for the bleach or the fancy limescale spray a friend swore by on Instagram, and then a cleaner I spoke to would gently take it out of your hand.

She’d pull out a 95p bottle from the back of the cupboard instead. No neon label, no “turbo blast” nozzle. Just plain white vinegar.

“Give me five minutes,” she said once in a client’s bathroom in Croydon, “and you’ll see why we don’t bother with the expensive stuff.” She wrapped the tap in a vinegar-soaked cloth, chatted about the dog, and when she peeled it off the chrome looked like it had been quietly polished by a professional overnight.

Not bleach. Not specialist spray. A £1 staple you probably already own.

Why this £1 staple beats bleach on limescale

Limescale is mostly calcium carbonate – the same chalky mineral that coats kettles and shower screens in hard water areas. The trick is not scrubbing harder; it’s giving that chalk something it can’t argue with: a mild acid.

White vinegar (distilled, clear, not the brown stuff for chips) is about 5–8% acetic acid. That’s enough to dissolve the mineral deposits clinging to your tap without the harsh fumes or surface damage that strong chemicals can bring if overused. You’re not just whitening the crust, you’re actually breaking it down.

Bleach, by contrast, doesn’t dissolve limescale at all. It disinfects and lightens whatever it touches, so the scale may look “cleaner” for a day or two – but the hard crust is still there, waiting to cling onto more soap scum and dirt. That’s why cleaning pros often view bleach as overkill for everyday bathrooms and underpowered for scale.

Professional cleaners like Jess in Leeds and Ahmed in Birmingham say the same thing: for taps, shower heads and metal fittings, vinegar is their quiet workhorse. It’s cheap, easy to rinse, safe around most households, and you don’t need a mask to use it for five minutes on a tap.

The 5‑minute tap reset: how cleaners actually do it

You don’t need to dismantle anything or block off the sink. Here’s the simple method pros use between jobs.

Start with a quick wipe
Run the tap, then wipe it down with a damp cloth or sponge to remove dust, soap and hair. This lets the vinegar get straight to the limescale instead of fighting grime first.
Soak a cloth or paper towel in vinegar
Pour white vinegar into a small bowl. Dip a microfibre cloth or a few folded kitchen towels into it until they’re thoroughly wet but not dripping everywhere.
Wrap the limescale, not the whole bathroom
- For a standard tap: Wrap the soaked cloth tightly around the base and spout, pressing it onto the crusty areas.
- For awkward shapes: Pop some vinegar in a small sandwich bag, slip it over the spout and secure it with an elastic band so the metal is submerged.
Set a five‑minute timer
Leave the vinegar in place for about 5 minutes. Light to moderate limescale will start to soften fast. If it’s years of build‑up, you can stretch to 10–15 minutes, checking that the finish is happy.
Scrub gently with an old toothbrush
Remove the cloth and use a toothbrush or non‑scratch scouring pad to loosen the softened scale. You should see flakes lifting away with very little effort. Avoid anything too abrasive on chrome or plated finishes.
Rinse and buff
Rinse thoroughly with clean water, then buff dry with a soft cloth. Drying is the tiny step that slows future limescale rings, especially in very hard‑water areas.

If any stubborn patches remain, pros simply repeat the wrap once more rather than attacking the tap with harsh chemicals. Two short soaks are kinder to the metal than one furious scrubbing session.

A tiny upgrade for extra‑stubborn taps

Cleaning pros sometimes warm the vinegar very gently before soaking the cloth (never to boiling, just warm to the touch). Mildly warm acid works a little faster on mineral deposits. If the smell bothers you, you can add a squeeze of lemon juice or a drop of washing‑up liquid – it won’t blunt the effect.

Where this trick works brilliantly (and where to be careful)

Vinegar isn’t a magic wand for every surface, but on the right ones it’s remarkably effective for pennies.

Great candidates for the 5‑minute soak:

Chrome and stainless‑steel taps and mixers
Shower heads (wrapped or bag‑soaked the same way)
Metal plugholes and overflows
Ceramic sinks and tiles (applied with a cloth, not poured everywhere)

Use caution or avoid altogether:

Natural stone (marble, limestone, travertine, slate): acid can etch or dull the surface. Use a stone‑safe cleaner instead.
Brass, gold‑plated or antique taps: test a tiny hidden spot first or skip vinegar entirely and use a product made for delicate finishes.
Rubber seals and certain plastics: short contact is usually fine, but don’t soak for ages; wipe and rinse instead.

If you rent, it’s worth testing behind the tap or on the underside first, just in case the fitting is a softer metal under a thin coating.

A small routine that quietly transforms your bathroom

Professional cleaners don’t wait until the taps are furry. They build quick descaling into their regular visits, which is why everything always looks “mysteriously” shinier after they’ve been.

You can steal the same trick with almost no effort:

Pick one bathroom tap each week for a five‑minute vinegar wrap while you’re tidying or brushing your teeth.
Do the kitchen tap the day you deep‑clean the sink.
Add the shower head once a month – it can soak in a bag while you wipe down tiles.

The effect compounds. Less limescale means fewer orange stains, fewer dark mouldy edges where water can cling, and less scrubbing down the line. It also helps pressure and spray patterns on shower heads that have started to splutter.

There’s a psychological shift too. When you realise a job you’ve been dodging for months can be handled with a 95p bottle and a spare toothbrush, the whole bathroom feels less overwhelming. No hazmat suit, no eye‑watering fumes, no £4 “miracle gel” that lives under the sink and quietly goes crusty.

Quick comparison at a glance

Method	What it does to limescale	Best used for
White vinegar	Dissolves and loosens deposits	Taps, shower heads, sinks
Bleach	Disinfects, may lighten staining	Toilets, mouldy grout
Abrasive scrubs	Physically scrape at build‑up	Last resort on hardy metal

FAQ:

Does this work as fast as shop‑bought limescale remover?
On light to moderate build‑up, yes – many pros say it’s just as quick if you give it a proper 5‑minute soak. Very heavy, long‑term scale might need a second round or a slightly longer contact time.

Will my bathroom smell like a chip shop?
Briefly. The vinegar smell fades quickly once you rinse and dry, and you can open a window or run the extractor. Adding a little lemon juice or going over the tap with a soapy cloth afterwards also softens the scent.

Can I put vinegar directly in my kettle or coffee machine for limescale?
You can descale many kettles with diluted vinegar, but always check the manufacturer’s instructions first, and rinse very thoroughly. For coffee machines, use a descaler specifically recommended for that model.

Is malt vinegar OK, or does it have to be white?
Stick to clear distilled white vinegar. Malt and other dark vinegars can stain and are harder to rinse clean, especially on pale or shiny surfaces.

How often should I do this?
In hard‑water areas, a quick vinegar wrap every 1–2 weeks on heavily used taps keeps them bright with minimal effort. In softer‑water areas, once a month is usually enough.