How to remove limescale on a kettle? Video
As a rule, after several months of using the kettle, limescale forms inside it – a gray dense coating that is almost impossible to clean with a dishwashing detergent. How to get rid of plaque and prevent its further appearance?
Kettle limescale: how to remove
In hardware stores, you can buy special cleaners to clean the teapot from plaque (Anti-scale, Cinderella, and so on). Their method of use is quite simple: pour the product into a kettle, add water and bring to a boil. But many housewives try not to use chemistry where simple and safe home remedies can do.
Scale dissolves in acid, so you can get rid of it with a weak solution of vinegar, citric acid or lemon juice. In order to clean the kettle, you need to pour water into it and add a bag of citric acid, or 1-2 teaspoons of vinegar essence, or a lemon, cut into 6-8 parts. Boil water in a kettle, wait 20-30 minutes, then drain the cleaning solution. After this operation, the scale will become loose and soft, and the kettle can be cleaned with a regular dish sponge or steel wool.
Often, to remove scale, it is recommended to boil carbonated drinks in a kettle – Pepsi-Cola, Sprite, Fanta, and so on. The active ingredient in this case is citric acid, which is part of sweet soda.
After that, pour fresh water into the kettle, boil it and pour it out – this will get rid of the remaining cleaning solution. If you used vinegar to clean the kettle, then repeat this operation one or two more times until the characteristic vinegar smell is no longer felt.
If the scale is too thick, it may not come off the first time. In this case, it is necessary to soften the layers. Pour water into a kettle, add 2-3 tablespoons of baking soda, bring to a boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes. If you are using an electric kettle with an automatic shut-off, bring the water to a boil 3-4 times at intervals of 3-5 minutes. Wait until the baking soda solution has cooled, pour out, remove the loose scale and repeat the treatment with the acid solution.
How to prevent limescale build-up
The reason for the appearance of scale is the presence of calcium and magnesium salts (hardness salts) in the water. The higher their concentration in the water, the faster the kettle becomes overgrown with scale. Which, by the way, can serve as one of the markers of the poor quality of tap water.
And the only way to combat this problem is to use less hard water for boiling: either purchase a household water filter, or use only bottled drinking water for cooking.