Lime build up/whats best faucet brand for minimum build up ?

[tototalitarian]

I have a 2yr old kitchen water faucet that has excessive build up of scale from our 250 ppm CaCO3 water hardness in our area.
The faucet swivels left and right, and is starting to build up some resistance.
I guess I dismantle it an vinegar it all , but I dont want to do this every two years.
Is there a brand of faucet you gents prefer that make servicing easier or not as affected by the build up of lime deposits ?

I see many mention Delta , and for Moen cartridges seem to be a pain based on what I read.
There is an Aqua-Touch faucet that I saw on ****.... for $63 shipped -from China, but was a home depot unit.
I am willing to pay up to $200 for a pull-out spray unit.
here is the **** link if interested
http://cgi.****.com/CHROME-Kitchen-F...QQcmdZViewItem
to see the link above you are going to have to insert the letters as follows, but without the spaces...looks like the website forbids this. (I am not affiliated with the website site is e b a y )
Thank you

[jimbo]

First, buying a faucet from the website-by-the-bay is a crap-shoot. You don't know if any little pieces are missing, and you have no one to turn to for warranty and parts issues.

I don't have any preference for any brand as far as the mineral buildup. You have very hard water, and without a softener, you will have ongoing problems.

Delta's are easy to service. Any brand of pull-out spout is going to have issues in the spray selector with all that hardness.

[Redwood]

Ummm wouldn't it make sense to install a softener so that you don't chew up your fixtures and pipes?

[hj]

Lime buildup occurs on the surface of the faucet therefore it makes no difference who made the faucet or what the surface is the result will be the same. Some finishes, such as white, may be better for blending with the encrustation but it will still be there.

[Gary Slusser]

If you think the faucet is bad, be glad you can't see inside the water heater, or in the fabrics you launder in your hard water. The hidden expense of living on such hard water is quite high and much less than buying a softener and feeding it some salt costs. I suggest a correctly sized one based on your family size, number of bathrooms and the type of fixtures you have, with a Clack WS-1 control valve on it. You can visit my web site for sizing information.

[tototalitarian]

Thanks for the response.

Will a softener reverse the condition of calcium deposit build up on my existing faucets?

[jadnashua]

A softener, after awhile, might take some deposits off the internal parts of your plumbing system (it will stop additional deposits), but will have NO effect on existing deposits on the outside of the pipes. The clean up of the insides of the pipes could take years. Basically, water itself is a solvent. The softener takes the stuff out, and that clean water has the (very minor and very slow) capacity to then disolve or hold more of the minerals as it flows through the pipes. There's no flow on the outsides of your pipes except at the spout as it exits, so it can't begin disolving anything. I would discount that ability totally...start with new, and it will stay that way longer with a softener. If you want to wait for it to clean things up, you'll be waiting a very long time.

[Gary Slusser]

A softener will prevent any more scale build up and the softened water will dissolve the scale in the system now. But not on the outside of the faucets. It will take some time but usually only a few weeks to months; especially in the water heater where it will be very thick.

You can prove that by doing hardness tests on your hot water. The hardness will become less over time.