The hard, crusty buildup on faucets sure doesn’t help the “spotless” look we’re going for in a bathroom. If you’re struggling with keeping that green or aquamarine mineral buildup at bay, check out some of these cleaning tips.

Really want to go the extra-mile? We’ll even explain why the stuff is layering up in the first place—and how you can stop it for good!

Option 1: Commercial Cleaner

Wipe off your faucet and sink with a basic, all-purpose cleaner and wipe dry. Then take lemon juice or a lemon half to wipe down the surfaces again. The lemon’s mild acid helps dissolve some of the minerals creating the buildup. Give everything a good rinse, and then wipe it dry again.

Option 2: Baking Soda

Make a paste with baking soda and water (about 3 parts soda to 1 part water) and rub it around your faucet. Leave the paste on the problem spots for about an hour to give it enough time to try breaking through the hard buildup. Then wash the faucet with a clean sponge or paper towel.

Option 3: Vinegar

For really tough buildup, pour about a 1/3 cup of vinegar into a plastic baggie and secure it around your faucet with a rubber band. Let the faucet grime soak in the vinegar for about 3 hours, then scrub off the deposits with an old toothbrush. Rinse, and wipe dry.

Your Best Bet: Soft Water

Get a water softener for your home! That blue-green buildup will just keep forming if your home has hard water. To keep your faucets shiny after your first lime scale cleaning, your best bet is to treat your water with a home softener system.

Faucets get attacked by these buildups because our tap water (especially in the Indy area) has a lot of dissolved minerals in it. Your faucet naturally gets wet when you use it. When that water evaporates, it leaves behind the minerals calcium and magnesium. With enough time, those “hard” minerals in your water will start to layer up and form that crust on your faucet.

About the Green Stuff

The blue-green gunk on your faucet are “lime scale deposits.” That lime scale, or scale deposit, forms because your tap water is “hard” with dissolved minerals. Pure lime scale is white, and you might see it in a teakettle or hot pot. But your lime scale can turn green from copper pipes or fixtures.

Removing the scale buildup can help make your faucet shiny again, but only for a little while. If you really want your fixtures to sparkle, you’ll have to fight the problem at its source—which is your tap water. In the water world, we have different words for talking about the mineral levels in your tap water.

Water with lots of dissolved minerals in it is “hard.” But a home softening system can remove those hard minerals to make your water “soft.” Lots of homeowners in the Indianapolis area opt for installing or renting a softener because soft water has a lot of other perks for cleaning around your home. Plus, it’ll help prevents those funky lime scale colors from ever forming again.