Antiscaling products containing mineral acids are very effective, particularly against rust that could come out of old leaky water pipes.
They must be used very cautiously, possibly the bare minimum, as acids most frequently present as ingredients – hydrochloric acid, sulphuric acid and phosphoric acid – are dangerous because of their strong corrosivity and their strong reactivity vs. alkaline products (like degreasers, ammonia, chlorine bleach). Particularly, if hydrochloric acid reacts with chlorine bleach, it results gaseous chlorine, which is strongly toxic and very dangerous if inhaled. Phosphoric acid is less dangerous than the others; however environmentally it is very concerning for its eutrophying effect, so its use should be avoided.
In order to prevent both toxicological and ecological problems, for daily or weekly cleaning it is better to use detergents containing organic weak acids like citric and lactic acid: they are milder but much safer, as they are much less corrosive – vs. both skin and hard surfaces – and less reactive towards alkaline products. Sometimes, with particular modalities, they are useful in treating rusty incrustations too. Actually the real difference between mineral and organic acids is the reaction speed, as the latter act in a slower way; that allows, however, to monitor their action easy, for ex. avoiding to damage hard surfaces sensitive to acids nearby.
As substitutes of descalers mineral acids-based, Bensos recommends Antiscaling Detergent code AC (foaming, aimed to bathroom cleaning), Descaler code AE (not foaming, for various maintenance), all citric acid-based, and Citric Acide code ACIT (pure, powder). Effective detergents, with no toxic emissions, respectful of user’s hands.
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