Blue stain

[badmonkey]

Hi,

The hot tap in the basin upstairs is leaving a blue stain on the basin (tap is dripping very slighty but is not used very much).

It's fed from an Ariston WRC-NSF cylinder which is heated by an Alpha CD18S boiler.

Any ideas (apart from fixing the drip!)


Cheers

Kev

 

[JohnD]

I'm thinking copper salts from the pipes.

Are you soft water or hard?

When was the last plumbing work done that involved cutting pipes or fitting new parts?

You may find that an acidic "Bathroom Cleaner" spray that claims to remove limescale and soap scum does the trick. You may also need to use a nylon scourer. Better fix that dripping tap before it gets worse.

 

[badmonkey]

Hi John,

Thanks for the reply.

We're in Suffolk and believe the water is fairly hard. The last plumbng work was at the installation of the CH system about 20 months ago.

We use a fair bit of water as it is a commercial site and have 3 showers (although not used all the time - prob about 30-40 showers per week).

Was thinking of maybe trying one of the Scalewatcher products to see if that helps the blue stain and also the marks on the shower tiles, etc.

 

[JohnD]

Scalewatcher is one of those things that magnetises the water?

some people (including me) think this is a version of magic, and doesn't work.

like wearing a copper bracelet for rheumatism, or a potato tied round your neck to ward off colds.

 

[badmonkey]

I'll be watching out for those wiches then lol

 

[doitall]

Copper bracelets actually do work, and I've never seen a vampire so assume the garlic necklace works as well.

A good water softener is the way to go for hard water.

 

[badmonkey]

The business is a floatation centre and the tanks are topped up with fresh water to replace that lost by evaporation and none is disposed of down the drain so therefore cant use a system that adds any chemicals but not knowing the ins and outs of water softners, think I'm gonna have toi get some further avice on them.

 

[doitall]

In that case Harvest and store gray water for future use.

 

[JohnD]

water softeners remove the Calcium Carbonate in the water and replace it with Sodium Bicarbonate (the stuff you take for indigestion) but in very tiny amounts. It is safe to drink or wash in.

p.s. you mean people float in this water, and it is not flushed away? doesn't the water become grimy?

 

[doitall]

water softeners remove the Calcium Carbonate in the water and replace it with Sodium Bicarbonate (the stuff you take for indigestion) but in very tiny amounts. It is safe to drink or wash in.

p.s. you mean people float in this water, and it is not flushed away? doesn't the water become grimy?

Its reported to be an experience never to be forgotten John and once tried you are hooked.

Imagine floating on water in complete darkness for an hour, mind you I don't know what all the salt does for you