What Is Limescale in Water Treatment?
What Is Limescale in Water Treatment?
What Is Limescale?
Limescale (or scale) is a hard, chalky mineral deposit that can build up in commercial and industrial water systems, plumbing and water-using equipment, such as boilers and heat exchangers. Limescale is difficult to remove and often forms when water containing high levels of dissolved minerals, especially calcium and magnesium, is heated or undergoes pressure changes.
Unlike the hardness scale found in homes, limescale is strongly correlated with heat-driven processes in commercial settings, where mineral precipitation accelerates and leaves deposits behind on metal surfaces.
Over time, limescale buildup acts as an insulating layer on heat-transfer surfaces, increasing energy use and reducing efficiency, while increasing the risk of equipment damage, wear or failure, from uneven heating to clogs and corrosion.
What Causes Limescale?
Naturally occurring minerals like calcium and magnesium are found in most water (hard water). When the water’s mineral content is high enough, limescale can form and present issues.
In commercial systems, limescale can start forming at hardness levels from 60 to 120+ mg/L of calcium carbonate, and even lower in high-temperature or recirculating equipment.
Proactive water treatment is one of the best solutions for protecting equipment efficiency and lifespan.
Additional factors that influence the formation and severity of limescale include:
- High water temperatures, reducing solubility of calcium carbonate
- Pressure drops
- Water recirculation, concentrating minerals
- High water alkalinity and TDS (total dissolved solids), increasing mineral precipitation
Where Does Limescale Show Up?
Limescale can accumulate and build up in a wide range of commercial and industrial operations, including in manufacturing and processing, healthcare, hospitality, food and beverage, educational facilities, data centers and multifamily and commercial properties.
Specific limescale formation will vary by location, but often shows on places such as:
- Boilers, boiler tubes
- Heat exchangers, condensers and chillers
- Commercial water heaters
- HVAC systems
- Processing pipes, valves
- Cooling towers
- Pumps, spray nozzles
Why Limescale Forms
Limescale is a common result of using water that has high hardness levels left untreated. Commercial operations face higher risks than homeowners, in general, due to their high volume of water use, higher operating temperatures, near-continuous runtimes and tighter efficiency and regulatory requirements. Specifics of limescale formation will depend on the location and industry, as well as the water chemistry, temperature and pressure.
Why Limescale Is a Problem
Limescale in commercial settings is more than a cosmetic issue and can cause problems with efficiency and reliability of equipment, while driving up operational costs.
Common issues associated with limescale buildup include:
- Reduced heat transfer efficiency
- Increased electricity or fuel use
- Uneven heating
- Restricted water flow or clogs
- Accelerated corrosion beneath mineral deposits
- Shortened equipment lifespan
- Increased downtimes
How to Remove and Reduce Limescale
Water softening (ion exchange) and reverse osmosis purification are among the most effective solutions for mitigating limescale long-term by preventing scale formation in the first place. Water treatment also reduces the reliance on certain cost and time-intensive maintenance processes, such as boiler descaling.
Cleaning, chemical descaling and limescale inhibitors can remove (or prevent) existing deposits, though won’t typically address root causes of limescale.
Removal and Cleaning
Removal of scale really depends on where it’s located. In commercial systems, limescale removal often involves chemical or mechanical descaling, system flushing and monitoring for any surface damage or corrosion after cleaning.
Prevention
Water softeners use a process called ion exchange to remove excess minerals from hard water. Kinetico water softeners do this automatically and ongoingly, without being harmed by the minerals, so you always can have peace-of-mind about limescale. Reverse osmosis can trap and remove significant levels of magnesium, calcium and other minerals and contaminants.
Kinetico water systems have no timers or screens to adjust and are non-electric, helping keep down operational costs and environmental impact. We also offer a combination filtration and softening system that helps ensure sediment, chemicals and other unwanted contaminants are kept out of your water.
Take Action to Prevent Limescale
Wondering if hard water is behind your limescale issues? Schedule a free water test to see what’s in your water and learn more about professional water treatment for commercial operations and businesses.