When water boils and evaporates, the inner surface of the kettle becomes covered with deposits of magnesium and calcium salts and metal particles. If long period If you don’t clean the kettle for a long time, the plaque layer becomes denser. This makes it difficult and sometimes impossible to remove. The accumulated layer of plaque has low thermal conductivity and therefore the water heats up slowly. Often because of this, the heating element in electric kettles breaks down. In addition, particles of adhering scale enter the body and have a detrimental effect on the renal and genitourinary systems. Today we will tell you how to descale a kettle at home.
How to remove scale from a kettle using folk remedies
Known today different methods, allowing you to remove unwanted scale deposits using both simple home remedies and specialized drugs household chemicals. For example:
- vinegar,
- carbonated drinks (Coca-Cola, Pepsi, etc.),
- by special means,
- citric acid,
- soda,
- brine
Now you know how to descale a kettle using vinegar.
Using carbonated drinks to remove scale
Many people have heard that rust and scale can be removed with our favorite carbonated drinks: Sprite, Fanta, Cola. Thanks to their aggressive properties, you can easily clean the scale inside the kettle. However, electric kettles cannot be cleaned using this method. The use of these drinks leads to their malfunction. It is better to clean deposits from the inner surface of an enamel kettle with colorless Sprite. After colored drinks, it is possible to coat the enamel with colored stains.
Before cleaning, the sweet drink must be opened and left until the gases are completely released. Afterwards, the container is half filled with soda and begins to boil within a few minutes. Then the liquid must be poured out and the kettle must be rinsed thoroughly. To be more sure, the cleaning procedure is repeated.
How to descale a kettle using special means
You can remove scale from inside the kettle not only with folk remedies, but also with chemicals. Use the contents of the sachet strictly in accordance with the instructions on the label. At the end of the procedure, it is necessary to eliminate the residues chemical substance from a kettle by repeatedly boiling water.
How to clean a kettle using citric acid
This cleaning method is suitable for regular and electric kettles. But how to clean a kettle with citric acid at home? Mix one to two teaspoons of citric acid in one liter of water. The solution poured into the kettle should be boiled for several minutes. In case of poor detachment, the liquid is not drained, but left for an hour. For minor deposits, you can not boil the citric acid solution, but simply leave it for two to three hours. To clean the leftovers, you need to take a hard sponge, wash the inside of the dishes, add water and boil repeatedly.
Soda as the most affordable descaling agent
The older generation knows well how to descale a kettle with regular baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). Soda is a product in the form of finely resinous white powder. Getting soda into the human body is absolutely safe for health. You can only be poisoned by soda if you overdose it.
Baking soda has unique properties and can effectively clean a wide variety of household stains along with popular advertised products. Soda has the property of breaking down solid deposits of magnesium and calcium salts. As a result, the stone-scaled layer softens and is removed from the surface.
To clean a metal kettle with soda, 1 teaspoon of powder is mixed with 4 cups of boiling water. Place the dishes on low heat for 30 minutes. When the solution with soda boils, it is necessary to monitor the condition of the contents. If the water boils completely, soda will settle on the walls and the kettle may burn.
After the boiling time has elapsed, the fire under the kettle turns off. The dishes are washed, water is poured into them and boiled for half an hour. It is better to repeat the last procedure again for complete cleaning walls from sediment with soda. Otherwise, the taste of the brewed tea may deteriorate.
Descaling with intense attack
When using the kettle for a long time without cleaning, it is recommended to use the so-called intensive attack. It is strictly forbidden to clean electric kettles using this method.
Dishes with water to which added baking soda in the amount of 1 tablespoon, put on high heat until it boils. After boiling it lasts 30 minutes over low heat. Then the solution is poured out, water with 1 tablespoon of citric acid is poured into the kettle to the brim. The resulting solution is boiled for 30 minutes. The process is repeated again, but with 1/2 cup of vinegar. Usually, in this way, the scale is removed completely without a trace or becomes loose and can be washed with a sponge.
Descaling with brine
You can effectively remove the accumulated layer with tomato and cucumber brine. It is poured into a kettle and boiled for half an hour. Further steps are the same as in the methods described above. The acid content allows you to get rid of hard deposits of salts on surfaces and rust.
Before getting rid of scale in the kettle, be sure to warn your family about your intentions in order to eliminate the slightest chance of someone accidentally consuming the contents. We wish everyone to drink exceptionally good quality water.
Of course, you can periodically remove scale from the kettle, but it is better not to allow it to form. To do this, timely prevention should be carried out. An example of the simplest and most economical method:
- Filling the kettle with filtered water. However, over time, scale will begin to appear, but it will not be so significant.
- After using water, any remaining water must be poured out of the kettle. It is undesirable to store water in it for a long period of time, especially overnight.
- Be sure to wash the outside and inner surface kettle every day with a non-metallic hard sponge so as not to damage the enamel coating. If you have a catastrophic lack of time, get rid of scale once or twice a month. Remember! Removing a thinner layer is much easier!
I hope the above cleaning methods helped you solve the problem of how to descale a kettle at home without using expensive household chemicals.
In winter, the kettle turns into a “workhorse”, because not a single evening is complete without a cup of aromatic hot drink. The more often you use it, the more scale you can notice on the walls. Every housewife needs to know how to remove scale from a kettle, because it not only destroys the aesthetic beauty of the dishes, but also harms the health of your family members. The electric kettle is especially susceptible to danger, since scale formed on the spiral will lead to its rapid breakdown. If you think that an expensive filter installed will protect your dishes, you will be bitterly disappointed.
What does scale consist of?
About the dangers of unrefined tap water everyone knows, but it is impossible to completely abandon it. This is not only very expensive, but also inconvenient. That's why most people are content installed filters or filter jugs. Neither one nor the other purifies the water from salts, which settle inside absolutely any kettle on the walls and bottom. In an electrical appliance, an unpleasant white coating will remain directly on the heating relay (spiral).
The salts contained in water undergo a chemical reaction when heated. They turn into carbon dioxide and a precipitate that does not dissolve. All this subsequently turns into a hard coating that is not so easy to remove. It reduces the heat transfer of the steel from which the metal kettle is made, which leads to severe overheating of the material and its subsequent destruction. The same thing happens with the heating coil that heats water in an electric kettle: the resulting layer of plaque does not allow the heat of the relay to pass through to the water, as a result of which it overheats and stops working.
The most effective ways to combat scale
The simplest, at first glance, but the most ineffective is mechanical method cleansing. Trying to peel off layers of plaque with a hard metal object, you will damage the walls and bottom of a regular kettle, and remove the protective layer from the relay. It’s better to “be smart” and find an effective one that suits you chemical method. Don’t think that you have to buy a special product that will hurt your wallet. You already have all the substances that help you get rid of scale in your kettle once and for all at home, or you can buy them at your nearest store for pennies.
Effective “fighters” against scale on kitchen items:
- "Coca-Cola" (or any other sweet drink with gas);
- vinegar (any);
- lemon acid;
- brine;
- potato peel.
All of these remedies will save you from dangerous and harmful scale at home. You just need to know how to use these solutions.
1. Baking soda
Regular baking soda - " Lifebuoy"in most household, culinary and even cosmetic issues. You can't find a replacement for it in the kitchen. Cleaning with soda cannot be called gentle, so it is not suitable for any material. Such a solution can be boiled in a metal enamel teapot, but for electrical appliances he is too "hard".
Fill a full kettle of water so that all areas with deposits are covered with it. The amount of powder depends on the volume of the vessel. Take 1 tbsp. l. for every 2 liters of water. After the water has boiled, reduce the gas so that the water does not boil away and set aside 30 minutes. Plaque flakes will be noticeable in the drained water, and the walls and bottom of the vessel will be noticeably transformed. After this procedure, you need to “idle” boil the water twice, since the remaining soda inside can cause poisoning.
2. Sweet soda
Everyone has heard more than once that Coca-Cola works real miracles in everyday life, corroding grease, plaque, rust and all other deposits. Any of the “trinity” of famous American drinks will do: Coca-Cola, Fanta and Sprite. Many housewives who have tried this method in their kitchen advise using only Sprite and not Coca-Cola, since the first drink does not have dyes that can transfer to the surface of the dishes.
Before boiling the cola, it needs to be given the opportunity to “fizzle out” a little. Pour the soda into the kettle, wait until the bubbles stop appearing, and then just turn on the gas. You need to pour the liquid not to the brim, but to half. Boil for no more than 20 minutes, then boil the water twice “idle”. Along with it, the remaining plaque will be removed. It’s better not to try to descale an electric kettle in such an amateur way.
3. Vinegar
Acetic acid is considered the most popular means of combating scale build-up at home. With its help you can clean not only a metal, but also a glass teapot. However, boiling water with vinegar for an electric kettle is strictly contraindicated. Mix 100 ml of vinegar with a liter of water and pour into the kettle, bring it to a boil over low heat, then leave for another 15 minutes. The most important rule: after such cleaning, you need to thoroughly wash the vinegar itself. To do this, you need to boil at least three portions of water.
4. Citric acid
If you need to descale your electric kettle, this is the best best option. Citric acid can be used simply for prevention, then you will not have to resort to emergency measures. Once a month, fill the electric kettle with water with 1 diluted sachet of citric acid or half a whole lemon.
If you missed, and scale covered a heating element, A plastic covering there is a coating inside, you need to dilute 2 bags of citric acid in one liter of water and bring this solution to a boil 5 times. After this, the kettle must be thoroughly rinsed using “idle” boiling water, since the remaining acid can cause poisoning. Citric acid can be used to clean not only electric, but also metal kettles.
5. Brine
After the holidays, there is plenty of such goodness in every kitchen. Do not rush to pour the brine out of the jar after you have run out of cucumbers or tomatoes. The electric kettle will easily endure this procedure. Pour the brine inside the vessel and boil it 3-4 times. Not only will the scale come off, but also a layer of rust. This acid can be used to clean not only teapots, but also other dishes.
6. Potato peelings
This method cannot be called the most effective, but for owners of teapots with an enamel coating, it is a “savior”. Peel the skins of 3 potatoes into a bowl, wash off all the dirt, boil over low heat and immediately turn off the gas, but do not drain the water. Let it sit for at least 2 hours. This method is recommended as a preventive measure. This infusion can “scare off” plaque, but it will not be able to destroy scale.
The methods described above for combating harmful formations on the walls of dishes have helped many housewives. They are simple, yet effective. Why buy specialized product, if you can use traditional methods? Top tip: don't let your cookware get too hot. "Disease Prevention better treatment“- such a proverb can be applied not only in medicine, but also in everyday life. Just a couple of minutes a month will save your health and ensure long-term performance of your kettle.
Over time, almost all the water in the kettle leaves limescale. It manifests itself in the form of salt deposits on the walls of the kettle or heating element, if we are talking about an electric kettle. In any case, this phenomenon has an unpleasant effect on the operation of the ten, appearance products. That is why every owner of a heating device periodically faces the problem of how to descale a kettle.
In addition to the fact that scale looks unsightly and spoils the appearance of the kettle, its presence harms the family budget:
- due to scale, a longer period of time is needed for the kettle to boil;
- the presence of scale will cause the kettle to fail faster;
- if scale builds up, the electric kettle may turn off spontaneously;
- the presence of scale spoils the color of water and affects the quality of drinks prepared from it (tea and coffee).
Methods for descaling
You can remove scale from a kettle in several ways, both traditionally and using special means.
Household chemicals
Household chemical stores offer wide choose detergents to remove scale. Instructions are included with each of them. Most often, the product is added to the kettle along with water and boiled for a certain period of time. All of them have almost the same names: “Antiscale” or some derivatives. When choosing a product for an electric kettle, make sure that there are certain additives that prevent the destruction of metal elements.
Before the advent of special products, each housewife used her own, proven over the years, which is available in every kitchen. Let's look at the most popular ones.
Lemon acid
Removing scale with citric acid is easy. This is the method that helps in solving the problem of how to descale an electric kettle. To do this, add 100 g of citric acid to the kettle and let it boil. The liquid in which citric acid is dissolved is not poured out. It should stay in the kettle for several hours, preferably until it cools completely. After a certain period of time, the liquid is drained, and the loose deposits from the action of citric acid are removed.
If there is no citric acid, it can be replaced with lemon slices. To remove plaque, boil 3-4 cloves in a kettle and leave the lemon water until it cools completely.
Food vinegar
To remove scale, you can use not only regular vinegar, but also other derivatives, such as apple cider vinegar. However this method cannot be used for electric kettles.
The technology is simple. Pour half a glass of table vinegar and boil for 10 minutes. After the kettle has been thoroughly rinsed and easily descaled with a hard sponge, the device can be used to prepare hot drinks.
Baking soda
Ordinary baking soda in the amount of one tablespoon is poured into the heating element, the scale is destroyed after boiling for half an hour.
Powerful Recipe
If the scale layer is significant, use A complex approach. First, use soda, rinse, add vinegar, remove again and move on to citric acid. It is worth noting that this method is very effective. Accompanied by a violent reaction with the release of bubbles. All scale, even very old scale, turns into a gray loose sediment. It is advisable not to use the method for heating elements of an electric kettle.
Pickle brine
The remaining marinade from tomatoes or cucumbers contains vinegar or citric acid. The brine itself can be used to remove scale.
Modern way
The experience of cleaning heating devices using modern thirst quenchers is interesting. Regular Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta are left open so that the gas comes out. Bring sweet drinks to a boil and remove scale with a regular sponge.
Peeling potatoes and apples
To remove scale in a kettle, you can boil finely chopped potato and apple peelings for several minutes. Leave the liquid to cool for several hours. The method can be used for both enamel cookware and electric kettles.
Wood ash
A good descaling agent is wood ash. It is not boiled, but simply rubbed into a coating of salt. Then the scale is removed with a hard sponge.
Even if you have a home water filtration system and only boil purified water to make tea,
It is still impossible to avoid scale formation. Filters are not able to eliminate all substances dissolved in water that are responsible for the formation of lime deposits.
And sooner or later you will find that the walls and bottom of your favorite whistling kettle or the heating element of an electric boiler are covered with a layer of dirty yellow plaque. This means it’s time to remember how to descale a kettle and restore its cleanliness both outside and inside.
When cleaning, do not forget that not all products are equally suitable for conventional and electric vessels.
Why you need to remove limescale
There are several reasons for this, and each is quite serious.
- The limestone layer prevents heat transfer. While this is not fatal for an ordinary stainless steel kettle, an electric one can simply burn out. Heat from the spiral or disk is not transferred to the water, and the metal is subjected to thermal overload. In conventional kettles, this increases gas consumption: the water heats up more slowly.
- A layer of scale makes it difficult to keep the vessel clean. Particles of limescale sediment end up in your cup, and all this debris is not at all beneficial for the body.
Descaling products
You can buy ready-made descaling products in the store. Some of them are quite effective, others may not give the desired effect.
And this depends not so much on the quality of household chemicals, but on other parameters: the composition of the water in your water supply, the thickness of the layer of lime deposits, etc.
How to descale a kettle at home
Lime deposits can be successfully removed using simple and cheap means:
- citric acid;
- canteen or apple cider vinegar;
- soda;
- lemons, apple peels or potato peelings;
- pickle from cucumbers or tomatoes;
- carbonated drinks: Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fantoy.
♦ Citric acid You can descale any kettles: stainless steel, ceramic, enameled, electric plastic or glass. This simple substance removes small to medium build-ups.
Ingredients: water - approximately 500 ml and citric acid - 1-2 tbsp. spoons (depending on the degree of contamination).
Pour water into the kettle and boil, then pour citric acid into the boiling water and wait until the water cools down for about 1-2 hours (be careful - acid that gets into hot water, “hisses”). If the scale is not old, it will come off on its own, otherwise you will need to put in a little effort: carefully clean the walls and bottom with a plastic sponge or brush.
Hard metal sponges cannot be used to remove scale.
Citric acid can be replaced fresh lemons: Coarsely chop one or two lemons, boil them and leave until cool.
♦ Manufacturers of electric kettles do not recommend using vinegar to remove mineral deposits - after all, it is too aggressive. But sometimes you can’t do without this powerful remedy.
The method is suitable for: plastic, glass and metal teapots with very big amount old scale.
Ingredients: water - approximately 500 ml and vinegar 9% - a little less than 1 glass or vinegar essence 70% - 1-2 tbsp. spoons.
Pour water into the kettle and boil it, then pour acetic acid into the boiling water and leave the scale to soak in the solution for 1 hour. If the scale does not come off on its own, but only loosens, then it will need to be removed with a sponge. Be sure to boil water in a clean kettle once or twice and then rinse it thoroughly to remove any remaining vinegar.
♦ Enameled and aluminum cookware is afraid of aggressive acids, so the first 2 methods of removing limescale are not suitable for them, but the usual one can help you soda solution .
The method is suitable for: descaling both in conventional enamel and aluminum kettles, and in any electric kettles.
Ingredients: baking soda, or preferably ash soda - 1 tbsp. spoon, water - approximately 500 ml (the main thing is that it covers all the limescale).
Recipe 1: To remove scale from the walls of an enamel or aluminum kettle, you must first mix soda with water, then bring this solution to a boil, and then leave it to simmer over low heat for half an hour. At the end of the procedure, wash off the remaining soda by boiling it once clean water, drain it and rinse the kettle.
Recipe 2: To clean an electric kettle with soda, you need to boil water, make a soda solution, and then let it cool for 1-2 hours. A more gentle way is to pour soda into boiling water, and then leave the solution until it cools completely - during this time the mineral deposits will become softer, and it will be easier to wash them off by hand.
♦ Small deposits are successfully removed boiling apple peels or potato peelings.
This product is suitable either for preventative care or if the limescale deposits are still weak.
The method is suitable for: descaling conventional enamel and metal kettles.
Ingredients: apple, pear or potato peelings.
I put block, pear or washed potato peelings in a kettle, fill with water and bring to a boil. As soon as the water boils, leave the peel to cool for 1-2 hours, and then wash off the softened plaque with a sponge.
♦ Copes well with layers of scale cucumber or tomato pickle. The organic acids it contains dissolve lime deposits. But then it’s quite problematic to eliminate the smell of pickles, and it doesn’t harmonize well with tea and coffee.
♦ Carbonated drinks Excellent dissolution of persistent limestone layers due to the content of orthophosphoric acid. Many people know that Coca-Cola can be used to clean not only a kettle, but also other household items from scale and rust.
Coca-Cola removes old grease stains in the sewer system, it dissolves traces of rust on old bathtubs and washbasins, etc.
The method is suitable for: descaling in ordinary stainless steel kettles and electric kettles, but for enameled and tin kettles - with caution. If you want to descale a white kettle, it is better not to do it with Coca-Cola or Fanta. These intensely colored liquids leave a colored coating on light-colored materials, which will have to be dealt with separately. Take a better colorless soda: Sprite, 7UP. The effect will be the same as when cleaning with Coca-Cola, but without the color consequences.
Before descaling the kettle with carbonated drinks, you need to remove all the gas from them. Open a bottle of Coca-Cola and leave it open for a few hours before you start cleaning. Otherwise, when the drink is boiled, it forms foam in such quantities that you will clean the kettle not only from the inside, but also from the outside, and at the same time the entire kitchen :).
This method is not the most effective and economical, but why not try it for fun?
How to deal with old deposits
The most powerful, oldest scale deposits are removed in several stages. You will need baking soda, citric acid solution and vinegar.
First, you wash the kettle outside and inside as much as possible. Then pour half a glass of soda inside, pour in water and boil the solution for about 20 minutes. You can leave the soda solution to cool, or drain it immediately. Baking soda itself does not remove scale; it will only help deal with thick deposits.
At the second stage of the fight against scale, you need to pour a solution of citric acid into the vessel: for 3 liters you will need about 40 g of powder. The acid and soda absorbed into the layers of scale will react. This will produce gas, the bubbles of which will loosen the limescale.
When you drain the citric acid solution, you can boil the kettle with the soda solution again, or you can immediately move on to the next step: treat the scale with vinegar, table vinegar or apple cider vinegar. Boiling with vinegar will dissolve the most stubborn layers. Pour a third of the volume of vinegar into the vessel, add the rest with water and boil for 30 minutes over low heat. Drain the solution and wipe the inside of the vessel with a medium-hard washcloth (not metal).
Cleaning the kettle from scale using vinegar.
After cleaning, you will have to thoroughly rinse the kettle and boil water in it two or three times, draining it. This method is only suitable for regular teapots, for electric ones it can be overly aggressive and destructive.
- Do not leave residual water in the kettle after use. This habit increases the amount of calcium deposits on the walls of the container. Pour water for plants or separately into a carafe and use cold, or boil the amount of water you want to use.
- The more often you remove scale deposits, the easier it will be. Descale the kettle at least once a month if the water is of medium hardness and once every two weeks if the water is hard. This will help preserve the device and extend its service life.
- Use only filtered or distilled water for boiling.
- Wash the inside of the kettle with a washcloth after each boiling of water to remove the slightest traces of scale.
How to remove scale from a kettle? Vinegar, citric acid or Coca-Cola? Checking traditional methods fight scale!
PS. Buy an electric kettle with a closed spiral or heating disk. They are much easier to care for than models with an open spiral. It will also be easier to remove the scale that appears.
Note to the owner.
Scale is formed due to the fact that the water contains a large amount of salts, which settle on the bottom, walls and heating coil of the kettle.
The accumulation of scale inside the kettle will cause it to take much longer to heat the water. And over time, when the layer of scale thickens, the kettle may break.
At home, the following are used to remove scale:
If you do nothing, such an electric kettle will only last a year and a half. To prevent it from breaking down prematurely, you need to know how to remove scale from an electric kettle.
Method one is the easiest
Many housewives know how to descale an electric kettle. We offer the simplest and effective method which will take a little time:
Baking soda works well against scale - Fill a kettle with water and add 1 tablespoon of baking soda.
- After the kettle boils, let it sit for 20 minutes, then drain the water.
- Then fill the kettle with fresh water with 20 grams of citric acid.
- Boil the kettle in the same way and let it sit for half an hour.
After this procedure, rinse the kettle. If the scale has not disappeared, then its structure has become loose, and you can easily clean the kettle with a regular sponge.
Method two – “grandmother’s method”
Of course, our grandmothers did not know how to clean an electric kettle from scale - there were no electric kettles at that time)). But this method of cleaning copper teapots will also work for us. So we need nine percentage solution acetic acid, or more simply, vinegar.
- First, fill the kettle 2/3 with water, the remaining third is vinegar.
- Let the water boil and then leave the kettle until the water cools down. After some time, the scale in the electric kettle will dissolve. This is due to the fact that the acid contained in vinegar will react chemically with salts and decompose them into simple substances.
- However, do not forget to rinse the kettle thoroughly after this, as acetic acid will remain on its walls and then enter your body with the tea.
Method three - using soda
Perhaps the most unconventional way to descale an electric kettle. However, according to many housewives, this method is very effective.
To perform this cleaning, you will need a liter of colorless carbonated water, like Sprite. Pour the soda into the kettle and boil. And the scale in the electric kettle will disappear!
The key point here is to purchase colorless soda. Be careful - the dyes contained in colored sodas will remain on the walls of the kettle when boiled, and it will be even more difficult to wipe them off than to get rid of scale.
Method four - citric acid
Do you want to know how to descale an electric kettle using regular citric acid?
- Pour one packet of acid into a full kettle and boil.
- Drain this liquid and rinse the kettle with running water.
- Boil regular tap water a couple of times and pour it out.
You only need one packet of citric acid This method is based on the same chemical reaction, as when using acetic acid. Removing scale from an electric kettle may not happen immediately - after all, this is a gentler method. To do this, repeat the procedure again until the vessel is completely cleansed of salts. Also, do not forget to rinse the kettle after this procedure.
Method five - household chemicals
In addition to manual cleaning, you can also resort to using all kinds of chemicals. The household chemical store knows how to remove scale from an electric kettle.
- "Descaler"
- Major Domus
- "Antiscale: deep cleaning."
However, this method may not bring the expected result, and the money will be wasted. The kettle may not be cleaned due to the fact that the layer of scale has already sufficiently corroded the body and heating element.
And finally
With these simple tips you will be able to descale your electric kettle, but do not forget that the procedure will need to be repeated at certain intervals.
And remember, before you descale your electric kettle, you should warn your family members, as one of them may inadvertently make coffee from boiled Sprite, or worse.
There are many more methods for removing scale from electric kettle, however, not all of them are effective. Remember that if you use untested methods, you risk getting the opposite effect and your kettle may become completely unusable.