Descaling and water treatment for catering equipment

Because hard water contains dissolved minerals that come out of solution and deposit as limescale, especially when the water is heated. So equipment that heats water - dishwashers, combi ovens, boilers, water heaters - is particularly prone to scaling, and water-using equipment generally (ice machines and others) also accumulates scale over time. The limescale deposits on the equipment's internal surfaces, heating elements and water paths as it is used and heated, building up steadily. This is a widespread issue, because much of the country has hard water and catering equipment uses a lot of it. So in a hard-water area, water-using catering equipment steadily builds up limescale inside as an inherent consequence of using hard water - a progressive problem that worsens as the equipment is used without the scale being addressed, which is why descaling and water treatment are needed.

Three harmful things: it impairs performance, wastes energy, and eventually damages the equipment. Impairing performance - scale on heating elements insulates them, so the equipment may fail to reach the temperatures it needs (a dishwasher that cannot reach its sanitising temperature, a combi oven that steams poorly), and scale in the water paths restricts flow. Wasting energy - scale on elements insulates them, so they use more energy to heat the water to the required temperature, wasting energy on the same heating. And eventually damaging the equipment - scale build-up over time stresses and damages the equipment (elements working harder and hotter under the insulating scale can fail, scale can block and damage components), shortening its life. So limescale does real, escalating harm - degrading performance, running up energy costs, and heading towards breakdown - which is why it has to be addressed by descaling and water treatment.

Descaling removes scale that has already built up; water treatment prevents scale from forming. Descaling is a cleaning process that dissolves and removes the limescale from the equipment's elements, water paths and surfaces, done periodically to clear the accumulated scale and restore the equipment's performance and efficiency - it deals with existing scale by removing it. Water treatment prevents the scale forming in the first place, typically by treating the water supply with a water softener (removing the hardness minerals) or a scale-reducing filter, so the water entering the equipment deposits little or no scale - it deals with the cause (the hard water) preventively. So descaling is removal (clearing built-up scale) and water treatment is prevention (stopping scale forming). They are complementary: water treatment reduces how much scale forms, and descaling clears whatever does - together keeping the equipment scale-free. In a hard-water area, both are worthwhile.

Water-using catering equipment, especially that which heats water. This includes dishwashers and glasswashers (where scale can stop them reaching the sanitising temperature, a food-safety issue), combi ovens and steamers (where scale impairs the steaming and heating), boilers and water heaters (where scale reduces heating efficiency and can cause failure), ice machines (where scale impairs the ice-making), and other water-using equipment. So the descaling applies across the kitchen's water-using equipment - all of it can scale up in hard water and benefit from descaling to keep it working. The equipment that heats water is particularly prone to scaling (heating brings the scale out of the water), so it especially needs regular descaling. So in a hard-water area, the kitchen's water-using equipment - dishwashers, combi ovens, boilers, ice machines and the rest - should be descaled regularly to keep it free of the scale that would otherwise impair it, and ideally have its water treated to prevent the scale forming.

At a frequency matched to how fast the equipment scales up, which depends on the water hardness and how much the equipment is used. In a hard-water area with heavy use, equipment scales up faster and needs descaling more often; in a softer-water area or with lighter use, less often. The principle is to descale regularly enough that the scale does not build up to the point of significantly impairing the equipment, wasting energy, or heading towards damage - so before the scale becomes a serious problem, not after. Water treatment (softening or filtering the water) reduces how fast the scale forms, so it reduces how often descaling is needed. So the descaling frequency depends on the water hardness, the use, and whether the water is treated - and an equipment supplier or maintenance contractor can advise the right frequency for your equipment and water. The aim is to keep the equipment free of performance-impairing scale through regular descaling, at a frequency suited to how fast it scales.

In a hard-water area, yes - water treatment and descaling are complementary and both worthwhile. Water treatment (softening or filtering the water) prevents scale forming, so it reduces how much scale builds up - which means less descaling is needed, the equipment stays cleaner and works better between descales, and the equipment is protected from the scaling that would otherwise impair and damage it. Descaling alone removes the scale after it forms, but the scale keeps forming (and doing its harm) between descales; water treatment reduces that ongoing scaling at source. So the two together give a more complete protection than descaling alone: water treatment reduces the scaling (protecting the equipment and reducing the descaling burden), and descaling clears whatever scale still forms. In a hard-water area where the scaling is significant, water treatment is a worthwhile investment alongside descaling - preventing much of the scale, protecting the equipment, and reducing the descaling needed. So both are worth doing where the water is hard.