Descaling van

[Strollerbird]

In a recent hab check it was picked up that I needed to descale the taps
We have had our present van for 8 years and although we sterilise it each year we never put anything in the water to descale it. From looking at other posts I see it is something I should have done regularly and I rapped myself on the knuckles.
Clearly there is now quite a build up
Any suggestions as to the best way of getting rid of a large build up?

 

[maingate]

I have used a Citric acid solution in the past but here is a helpful youtube video.

 

[GMJ]

Anyone have any ideas on the ratio of citric acid/vinegar to water if doing a clean?

I use Puriclean once a year for a general cleanse of the tanks and boiler but have never done a scale cleanse I must admit.

 

[HurricaneSmith]

I bung in Aqua Water Purification Tablets when I fill up with fresh. The water smells fine, our taps look good, so it works for us.

Some people prefer to drink water from a small separate container, so that works for them.

 

[maingate]

From a quick search online, 2 tablespoons of Citric Acid (in powder form) per litre of water for descaling purposes.

 

[mr brown]

i use muriatic / hydrochloric acid . buy online or off the shelf in french super markets

 

[cheyenne]

we have 7 m/h's & never come across a problem with descaling OR having to do it but we only ever tour in Europe if that makes any difference i dont know . what i do know is our water in Lincolnshire clog's the iron up with calcium but i suppose it its where you live .we never put anything in the fresh water tank but only use it for showers or dishes' we buy bottled water for drinking especially as we tour Europe . as years ago when we had the boat someone had put Milton in & that put us off for life adding anything to the water .cheyenne

 

[eurajohn]

I'd be careful using citric acid, last year I did a thorough clean of my system before the first trip of year with citric (at the dilution mentioned above) after reading recommendations on another forum.
All went well until on our second day away the Reich tap in kitchen area started to leak, first a drip from spout which then tuned in to a leak from the body of tap, a little later that day noticed the shower head (Reich mixer tap) was dripping and later that day the mixer unit was leaking as well. The toilet basin tap not a Reich was not affected.
Apart from being bloody annoyed thought no worry I'll just find a dealer get a couple of new taps and get on with it, so set about looking at the access to kitchen tap, Pilote had placed pipework in a sandwich between the outer wall and the back wall of the kitchen drawers, then to make matters worse had joined the flexy tails of tap about 60 cm down, there was no way to get to these so decided to go home.
When home I cut an access hole in the panel and got tap out, shower mixer was easy access, then after trying my local suppliers had to mail order from Germany.
So after a spoiled break away, a couple of hundred Euros and a lot of tight awkward work got the vans water system working again, I'll never use citric acid for cleaning the water system again.

 

[GMJ]

What do you think the citric acid did to your water system to cause the problems John?

 

[maingate]

I'd be careful using citric acid, last year I did a thorough clean of my system before the first trip of year with citric (at the dilution mentioned above) after reading recommendations on another forum.
All went well until on our second day away the Reich tap in kitchen area started to leak, first a drip from spout which then tuned in to a leak from the body of tap, a little later that day noticed the shower head (Reich mixer tap) was dripping and later that day the mixer unit was leaking as well. The toilet basin tap not a Reich was not affected.
Apart from being bloody annoyed thought no worry I'll just find a dealer get a couple of new taps and get on with it, so set about looking at the access to kitchen tap, Pilote had placed pipework in a sandwich between the outer wall and the back wall of the kitchen drawers, then to make matters worse had joined the flexy tails of tap about 60 cm down, there was no way to get to these so decided to go home.
When home I cut an access hole in the panel and got tap out, shower mixer was easy access, then after trying my local suppliers had to mail order from Germany.
So after a spoiled break away, a couple of hundred Euros and a lot of tight awkward work got the vans water system working again, I'll never use citric acid for cleaning the water system again.

You may have left the solution in your system too long. I have done it twice after noticing small pieces of scale coming out of the kitchen tap. In both cases I filled a container with the solution and used a spare pump to fill the boiler and pipework. After a certain amount of time (I forget the recommended time) I filled the container with water and pumped it through the boiler and pipework. Then I refitted the submersible pump into the system and flushed through with plenty of water. I should also say that I had removed the shower head and laid the hose in the shower tray. This was my method of getting rid of any crud in the boiler.

 

[eurajohn]

What do you think the citric acid did to your water system to cause the problems John?

Don't really know but possibly some problem / interaction with the ceramic cartridge / plastic parts and "o" rings.
Too much of a coincidence both units failing at same time, also after the fact I did a bit of Google research and found a few threads of people experiencing the same problems.
As to the too much, too long used, I used the same as in post #5 although at the time it did seem a lot / strong solution and I'd left it in the tank and system for 4 hours before a flush through.
Before I fitted the new taps I did an intense flush through of both tank and system though