Banish tough limescale using 16p fruit you've likely already got in your fridge

Get rid of limescale the natural way – without spending money on expensive cleaning products (Stock photo)

Forget about expensive cleaning products and harsh chemicals – it turns out you can melt limescale away with a small but mighty fruit.

Whilst not harmful to your health, the chalky build-up caused my minerals in hard water can tarnish our appliances and even shorten their lifespan. If your shower isn’t working properly, or your brews are tasting a little funky – you can probably blame limescale.

The longer the calcium deposits are left, the more stubborn they becomes to scrub off. So, keep an eye on your loo and get to work if you notice those pesky stains appear. But a popular TV cleaning expert says a 30p item will do the job just fine.

Lynsey Crombie, aka the Queen of Clean, says lemon is ‘great’ for tackling limescale, as well as hard water marks. The cleaning expert, who has featured on ITV’s This Morning, hails the fruit for having a ‘sweet scent and antiseptic properties’.

“For limescale that is on your taps, very simply cut your lemon in half and run the lemon all over the tap where the limescale is present,” she said. “Leave the lemon on the tap for a while so that it can get to work and then rinse away. You may need to repeat this process.” You can use the same method on your shower heads too, and can scrub your loo with lemon halves if the stain aren’t too stubborn.

To get rid of limescale in the kettle, Lynsey suggests popping a few used lemon halves into the kettle, fill it with water then boil. Leave the solution to do its magic for 30 minutes, boil again and then empty the kettle. A four-pack of wonky lemons from Aldi will only set you back 65p – which works out at 16p per lemon.

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If you find your limescale stains are still refusing to budge, you may need to try a more powerful cleaning agent. One woman took to the Mrs Hinch Cleaning Tips and Tricks Facebook page after failing to lift the limescale from her kettle. “It probably does not look that bad but it would be nice to completely remove it,” she said. “I’ve already tried lemon juice and also the Oust descaler. Many thanks.”

Many users suggested using citric acid, saying the product works ‘100 per cent every time’ and doesn’t leave behind any strange aftertastes or smells. “Boil water, add one or two tablespoons of citric acid, and leave until limescale is removed. takes no time at all,” one person wrote. You can pick up a box of citric acid from a slew of retailers, including B&Q which is currently selling a 250g tub for £2.25.

Tried the hack yourself? Let us know if it worked in the comments section below