Is limescale bad for you? The real effects on your health & home
- Lucinda Smalley
- 3 days ago
- 10 min read
Updated: 3 hours ago
If you live in a hard water area — anywhere across the south of England, parts of London, the Midlands or East Anglia — limescale is probably part of daily life. It shows up inside your kettle, on your shower screen, showerhead, taps and toilet. It’s a lot. But is it actually bad for you?
The short answer is: no — limescale isn’t harmful to drink. The more useful answer? It can be bad news for your home, your skin and your hair.
In this article:
I grew up in a hard water area, and as a kid I didn’t give limescale much thought. Then I moved away — uni, a stint in Sydney, a few years in Scotland — all soft-water places where life was lovely and low-maintenance.
It wasn’t until I moved to Poole as a fully fledged adult, with a child, appliances and a home to look after, that I realised how much hard water and limescale affects day-to-day life. The constant cleaning, my son’s eczema-prone skin, the electric shower giving up, the kettle working overtime just to boil — suddenly limescale was a problem I had to deal with (or look at) every single day.
So is limescale bad? This guide explains what causes it, whether it’s safe, why it creates so many (metaphorical) headaches, and what you can do to manage it.
What causes limescale?
Hard water is simply water with a high mineral content — mainly calcium and magnesium. When it’s heated (in your kettle, shower, boiler or washing machine) or left to dry on surfaces, those minerals harden and stick, creating the chalky limescale we all know and dislike.
It builds up fast, it’s grim to look at — but it’s natural. It’s basically the same stuff seashells are made of.
Is it safe to drink or eat limescale?
Yes — completely safe.
UK tap water is tightly regulated, and the minerals that cause limescale are the same minerals your body needs. So drinking it is actually good for you, here's why:
Calcium: is one of the minerals your body uses every single day — it helps keep your bones and teeth strong, supports muscle movement and plays a role in how your nerves send signals. The calcium in hard water simply adds to what you already get from food, so it’s a perfectly normal (and harmless) part of your daily intake.
Magnesium: is involved in hundreds of processes in the body, from energy production to muscle and nerve function. It also helps regulate blood sugar and supports heart health. The magnesium in hard water isn’t a concern — it’s the same type you’d find in food and supplements.
Any exceptions? A very small number of people with certain kidney conditions may be advised to limit mineral intake, but for most of us it’s perfectly fine.
If it’s safe, why does limescale get such a bad reputation?
Because the issues aren’t inside your body — they’re inside your home, and on your skin and hair.
Plus it's relentless — you scrub, descale, and clean… then a week later your kettle is white again. The build-up isn’t just annoying — it genuinely affects how well your home functions and how your skin and hair feel.
Here are the real problems it causes.
Problems caused by limescale
It increases your energy bills
Anywhere hard water meets heat, limescale will start forming — inside boilers, radiators, pipework, washing machines, dishwashers, showers and kettles.
Even a thin layer acts like insulation, so heat can’t transfer properly. Appliances have to work harder, using more energy to do the same job.
Households in hard water areas often end up paying £150–£300 more a year without realising why.
Zoom out and it gets even bigger. Around 60% of UK homes have hard water — that’s roughly 17 million households. Multiply that by £150–£300 and you’re looking at £2.5–£5 billion in wasted energy across the country every year.
All because of limescale.
It shortens the life of kettles, showers and appliances
When heating elements and internal parts get coated in limescale, they overheat and wear out faster.
Kettles are usually the first casualty — in hard water areas it’s not unusual to replace them every couple of years unless you descale regularly. Washing machines, dishwashers and electric showers face the same battle.
Ross Milne, co-owner & senior plumber at Plumberly says: “Working as a plumber in both soft and hard water areas has shown me just how much limescale affects electric showers. In Scotland, where the water is naturally soft, a well-maintained electric shower usually lasts 7–10 years."
"Since moving to the south coast and running Plumberly here in Dorset, we’re seeing those same showers fail much sooner — typically within 5–7 years, and sometimes in as little as two. If you open the units up, the heating element is often coated in thick limescale. It acts like insulation, forcing the shower to overheat and work harder. Most people don’t realise that hard water can cut the life of an electric shower almost in half.”
Mira, one of the UK’s biggest shower brands, backs this up saying "limescale can dramatically reduce the life of an electric shower" and they've even created their own Clearscale™ technology to help reduce build up and prolong the life of their showers.
It reduces water pressure
Those crusty bits around your showerhead? Not just cosmetic. As the holes block with minerals, water pressure drops and the spray becomes uneven.
Inside your pipes, the same thing happens — limescale gradually narrows the space water can travel through, leading to weaker water from taps and slower-running showers.
You spend more time (and money) cleaning
Bathrooms in hard water areas need far more upkeep than those in soft water areas. The minerals in hard water react with soaps, shampoos and shower gels, leaving behind cloudy shower screens, streaky tiles, dull chrome fittings and stubborn marks in sinks and toilets. It’s why everything seems to lose its sparkle so quickly — even right after you’ve cleaned it.
The same thing happens in the kitchen. Taps look dirtier faster, draining boards pick up marks, and your kettle starts to get that chalky coating inside and out. You also tend to use more cleaning products because hard water makes soaps and detergents less effective.
It irritates skin
After every wash, hard water leaves a thin film of minerals on your skin. You can’t see it — but you can feel it. It disrupts your skin barrier, making it harder for skin to stay hydrated.
For many people this just means feeling a bit dry. But for those with eczema-prone or sensitive skin, it can lead to tightness, itching and painful flare-ups.
If your skin feels tight or itchy after showering, hard water might be why.
Dermatologists have noticed this too. Consultant Dermatologist Dr Justine Hextall explains that water quality in an area can have a bigger effect on skin than people realise. She says that hard water leaves alkaline minerals sitting on the skin after washing, which can make dryness and irritation worse — especially for people with eczema or rosacea. When the skin barrier becomes disrupted like this, skin becomes more reactive and more prone to flare-ups.
It may increase the chances of eczema in babies
A large UK study by King's College London found that babies in hard water areas were 87% more likely to develop eczema.
The water isn’t unsafe — it’s simply harsher on delicate skin. Hard water leaves behind a fine mineral residue after bathing, and because baby skin is thinner and loses moisture faster, that residue can upset the skin barrier and trigger more irritation.
This is why many parents in hard water areas notice dryness after bath time, even when using gentle products.
It’s not great for your hair
Hard water minerals stick to each strand of hair, leaving a coating you can’t see but definitely feel. Hair becomes drier, more brittle and harder to manage — exactly what happened to me when I moved back to a hard water area.
If you colour your hair, the difference is even bigger. Hard water fades colour faster, meaning more frequent hair appointments (or supermarket dyes).
Shampoo doesn’t lather well in hard water, so you use more without realising. Conditioner struggles to sink in because that mineral layer gets in the way.
The result? Hair that feels more scarecrow than shampoo advert.
It makes towels & clothes scratchy
If your towels and clothes come out feeling stiff and rough — even when they’re new — hard water is usually the culprit. Minerals get trapped in the fibres, making them less soft and less absorbent over time.
It makes dishwashers smell
Inside dishwashers, limescale mixes with old detergent and tiny bits of food. Over time this creates a musty smell that standard cleaning often can’t fix. Spray arms and pipes can also get clogged, leaving glasses cloudy and dishes less clean.
Hard water areas vs soft water areas: the real difference
What you notice | Hard water areas e.g. South of England, London, East Anglia, Midlands | Soft water areas e.g. Scotland, Wales, Northern England, parts of the South West |
Limescale | Builds up quickly on taps, showers, kettles, glass and tiles | Minimal limescale, surfaces stay cleaner for longer |
Appliance lifespan | Kettles, showers and washing machines wear out faster due to scale | Appliances tend to last longer with less internal limescale build-up |
Energy bills | Higher — boilers and heating systems work harder through limescale | Lower — heating systems run more efficiently |
Shower feel | Can feel drying, tight skin | Feels softer, smoother and more gentle |
Hair | Frizzier, rougher texture, colour fades faster | Shinier, smoother, easier to wash and manage |
Soap & shampoo | Don’t lather well, need to use more product | Lather easily, products work better |
Laundry | Towels become stiff/scratchy, clothes feel rougher | Laundry stays softer with the same detergents |
Drinks | Tea looks cloudy, flakes in kettle, flatter taste | Clearer, cleaner-tasting drinks with no flakes |
Cleaning | Bathrooms need frequent scrubbing and descaling | Much less maintenance, glass and taps stay clearer for longer |
Water pressure | Showerheads block, pipes scale internally, reducing flow | Higher, more consistent pressure |
Dishwashers | May smell if scale mixes with food residue | Less odour, cleaner washes |
Everyday maintenance | High — descaling is part of life | Low — maintenance is easier and less frequent |
How to reduce limescale in your home
There’s no single “fix” for hard water — it really depends on your home, your budget and how much the problem affects your daily life. Think of solutions in three layers: whole-home fixes, targeted upgrades, and habits that make living with limescale easier.
1. Whole-home solutions
The gold-standard solution is a water softener. This is the only way to actually remove the calcium and magnesium from your water, meaning limescale doesn’t form at all. Your taps stay shiny, your showerhead stays clear, appliances last longer, and your skin and hair feel softer.
But softeners come with drawbacks.
They’re the most expensive upfront. They also produce salty wastewater which isn’t ideal for the environment — in some states in America they’re even banned for this reason. And while softened water is brilliant for cleaning and bathing, it’s not usually recommended for drinking, so you still need a separate unsoftened tap in your kitchen.
A good alternative — and much more affordable — is a limescale inhibitor device or water conditioner fitted to your mains. These don't remove minerals but change the way they behave, helping to reduce the rate of scale formation throughout your home. They won’t give you true soft water, but they can noticeably slow down limescale build-up in boilers, pipes and appliances with far less maintenance.
2. Targeted upgrades (where you’ll feel it most)
If a whole-home system isn’t right for you, point-of-use upgrades can make a big difference with far less cost or complexity.
Filtered shower heads can help your water feel gentler on skin and hair by reducing chlorine and altering how minerals behave.
Water filters or filtered taps can help slow limescale build-up in your kettle.
Hard-water-friendly electric showers have special technology that can reduce the mineral build up by up to 50%.
Dosing your heating system with scale inhibitor fluid can protect your boiler and radiators from internal scale build up.
You can also get inhibitor devices for particular appliances in your home e.g. a Fernox scale reducer for your boiler.
These options won’t remove limescale completely — but they can take the edge off the worst effects, especially in the places you notice them most.
3. Habits that genuinely help
Small consistent habits can slow limescale down. Keeping up a regular descaling routine for your kettle keeps it working efficiently and improves the taste of hot drinks. Cleaning your showerhead every few weeks helps maintain the spray pattern and water pressure. Emptying your kettle between boils, wiping down shower screens after use and giving taps a quick dry can all prevent that cloudy mineral layer from forming so quickly.
These habits won’t fix the limescale hiding inside your pipes or appliances, but they do help with the visible build-up — and keep your home feeling cleaner for longer.
When a full water softener might be worth considering
A water softener isn’t essential for every home, but for some households it can be genuinely life-changing. It’s the only solution that fully removes the hardness minerals from your water, so limescale can’t form at all — not in your kettle, not in your pipes, not in your boiler, not on your skin and hair.
You might want to seriously consider one if:
you’re dealing with persistent eczema flare ups or irritated dry skin
appliances are failing more often than they should
your boiler, radiators, or heating system are struggling with internal scale
you're in your forever home and will get years of use from your investment
you’re renovating or replacing a heating system anyway (perfect timing to install one)
A softener is a bigger upfront investment, but it can pay itself back through longer appliance life, lower heating bills and fewer breakdowns. It also gives you that soft water feel at home — showers the feel more spa-like, shinier taps, cleaner glass, and no more limescale battles.
FAQs
Is limescale harmful to drink?
No — it’s safe.
Can limescale make you sick?
No. It doesn’t carry contaminants. It just affects taste and appearance.
Is hard water bad for eczema?
It can worsen dryness and irritation for some people.
Does limescale damage appliances?
Over time, yes. It reduces efficiency and lifespan.
Can you get rid of limescale naturally?
Yes — citric acid is one of the best natural descalers.
Is filtered water softer?
Not usually. Filters improve taste and reduce deposits, but don’t remove the minerals that cause hardness unless they use softening technology.
The short answer
Limescale isn’t bad for your health, and drinking hard water is completely safe.
But the effects of limescale on your home, skin and hair can be frustrating — from higher bills to dull hair, dry skin and appliances that don’t last as long as they should.
With a few simple changes, you can reduce the impact. And if you want that soft-water feel throughout your home, a softener is the next step.
Author bio: Lucinda is the founder of Hard Water Home, a UK-based blog helping households in hard water areas understand the challenges and solutions more easily — and make smarter choices for their health and home. Based in Poole, she also runs an award-winning plumbing company, giving her unique insight into how water quality affects our homes. Away from the desk, she’s happiest at the beach with her family and a good cup of coffee (minus the floaty bits!). More about us ➡
