Your limescale is not dirt. It is chemistry. Those chalky white marks on taps, shower glass and kettles are calcium carbonate, left behind every time hard water dries. London and the South East sit in one of the hardest water areas in the country, which is why it comes back so quickly no matter how often you wipe.
This is also why scrubbing harder rarely works. You are not lifting dirt off the surface, you are trying to shift a mineral that has bonded to it. Abrasive pads just scratch the chrome or glass and give future scale more to cling to.
The professional rule: dissolve, do not scrape
Limescale is alkaline, so a mild acid breaks it down chemically. White vinegar or a dedicated limescale remover, given time to dwell rather than wiped straight off, will soften the deposit so it lifts with almost no pressure. On glass, chrome and ceramic this is safe and highly effective. Patience does the work, not force.
One important caution
Never take an acid to natural stone such as marble, granite or travertine. Acid etches stone permanently and leaves dull marks that never come back. The same goes for waxed or oiled wood. Match the product to the surface, and keep acids for glass, ceramic and limescale only. We explain this in more detail in never clean these surfaces with vinegar.
How to keep it away
A quick squeegee on shower glass and a dry cloth over taps after use makes an enormous difference, because scale can only form where water is left to dry. For anything already built up, our regular cleaning keeps it in check, and every end of tenancy clean takes limescale back to zero, because it is one of the first things an inventory clerk looks for.