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looks like limescle build up, hard water inyour area. get some white vinidar and put on some kitchen roll and stuff around tap top should come off!!
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You do know that the diffusers screw off and need to be cleaned regularly, don't you?
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Question Author
What is it though?
I don't think it's limescale, this stuff wipes off with the slightest touch and has the consistency of jelly.
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This stuff reminds me of the buildup I used to get on my car battery terminals, It certainly looks quite yucky.
Do you have a gravity tank supply and if you have is there anything floating in it?
Perhaps this substance has been dislodged from the inside of the pipes when the plumbing was done.
I'm really surprised you've not had more answers.
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To find out if this is limescale (I think it is)
Get a small quantity of vinegar in a cup and then scrape off some of the scale and drop it into the vinegar.
If it forms bubbles of gas, fizzes and dissolves, then it IS limescale. You can remove limescale with a solution of vinegar as has been posted, or use one of the commercial limescale removers such as Silit Bang.
If it turns out NOT to be limescale, then get back on AB and I'll think about it further. By the way where do you live? I only ask to see if you are in a hard water area, where limescale is more of a problem.
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Question Author
Access to the tank is near impossible, perhaps a mirror on a stick with a torch taped to it - haven't had time to do that yet.
Unfortunately I cant test this muck either as I wiped it off after taking the pic. It came away very easily in one go using just kitchen paper. It didn't feel particularly gritty as you'd expect for a mineral deposit but looked more like a slime. I do live in a hard water area but also right next door to a water treatment plant which just adds to my concern.
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No need to worry about being next door to a water treatment plant. Tap water is purer and far more tested than any bottled water, the water quality is measured 24 hrs a day 7 days a week.
I am a Chemist and I run an industrial water treatment plant. Any problem and the Environment Agency would be down on me like a ton of bricks.
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Question Author
So what is it?
If you look closely at the picture the smaller whiter flecks on the left side of the diffuser I recognize as limescale, (hard, brittle, slow forming) but the bulk of this gelatinous goo is clearly not. The tap is clean now but a few weeks from now this sludge will be back.
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It allmost certainly is limescale, the diffuser seperatesthe water into fine droplets these form very small particles of limescale. The fine particles have water mixed with them and form a gel like mass. Wait until there is a futher build up and then try to see if it is limescale as I posted before.
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Hi
I had this problem 3 years ago and fitted a ScaleWizard to my water inlet pipe and after about 3 months the problem has all but disappeared. It works by putting an electrical wire closely looped12 times around your mains inlet and connected to the ScaleWizard`s terminals and left on 24/7 it uses only pennies per year to run and saves a fortune on appliances for more info go to
http://www.scalewizard.co.uk/?gcid=S18394x014- brand&keyword=scale%20wizard
You can get it sometimes on Ebay cheaper
Hope this helps
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noknowledge - stupid is as stupid does. You really do excell . . . . .
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Question Author
Thanks EDDIE51, that explanation makes sense and alleviates my concern. I've always associated limescale with the hard brittle type you tend to see on a kettle element. I'll verify it is limescale with the method you've suggested and no doubt follow kaw69's recommendation - thanks for the link.
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