Types of Descaling

Descaling can be used for many jobs that may seem totally unrelated. Solutions for descaling are commonly associated with home or office appliance cleaning but also with heavy duty machinery maintenance.

Different types of descaling solutions are needed for different types of descaling jobs. It can be hard to determine which type of descaling solution you may need for a small or mid-sized cleaning job when so many different products are available.

The goal of this article is to shine some light on the difference between popularly mentioned or searched descaling products and the jobs they are meant for, as well as how descaling is (or more accurately isn’t) related to water softening.

View more videos, here.

What’s the Difference Between Industrial and Commercial & Residential Descalers?

Many descalers are produced for specific purposes. Using Google to search for ‘best descalers’ brings up a lot of results for coffee and espresso machine descalers. These descalers are made for residential/commercial use and are not intended for larger scale jobs. Larger descaling jobs typically require heavy-duty descaling agents.

Certain machinery may even require specific descaling agents–a specific amount of acid-to-buffering agent ratio or similar requirement. Make sure to read the instructions of any small device that needs descaling to make sure the cleaning solution you use is safe.

If you are in charge of a large-scale or industrial descaling cleaning, make sure you are familiar with any and all machinery involved. Contact the manufacturer if you are unsure about anything regarding the cleaning process.

Also, for smaller-scale appliance jobs: Make sure to read all the details and uses of any descaling product you are thinking about using for a specific job. Some descaling formulations may seem like they would work for certain related products but are not necessarily the best option. With all the different descalers available, you want to make sure your machines are cleaned as best as possible.

Descaler Safety

All descalers are not created equal when it comes to safety concerns and protocols. This is not necessarily a bad thing–some descaling jobs require concentrated solutions to properly finish. It is, however, something that anyone performing a descaling job of any level needs to be aware of.

The main safety concern when it comes to descalers is how safe the solution is for human contact. Higher concentrations of acids without specific buffers can make some descaling solutions harmful to the skin and (at very high concentrations) potentially harmful to breathe in. This is why it is always imperative to read any safety protocols or precautions when using a new descaling solution.

Large industrial jobs (manufacturing plants, treatment facilities, etc) will be more likely to require potentially hazardous descalers, but this does not mean all residential or commercial descalers are safe. Even descaling your fancy new coffee machine should be taken seriously if you are using a descaler you are unfamiliar with.

Are Descaling & Water Softening the Same Thing?

No! Water softening is the process of removing metals from water supplies, while descaling removes scale from surfaces.

There are a few reasons descaling and water softening get confused:

• Descaling is for systems that use water in some functional capacity
• Calcium & Magnesium are two of the most common minerals removed by each process
• Both extend the lifetime of machinery and surfaces by removing damaging minerals

Water softening is used to make water safe for human consumption. Descaling is used to clean surfaces in systems that use water (as the minerals in water or steam can accumulate scale over time).

RYDLYME The World’s Leading Biodegradable Descaler

For more than 80 years, RYDLYME has been the most trusted brand for removing scale from boilers, cooling towers, heat exchangers, condensers, chillers, and so much more. If you have further questions pertaining to the effectiveness of “The World’s Leading Biodegradable Descaler,” RYDLYME, please feel free to contact our main office.