Limescale and hard water in Cyprus: how to clean taps, showers, kettles and appliances

Why limescale builds up so fast in Cyprus homes

Limescale forms when water carrying dissolved calcium and magnesium evaporates or is heated. Several things about Cypriot water and housing make it worse.

• A mixed supply. According to the Water Development Department (WDD), Nicosia's government supply draws on the Larnaca, Dhekelia and Vasilikos desalination plants plus treatment plants fed by dams such as Kouris. Limassol combines the Episkopi desalination plant with treated Kouris dam water and boreholes. For Paphos the WDD lists the Asprokremmos and Kannaviou treatment plants and boreholes.
• Desalinated water is deliberately hardened. After reverse osmosis removes the salts, the WDD treats the water with processed lime and carbon dioxide to correct its acidity and raise its hardness.
• Groundwater picks up minerals. Many Cypriot aquifers lie in limestone, chalk and gypsum, all rich in calcium.
• The blend keeps changing. Desalination covered 67% of water consumed in 2024 and 64% in 2025, the WDD told Cyprus Mail, and production can be cut back in wet years when the dams fill. Local water authorities also use their own sources depending on conditions, so hardness varies by district and season.
• Heat. Heating hard water turns dissolved calcium into solid scale, and the great majority of Cypriot homes heat water in a rooftop solar cylinder that gets very hot in summer.
• Rooftop storage. Many homes keep mains water in a rooftop tank (ντεπόζιτο), and grit and loose scale from tanks and older pipes ends up in aerators and shower heads.
• Fast evaporation. In hot, dry weather, drops on taps and glass dry within minutes and leave their minerals behind.

Which limescale remover for which surface

Start with the gentlest product that works, keep contact short on metal and plastic, then rinse and dry. Where an appliance manual names a descaler, follow the manual.

Step by step: citric acid and white vinegar methods

Citric acid (κιτρικό οξύ, often sold for cooking as ξινό) is cheap, odourless and gentler on fittings than vinegar. A useful strength is about 25 g per litre of warm water, roughly two level tablespoons, the same dose as sachet kettle descalers such as Melitta's.

1. 1

   Taps

   Soak a soft cotton cloth in citric acid solution and press it onto the crust for a few minutes. Wipe, rinse thoroughly and dry. hansgrohe advises putting cleaner on the cloth, never spraying it straight onto the tap.

2. 2

   Aerators and shower heads

   Unscrew the aerator and soak it in warm citric acid solution for about ten minutes, then rinse and refit. Rub rubber shower nozzles with your thumb while the water runs, or soak the head like an aerator.

3. 3

   Glass shower screens

   Spray half white vinegar, half warm water, or citric acid solution, onto dry glass. Leave 10 to 15 minutes, wipe with a soft sponge, rinse and squeegee. Keep spray off seals, coated frames and any stone below.

4. 4

   Kettles

   Boil a half-full kettle, unplug it, add one to two tablespoons of citric acid and leave 15 to 20 minutes. Or boil equal parts white vinegar and water and leave it to cool. Rinse, then boil and discard clean water two or three times.

5. 5

   Toilet ring

   Close the cistern tap and flush to lower the water. Apply citric acid solution or a limescale gel to the ring and under the rim, leave it to work (follow the label), scrub with a nylon brush, then reopen the tap and flush.

Marble, limestone, travertine and terrazzo: no acids

These stones are mostly calcium carbonate, the same compound as limescale, so anything that dissolves scale attacks them too. The Natural Stone Institute warns that lemon, vinegar and other acids may dull or etch them, and an etch mark is surface damage that needs a stone professional to repair. In Cyprus that means marble sills, stairs and vanities, and the terrazzo (μωσαϊκό) floors of many older flats, which are marble chips set in cement.

• Clean stone with a neutral stone cleaner or a little mild washing-up liquid in warm water, then dry it.
• Before descaling taps or glass above stone, cover it with a towel and rinse off drips at once.
• Granite resists most kitchen acids, but the institute still advises against acidic cleaners on it.
• Not sure what a surface is? Test on a hidden corner first.

Safety: never mix limescale removers with bleach

Health Canada warns that bleach reacts with any product containing an acid, vinegar included, and with toilet bowl cleaners, producing toxic gases that cause burning eyes and light-headedness and can kill.

• Use one product at a time, and flush or rinse well before switching between bleach and a descaler.
• Read labels: many toilet cleaners and limescale sprays are acidic, and many mould sprays contain bleach.
• Ventilate. If the bathroom has no window, run the extractor fan and keep the door open.
• Wear rubber gloves, and eye protection when spraying overhead.
• Skip hydrochloric acid (σπίρτο του άλατος). hansgrohe lists it among cleaners that can badly damage metal finishes, and it attacks grout and stone.

How to keep limescale from coming back

The aim is to remove water before it evaporates. It takes seconds a day.

• Squeegee glass and tiles after every shower, as the Natural Stone Institute and shower screen makers recommend.
• Wipe taps dry after use with a cotton cloth, as hansgrohe suggests for hard water.
• Clean aerators and shower heads every month or two, before the holes block.
• Descale the kettle about once a month.
• If you have a regular house cleaner, ask them to squeegee the screen and dry the taps at the end of each visit.

Water filters and softeners: worth it?

With a whole-house softener, keep one kitchen tap unsoftened for drinking and cooking: softening adds sodium, and the NHS advises against artificially softened water for baby formula. Ask sellers of magnetic or electronic scale gadgets for independent test results before you pay.

Your solar water heater (θερμοσίφωνας): signs of scale and who should service it

The rooftop cylinder is where hard water does most damage, because it holds hot water for hours every day. Sediment settles in the bottom and scale coats the electric backup element (the αντίσταση you switch on in winter). In some systems the household water also runs through the roof panels, so scale can narrow those pipes too. Signs worth acting on:

• Hot water runs out sooner, or is lukewarm on sunny days.
• You need the electric backup more often.
• Crackling or popping from the cylinder while the element is on.
• Grit or flakes in hot water, or hot taps that clog faster than cold ones.
• Constant dripping from the relief valve or its drain pipe.

Servicing means working on a roof, draining a cylinder that may hold very hot water under pressure, and handling relief valves, the element and the sacrificial anode that protects the tank from corrosion. Solahart's thermosiphon manual, for example, says its major service can only be done by a qualified person, and covers checking the element for calcium, flushing sediment, and replacing the relief valve and anode.

The interval depends on the manufacturer, so check your manual. Solahart sets that service at five years at most, sooner when the anode is due, and notes anodes wear faster in mineral-heavy water such as borehole supply. With hard water, ask your installer whether your unit needs checking sooner.

When a professional deep clean is worth it

Once scale has built up for months, removing it safely takes hours. That is when hiring help makes sense.

• Moving out of a rental. Crusted taps and cloudy shower glass are easy for a landlord to spot at check-out. An end of tenancy clean covers bathroom and kitchen fittings in detail.
• Holiday lets. Water spots make a clean bathroom look dirty in guest photos. Cleaners offering holiday rental cleaning are used to quick changeovers.
• A neglected bathroom. A one-off deep clean is quicker than weekends of scrubbing. Deep cleans listed in the directory start from about €120.

Cyprus Cleaners is a directory: you compare profiles and contact cleaners directly. About 35 cleaners are listed in Nicosia and 36 in Limassol, with smaller choices in Paphos and Larnaca, at typical rates of €9 to €16 an hour. Our guide to cleaner prices in Cyprus explains what affects the total. When you get in touch, mention any marble or natural stone and the products you want used or avoided.