Ask Mrs. Clean: House Cleaning, Stain Removal and Organizing Tips

[stharmon]

In most of our patient rooms, the sinks/faucets have hard water deposits on
them. We have been struggling for a long time to get them clean. So, we
started using a product from Buckeye Corp. called "Cert". We don't have alot
of time to be in a room trying to remove the deposits



My question for you, is Cert a good product to use or is Lime-A-Way a better
product.



Any info that you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

[mrscleannw]

Hello stharmon and welcome.

Each of the products you mention has their own separate purposes and cleaning action. They are separate types of products and presumably adequate for their designs.

Cert : Abrasive cleaner –Regular Cleaning.
This looks to be similar to soft scrub. The primary ingredients are abrasives plus surfactants (detergents and de-greasers).

Lime-A-Way : Corrosive/caustic –Heavy Duty Cleaning For Hard Water Stains.
Lime-a-way's primary ingredient is phosphoric acid. This is a corrosive/caustic acid that will dissolve built up lime deposits. Make sure to follow all mfgr safety precautions.

It sounds like the Lime-A-Way and Cert might not be doing a good enough job on the hard water stains. If this is the case, I’d try CLR.

C L R: Calcium/Lime/Rust Remover - Corrosive/caustic -Heavy Duty Cleaning.

CLR is the same type of product as Lime-A-Way but uses other types of acid cleaners. CLR may be more effective than Lime-A-Way for removing your specific type hard water spot build-up.


With all that being said, tackle all the hard water stains first with the corrosive stain removers until they are gone. Then switch to the abrasive (Cert) for regular maintenance cleaning. If you properly maintain the cleanings, the hard scale will take much longer to buildup.

You can switch back to the CLR or Lime-A-Way when it is needed, remembering to use goggles and eye protection when used. Do not use these products for every cleaning, they are much too powerful. Once the stains are gone the abrasive action of cert should be enough to withhold the hard water stains for a time.


Mrs. Clean