Every housewife should know how to descale a kettle. Unfortunately, sufficiently effective methods have not yet been invented to prevent the appearance of limescale on the walls and heating element of a functional apparatus. By filtering the water, as well as regularly rinsing the container with a weak solution of soda or citric acid, you can only slightly reduce the rate of scale formation. Fortunately, there are many cleaning methods that allow you to restore the device even at home. Before you replace your old device with a new one, you should try one of them.
Causes and consequences of scale formation
Limescale deposits form equally actively in teapots of all types and designs. Only if it is an electrical appliance, a layer of scale covers mainly a heating element. In a stainless steel container or its enameled equivalent, sediment covers the bottom and walls to the level to which water is poured. The harder the water is used (high salt content), and the more often it is boiled, the faster the problem becomes obvious.
If you do not try to wash the container, you will very soon have to face the following consequences:
- An electrical device can become unusable from such exposure. This is due to the fact that plaque blocks contact of the heater with water and the steel is constantly heated to prohibitive temperatures. In the end, the element simply burns out
- The lime composition, entering the human body, begins to cause negative reactions. If you do not remove the scale in the kettle in a timely manner, you can provoke the development of a disease of the excretory system.
- Under the influence high temperatures Chemical reactions constantly occur in the composition of scale, which causes the taste and smell of boiled water gets worse over time.
Tip: Regardless of what cleaning product was used for cleaning the kettle, after carrying out the manipulation in the container, you need to boil it at least twice clean water. Only then will it be possible to use the device for its intended purpose without the risk of spoiling the taste of the drink or causing an upset stomach.
Of course, to get rid of scale in a kettle, you can purchase special chemical products that are offered in household goods stores today. And yet, practice shows that the problem can be solved using folk remedies. Moreover, the result will be no less high-quality, and the risk of unpleasant consequences will be minimal.
Simple but effective ways to remove scale
When preparing to work with citric or acetic acid, baking soda and other popular reagents, you need to take into account the type of material from which the kettle is made. Among the most gentle options for exposure at home, approaches based on the use of such products are especially popular:
- Use of citric acid. This product can be used when working with any materials, even plastic. We dilute 1-2 teaspoons of the reagent in 1 liter of water. For larger containers the same proportions apply. Fill the kettle with the resulting solution and turn it on. The composition should be boiled no more than 1-2 times. During this time, the plaque will come off and the surfaces of the product will be renewed.
- Cleansing with Coca-Cola and other carbonated drinks. This method is known to many, but not everyone follows the subtleties of the manipulation. First of all, the container with the drink must be opened so that most of the gases are released. Then fill the kettle with Coca-Cola to about halfway (traces of scale should be completely covered) and bring the contents to a boil. All that remains is to wash the walls with a soft sponge. It is worth considering that from such an impact Electric kettle may break. And to clean light-colored products, you should not use Coca-Cola or Fanta, they can stain the metal.
- Treatment with soda. The best option for processing enameled and metal containers. Simply fill the kettle with water, add a tablespoon of baking soda and bring to a boil. The mass must be boiled for another half hour, using very low heat. Then the device should be removed from the stove and cooled in a natural way. All that remains is to drain the liquid and clean the container manually. You can do no more than 3 approaches. If the procedure does not help, other treatment options are used.
- Using brine. Simple and available method. To remove scale from a kettle, you need to fill it with brine from pickled tomatoes or cucumbers and boil the contents.
- Purification based product. To remove light whitish plaque, you should use apple or pear peelings, and more dense ones, potato peelings. We put them in a container, fill them with water and boil them, then remove them from the stove (unplug them) and let them sit for two hours.
The above methods are considered the most gentle at home. But they should only be used if absolutely necessary. It’s better to just regularly wash the device inside and out with a citric acid solution (1 sachet per 1 liter of water). There is no need to boil the liquid!
Aggressive methods for removing limescale
In cases where the recipes described above do not help, you have to use more drastic methods to solve the problem. Before you descale the kettle with vinegar, it is worth considering that if it has a plastic or glass body, the consequences can be very unpredictable. It’s better not to take risks and use such approaches only when working with metal products.
- Cleaning with vinegar. For 1 liter of water, take half a glass of vinegar, pour the solution into a kettle and bring to a boil over low heat. After this, we evaluate the degree of plaque removal and, if necessary, extend the manipulation for another quarter of an hour.
- Using vinegar, baking soda and citric acid. If you have run out of methods, and removing the plaque has not led to anything, you need to do the following. Alternately boil water in a kettle with soda (a tablespoon per liter), citric acid (a tablespoon per liter) and vinegar (0.5 cups per liter). The exposure time in each case is half an hour. Treating with soda, lemon juice and vinegar will at least soften the scale, allowing you to scrub it off with a sponge.
There are as many housewives as there are recipes for cleaning teapots. Some are ready to clean the product with the help of Whiteness, after which they spend a lot of time eliminating the persistent chlorine odor. The approach is, of course, effective, but can lead to permanent damage to the material.
How to get rid of scale in a kettle? This question worries many. By and large, it would not arise at all if the water were absolutely chemically pure, that is, H2O without any impurities. But, unfortunately, this is not so. There are many inclusions in the water that comes from a tap anywhere.
The so-called hardness of water is determined by the amount of calcium ions in calcium bicarbonate, which is found in water in the form of a solution. It is this solution that has settled on the walls of the container that a person wants to get rid of. Properly installed will help you get rid of this problem: water purification for your home will be the ideal solution for you, and you will not think about how to get rid of scale.
Scale is formed when hard water, that is, water with foreign inclusions, is heated according to the following scheme: the decomposition of magnesium and calcium bicarbonates, their transformation into carbonates of a high degree of insolubility, after which they form a precipitate in the water and concentrate on the internal surfaces of water heating devices. Naturally, insoluble compounds are quite persistent, so they are not so easy to get rid of, and therefore must be produced.
Scale forms on the inner walls of containers, can clog openings, significantly increases gas or electricity consumption when heating, for example, a kettle, and generally spoils appearance. The average person thinks about solving the problem of how to get rid of scale almost every day. To find a solution you need to turn to the most radical methods and tricks. There are many of them, let's look at the most popular and interesting of them.
To begin with, you can simply pour water into a container, add citric acid to it at the rate of 1 teaspoon per 1 liter of water, boil, leave for half an hour, then boil again. Now you can pour out the water and rinse the scale-free container. If desired, replace citric acid with vinegar at the rate of 1-2 tablespoons per 1 liter of water.
You can also use special anti-scale preparations, which the market abounds in today; their use - effective method get rid of plaque for a long time.
To get rid of salts on the wall of the dishes, potato peelings will also work; the main thing is to thoroughly rinse them with water to remove any dirt. Place them in the container in which you want to get rid of scale, pour cold water and boil several times in a row.
You can rub in a paste of baking soda and cold water into the surface of the scale, then use a clean rag to moisten it with strong vinegar. The combination of soda and vinegar actively destroys scale. After treatment, loose scale must be removed wooden stick. However, with this method, if the scale layer is dense and thick, the procedure may have to be repeated several times in a row.
Do not rub the walls of the kettle or other utensils sandpaper or use concentrated acids such as sulfuric or hydrochloric. Abrasive cleaning products are not recommended, as they can cause damage to the inner surface of the kettle or other container that you decide to clean. In this way, you can get rid of not only the scale itself, but also the container you wanted to clean.
Oddly enough, to get rid of the unpleasant sediment, tomato, cabbage or cucumber brine is also suitable. It needs to be poured into a vessel and boiled for 2 hours. After this, the container must be washed first with cold water, then with hot water.
The most radical way, which will never make you think about how to get rid of scale, is to use well-purified water using a kettle or other containers for heating water. Thus, water without impurities will not form bicarbonates, which settle on the walls of the container, and which you want to get rid of, and there is no question of any scale. For this you can use various methods for water purification, including water filters. Another option is to purchase already purified water for various purposes, which is widely available on the market.
How to descale a kettle using vinegar? Pour 2/3 of water into it, as in the previous case, and table vinegar at the rate of 0.5 cups per liter of water. You can replace vinegar with vinegar essence. You need to take less of it, at a rate of 3 teaspoons per liter of water. Boil water, let it sit for an hour and drain it.
Old plaque will not come off on its own, so be prepared to rub some areas with a soft sponge. After the dishes are cleaned, fill it with clean water and boil it. Repeat the procedure 2-3 times.
When boiling water with vinegar, you may encounter an unpleasant odor. Therefore, if you decide to use this method, make sure that the room is well ventilated.
Soda for cleaning the kettle
Suitable for regular, enamel and electric kettles.
Pros: safe, affordable, very cheap way, with which you can get rid of old scale.
Cons: may lead to scratches on the surface; in order to get rid of stubborn scale, you will need to carry out the procedure several times.
How to remove scale from a kettle using soda? Fill half a kettle of water, add a tablespoon of soda, and put on fire. When the water boils, reduce the heat and let the water simmer for 20-30 minutes. Turn off the kettle and wait until the water has cooled, then drain it and wash the inside of the kettle well.
Clean the kettle with vinegar and soda
Suitable for metal and enamel teapots.
Cannot be used for electric kettles.
Pros: accessibility, simplicity and efficiency.>
Minuses: bad smell.
How to descale a kettle with vinegar and soda? Fill the kettle 2/3 with water, add soda at the rate of 1 tablespoon per liter of water. Bring it to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes. Pour out the boiled water and add new water, but now add 0.5 cups of vinegar to it per liter of water, and bring to a boil again and boil for half an hour.
After draining the water, go over the areas where plaque remains with a soft sponge, if necessary. Then rinse the dishes well.
Vinegar, soda and citric acid
Suitable for all types of kettles, except electric ones.
Pros: gets rid of old, stubborn plaque.
Cons: time consuming, unpleasant smell.
If the kettle is not electric, then, in my opinion, this is the most effective way to combat scale. But it is better not to run the kettle to such an extent that you have to resort to it. In order to clean the kettle, you will need to boil water in it three times for 30 minutes. The first time - with a tablespoon of soda, the second time - with a tablespoon of citric acid, the third time - with half a glass of vinegar. For each case, water should fill the container 2/3 full.
Using soda, citric acid and vinegar can remove scale of any degree. If there is a small amount of it left on the walls of the dish, you need to rub the area with a soft sponge. But it is better to avoid using hard metal brushes so as not to damage the surface of the dishes.
How to descale a kettle using Coca-Cola, Fanta or Sprite?
Suitable for all types of kettles, except electric ones. Caution must also be taken when cleaning enamel models. The fact is that most drinks contain dyes that can penetrate into the surface of the dishes and ruin them.
Pros: effective, affordable method.
Disadvantages: not suitable for all teapots; dyes can ingrain into the surface of the dishes.
I think that no one will be surprised by the fact that the drinks that children and adults love to drink are used to clean dishes from scale. I'll deviate a little from the topic, but have you thought about what is contained in these drinks, if they are able to clean plaque, which is not always possible to get rid of with the help of substances with an aggressive composition? I hope that most of us are wise people. They don’t buy these drinks, much less give them to children.
They contain citric acid, so these drinks can be used to get rid of plaque.
How to descale a kettle with Coca-Cola, Fanta or Sprite? To do this, fill the kettle halfway with one of the listed drinks and put it on the fire. Wait until the liquid boils, turn off the kettle and set it aside for 20 minutes, then pour out the contents and rinse it with water.
Apple or potato peelings
Suitable for enamel and metal, electric kettles.
Pros: accessibility.
Cons: does not help get rid of old plaque.
How to remove solid deposits of salts in a kettle using apple or potato peelings and is this possible? Apple and potato peels contain acids that can be used to clean dishes from plaque. However, in the case of old scale, this method will be ineffective.
If you notice traces of plaque that have just begun to appear on the dishes, place washed apple or potato peelings in it and fill them with water. Boil water and leave it in the bowl for 2 hours. Drain the cooled water and discard the cleaning material. If necessary, wipe the inside of the dishes with a soft sponge and rinse well.
Cucumber pickle and tomato
Suitable for all types of teapots.
Pros: affordable product.
Cons: unpleasant odor after heating the brine.
It turns out that there are people who use our pickle to remove scale from the kettle. To be honest, I would never use this method myself. But some may like it for its accessibility and waste-free nature. Well, we all react differently to smells.
You need to use a brine that contains citric acid or vinegar, so remember the canning recipe, and if you purchased the preserved food in a store, look at the label. Acid and vinegar do an excellent job of removing plaque and rust that appears from iron salts.
How to get rid of scale in a kettle? Fill the dish halfway with brine, bring it to a boil, wait until it cools, and drain. Clean the dishes with a soft sponge and wash well.
And now I suggest watching a video on how to descale a kettle at home.
I don't like chemicals, so I use natural products whenever possible. Of all the above methods for descaling, I most often use lemon or citric acid and soda. I chose them for myself because they are always at hand, remove plaque well and are safe for health.
Chemical descaling agents
Despite the safety and accessibility natural remedies, it is impossible to ignore the chemical ones, which housewives quite often use. And it's worth noting that they are also very effective.
Among the most effective and accessible chemical agents are “Cinderella” and “Antinakipin”. Their use is not much different from the natural remedies discussed earlier. They also need to be added to water according to the instructions, boiled, allowed to cool and rinsed well.
How to prevent scale formation
In order for making tea or coffee to bring only pleasure, and not thoughts about how to clean the kettle of scale, let's figure out how to prevent its occurrence. This can be done if you follow some recommendations:
Avoid using tap water, or at least use water that has settled. Running water is very hard. If possible, install a filter that will soften it. It's good if you use spring or melt water(or buy bottled);
Pour into the kettle as much water as you need for one time. There is no need to re-boil the water; replace it with fresh water;
Rinse dishes every time after or before boiling water. This will allow you to get rid of plaque as it appears.
Now we know how to clean a kettle from scale and prevent its appearance. I am sure that each of you will choose for yourself suitable way combating plaque, which not only spoils the appearance of your favorite dishes, but can also harm our body.
Dear readers, what methods do you use to remove scale? I would be glad if you share this in the comments.
In this video you can clearly see the entire process of descaling.
If after boiling there is a little scale left, believe me, the kettle will still look much better than before. So hurry up and try this method.
No matter how you purify and filter the water, it is unlikely that you will be able to avoid scale in the kettle. Due to scale, electric kettles break down more often and fail faster. At the bottom of conventional teapots (enamel, glass or stainless steel), a mixture of limestone deposits and rust forms, which also shortens the service life of the cookware. So how can you remove nickel in a kettle quickly and effectively? Let's figure it out.
Consequences of scale
Experts advise not to ignore the scale problem. Due to the fact that the sediment has low thermal conductivity, it does not allow water to contact the steel, so the heating element in the electric kettle (steel spiral or disk) becomes hot and quickly becomes unusable.
Besides frequent breakdowns electric kettles and the destruction of the walls of ordinary ones, scale entering the human body along with water negatively affects the functioning of the kidneys and urinary system. According to some reports, scale can accumulate in the kidneys and lead to the formation of stones.
Vinegar
Cleaning with vinegar is the most effective and quick way descaling, which is suitable for metal kettles. For 1 liter of water you will need 100 ml of food vinegar. The vinegar solution needs to be poured into a kettle and put on fire. After the water boils, you need to reduce the heat and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes, the time depends on the degree of contamination of the kettle. Then you should wash and rinse the kettle well and boil it 1-2 times without using water for cooking.
Lemon acid
Citric acid will help remove scale from glass teapot. You need to dilute 1-2 teaspoons of citric acid in 1 liter of water, pour the resulting solution into a kettle and boil. If the scale layer is quite large, the procedure will need to be repeated. Boil water in a clean kettle 1-2 times, and then rinse it well to remove any remaining acid.
Apple or potato peels
This type of cleaning is suitable for preventative maintenance when the scale deposit is not yet too large. Place washed potato or apple peelings in a kettle, add water and bring to a boil. After this, remove the kettle from the heat and let it sit with the solution for 1-2 hours. Then wash and rinse the kettle.
Soda
Carbonated drinks - Fanta, Coca-Cola, Sprite - clean dishes well. strong scale and rust. First, open the drink bottle and let it sit until the gas comes out. Then pour the soda into the kettle and bring to a boil. Let the kettle cool, wash it thoroughly and boil it with clean water. It is better not to use this cleaning method for electric kettles, but it is ideal for ordinary dishes.
Soda
For metal and enamel teapots, you can use soda cleaning. Fill the kettle with water and add 1 tbsp. l. baking soda, bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for 25-40 minutes, depending on the degree of contamination. Wash the kettle, boil water in it several times and rinse well to remove all remaining soda.
Brine
Brine from cucumbers or tomatoes perfectly removes scale and rust from iron. The cleaning process is quite simple: pour the brine into a kettle and boil over low heat for 20-30 minutes. Then you need to wash the kettle thoroughly, boil it with clean water and rinse thoroughly.
A solution of soda, vinegar and citric acid
Such cleaning will help to cope with particularly difficult and advanced cases. But you shouldn’t use this method very often and unless really necessary. Fill the kettle with water and add 1 tbsp. l. baking soda. Boil for at least 5 minutes and drain. Fill the kettle with citric acid solution (1 tbsp per kettle), boil over low heat for 30 minutes and drain the water. Warm up the kettle again with the vinegar solution (250 ml of vinegar per kettle) for at least 30 minutes. After such cleaning, the scale, even if it does not come off completely on its own, will become loose, and you can remove it with a foam sponge.
Preventing scale
To minimize descaling and keep the kettle in working condition for a long time, follow a few simple rules:
- Rinse the kettle daily, removing small deposits from it with a sponge;
- use purified and, if necessary, softened water for boiling (use a water filter);
- after boiling, drain the remaining water from the kettle, especially do not leave the water overnight;
- do not wait until a lot of scale has formed and its layer becomes thick and hard; the smaller the sediment, the easier it is to remove it.
Following these simple tips and using simple methods cleaning, you can remove scale from the kettle without spending a lot of time and money.
In any water heating device from time to time we discover a treasure trove of minerals, namely deposits of magnesium and potassium salts from hard water. And if we always try to prevent its occurrence in the dishwasher and washing machine, let alone scale in the kettle, which not only impairs its performance and leads to breakdowns, but also harms the health of household members.
We have collected 5 of the most effective and affordable ways to descale a kettle at home. In fact, the secret of all folk remedies is very simple:
- Scale in a kettle or electric kettle is afraid of organic and inorganic acids, therefore, almost all methods of descaling at home are based on the use of acid-containing solutions.
Method 1. How to descale an electric kettle using vinegar
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 a very large amount of old scale.
Ingredients: water - approximately 500 ml and vinegar 9% - a little less than 1 glass or vinegar essence 70% - 1-2 tbsp. spoons.
Recipe: pour water into a 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.
Method 2. How to descale an electric kettle using citric acid
The method is suitable for: cleaning electric kettles made of plastic, stainless steel and glass with light or moderate dirt.
Ingredients: water - approximately 500 ml and citric acid - 1-2 tbsp. spoons (depending on the degree of contamination). A quarter of a lemon can replace powdered acid.
Recipe: we also pour water into the kettle and boil it, then pour citric acid into the boiling water or put a quarter of a lemon 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. Remember to boil water in a clean kettle and then rinse it thoroughly.
Method 3. How to get rid of scale in a kettle of any kind using soda
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, preferably ash soda – 1 tbsp. spoon, water - approximately 500 ml (the main thing is that it covers the whole 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 clean water once, draining it and rinsing 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.
Method 4. How to descale a kettle using Coca-Cola and Sprite
This method is not the most effective and economical, but why not try it for fun?
The method is suitable for: descaling in ordinary stainless steel kettles and electric kettles, but for enameled and tin kettles - with caution.
Ingredients: any carbonated drinks with citric acid in the composition are suitable - from Coca-Cola to Fanta. But it is better to take colorless drinks, for example, Sprite or Schweppes.
Recipe: First, release the gases from the drink, then pour 500 ml of liquid into the kettle and let it boil, and then cool. The result of the experiment can be seen in this video.
Method 5. How to remove scale from a kettle using apple 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 ordinary enamel and metal kettles.
Ingredients: apple, pear or potato peelings.
Recipe: place apple, 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.