Everyone is faced with a situation where, after some time of using any type of kettle, a deposit is observed inside it. Even using special filters for water purification, you cannot avoid the presence of rock-salt deposits on kitchen utensils.
Such deposits increase the heating time of the liquid in the kettle, which, due to the boiled sediment, does not completely give off heat, overheats every time and soon breaks.
In addition, adhered salt particles are harmful to health, as they are deposited in the kidneys, stomach and liver, causing many diseases. It is important to take care of regular cleaning of the kettle so as not to poison the body and prevent constant breakdown of an expensive device.
Such plaque is difficult to wash off without additional funds but using the following effective option, the problem will be solved easily, and most importantly, quickly. from scale you can citric acid, this is an ecological product, the preparation of which is accessible to any housewife. This is one of the most popular types of cleaning. All store-bought anti-stone scale powders and liquids contain this acid, since although it removes scale, it does not spoil dishes and does not adversely affect human health.
An accessible recipe for effective cleaning: how to descale a kettle with citric acid
Depending on the type of kettle (electric, enameled, glass) and the amount of precipitation on it, various recipes for removing salt deposits are used.
Initial stage raid
Fill the bowl with water and add 20 to 40 grams of lemon substance to it. Boil for three minutes over low heat with the lid of the device slightly opened. Afterwards, let the contents cool (during this time the product will eat away the plaque and the dishes will be thoroughly cleaned), and then drain the mixture with the plaque removed. If the plaque is not completely removed the first time, repeat the procedure.
Sustained plaque
Triple combination - a radical method
First method: multi-layer plaque is difficult to remove, so use a “nuclear” triple mixture. Dissolve two tablespoons of soda in a liter of water and boil the device with this mixture for half an hour. Drain it and then fill the container with a liter of water with lemon powder (50 grams), wait at least three hours. Next you need to drain muddy water with sediment and rinse the dishes. After washing, clean the loose layer of salt deposits with soda, and then boil the dishes with a solution of grape vinegar. Remove the pasty residue with a wooden spoon or spatula and rinse the kettle.
Second method: Pour water into a bowl with plaque, dissolve a teaspoon of soda in it, boil and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. Drain the liquid, refill the kettle and add a tablespoon of acid, repeat the original process. On last stage remove the remains with table vinegar (half a glass).
Metal and plastic electrical appliance
An effective method for a metal electric kettle
There is another method for removing scale from an electric kettle. Initially, fill 1/2 kettle with 100-150 ml of table vinegar and water, wait 15-20 minutes, add one or two tablespoons of lemon substance into the mixture and boil. Let the mixture cool for 20 minutes and drain it, then wash the walls of the dishes with detergent. During the procedure, use gloves to avoid damaging the skin on your hands.
If you are afraid of damaging the dishes with vinegar, you can remove scale from the kettle in another way. Dissolve two teaspoons of citric acid in water and boil the solution until bubbles appear. Do not overexpose, as the heated mixture can damage the electrical appliance, and its vapors are dangerous for the lungs. Empty the kettle and remove any remaining stone deposits using a wooden spatula or sponge.
Result of application this method
Regular glass teapot
The most demanding kettle to care for
Such dishes are difficult to clean, since their surface is vulnerable to the slightest mechanical damage. It is correct to use the following gentle remedy: in the device, mix a tablespoon of lemon substance with the same amount of soda, add 90 ml of ordinary vinegar, pour everything with a liter of water and boil for 35–40 minutes. Next, wait until the kettle has cooled down a bit and clean it with the soft side of the sponge.
Method without boiling
If you regularly clean the kettle, you can clean it of salt deposits without prolonged boiling: to do this, fill the device with a mixture of a liter of water and 60 grams of citric acid and leave for 5 hours, or better yet, overnight. Afterwards, rinse the kettle, fill it with water and bring to a boil to remove any salt residue.
Advantages and disadvantages of these cleaning methods
- Soft cleaning;
- The solution is easily washed out;
- Non-toxic, since citric acid is consumed as food;
- Budget, affordable option;
- Effectively copes with salt deposits, brings the dishes to the same condition as they were when purchased;
- Removes even the oldest plaque.
Lemon is an excellent analogue to powder
Some people have doubts about the effect of citric acid on a child's health. There is an option that guarantees safety for small children - making such acid yourself. This method is more expensive, but safer. To do this, cut the lemon into thin rings (do not remove the skin), fill more than half of the device with water, add the sliced lemon and set to boil. Pour out the cloudy water and rinse the dishes. The amount of lemon depends on how dirty the kettle is. Another advantage of this method is the pleasant lemon smell for some time.
Having dealt with this, it is worth considering some recommendations correctly.
Firstly, the regularity of cleaning is proportional to the hardness of the water. If the water is soft, once is enough, if the water is hard, twice.
Secondly, to prevent the appearance of a thick layer of plaque, rinse the device after each use clean water, this will eliminate the complexity of descaling and save effort and time. For greater effect, carry out preventive maintenance as the device becomes dirty, sometimes filling it with an acid solution for half an hour.
We all use kettles: some are electric, and some are ordinary, which boil on a gas or. But, regardless of the type, scale will certainly form in it. And nothing can be done about it, not even the most modern filters will help, since they are designed to purify water from chlorine, some metals and particles of debris, and scale is not included in this list. After all, scale is a hard deposit that forms when water boils. Our water contains a large amount of hardness salts, which, when decomposed, release water-insoluble sediment and carbon dioxide. It is this sediment that settles on the walls enamel teapot and on an electric heating element.
There are many ways to clean teapots, but the most effective method is using citric acid. Let's find out how to clean a kettle with citric acid.
Cleaning the kettle with citric acid
White limescale, which may seem harmless at first glance, can cause quite serious harm to both our health and the equipment in which it appears. If plaque gets into the human body with water, it can negatively affect the functioning of the urinary system. In conventional kettles, a large layer of scale can prolong the process of boiling water, and the heating element in electrical appliance under a layer of hard deposits can quickly fail.
Citric acid for a kettle is an effective and safe product for human health that helps fight scale. Its action is based on chemical reaction between an alkali, which is the scale, and an acid, with the result that the acid destroys the scale.
As a rule, you can descale a kettle as follows:
- for cleaning, take one or two (depending on the amount of scale in the kettle) packages of citric acid;
- pour about two thirds into the kettle cold water and add citric acid;
- if the vessel is not too overgrown with scale, then the water and acid should be kept in the kettle for about 5 hours, then drained and boiled once or twice clean water;
- if there is a lot of scale, then boil the kettle with citric acid for 3-5 minutes;
- then drain the dirty water and thoroughly rinse the kettle with water;
- pour clean water, bring to a boil and drain, we carry out this procedure again before regular use.
If the kettle is not completely descaled after the procedure, you can use this method again. If you carry out such cleaning regularly every two to three weeks, then boiling may not be necessary. It will be enough to keep the citric acid solution in the kettle for 20 minutes, and all the scale will come off.
Have you tried to descale your kettle but couldn't get it completely clean? Then you can add baking soda to clean it. First you need to boil the kettle by dissolving 1 teaspoon of soda in water, then drain this water and pour in another, adding citric acid, and also boil. Now your kettle should be clean.
Sometimes it happens that rust and scale appear on the outer walls of the kettle. Apply the citric acid solution to a sponge and wipe the walls of the kettle with it.
You can use the traditional method of descaling using cucumber or tomato brine. The brine contains citric acid, which will do a great job of removing plaque and rust on a metal kettle.
There is another popular way to clean any kettles except electric ones: using Fanta, Sprite, or Coca-Cola. The bottle of drink must be opened for the gas to escape. Then the soda is poured into the kettle and brought to a boil. Then the kettle is thoroughly rinsed with clean water.
Arina Piskareva
Laboratory employee of the Department of Bioengineering, Moscow State University
Scale is mainly composed of calcium and magnesium carbonate. When interacting with citric, acetic, orthophosphoric or other acid, sparingly soluble carbonates of alkaline earth metals are converted into readily soluble salts. For example, acetates. Therefore, acidic substances are effective in the fight against scale, and to enhance the reaction they need to be heated.
Soda, when interacting with water, produces carbonic acid molecules, which, in turn, react with insoluble calcium and magnesium carbonates, turning them into soluble bicarbonates. And they are easily washed off with water and removed with a sponge.
1. How to descale with citric acid
- Suitable for any kettles, coffee machines, irons, washing machines.
- Proportions: teapots, coffee machines and irons - 10 g for every 100 ml of water; washing machines - 50 g per kilogram of load.
- pros: environmental friendliness, safety, availability, pleasant aroma.
- Minuses: does not cope with old, thick scale.
Fill the kettle with water about ¾ so that the liquid covers the deposits on the walls and heating elements, but does not splash out when boiling.
Pour citric acid into a kettle (100 g of powder for every liter of water) and boil.
Leave until completely cool. Drain the water, remove any remaining plaque with a sponge and wash thoroughly.
How to descale a coffee machine
For a coffee machine, it is necessary to prepare a solution of citric acid based on the volume of the water reservoir. For example, if the coffee machine is designed for 2 liters, you will need 200 g of citric acid.
Pour the hot solution into the tank and leave for 60 minutes.
After an hour, start the coffee program without the coffee itself. Drain the liquid through dispensers.
Then run the coffee machine with only water, without citric acid. As soon as you pour out the boiling water, you can use the device. If the coffee machine reservoir is removable, remove any remaining deposits under running water.
After the procedure, rinse the iron reservoir with running water and wipe the sole ammonia or nail polish remover.
To remove deposits from the heating elements and drum, you will need 50 g of acid per kilogram of load.
Pour ¾ citric acid (190g acid per 5kg load) into the powder tray and ¹⁄₄ (60g) directly into the drum. Run the wash at maximum temperature.
2. How to descale with table vinegar
- Suitable for glass and ceramic teapots, teapots made of of stainless steel, irons and washing machines.
- Proportions: teapots - 100 ml for each liter of water; irons - 1 tablespoon per liter of water; washing machines - 10 ml per kilogram of load.
- Plus: a more aggressive acidic environment removes even a thick layer of scale.
- Minuses: may damage rubber and plastic elements of devices, pungent odor.
How to descale a kettle
To clean the kettle, dilute vinegar in water and place on fire. After boiling, let it simmer for a few more minutes. Then drain the water, remove any remaining deposits with a sponge and cleaning agent, and boil clean water in a kettle.
Pour the warm vinegar solution into the water reservoir and, holding the iron horizontally, release the steam.
Boil a kettle of vinegar and release steam from the iron only in a well-ventilated area.
How to descale your washing machine
In the washing machine, pour vinegar (10 ml per kilogram of load) into the cuvette for conditioner or liquid powder. Run a wash without laundry at maximum temperature, and then rinse again to be sure to get rid of the specific aroma.
Vinegar can damage the rubber bands on the door, so be careful if you decide to pour the product directly into the drum. This can be done when there are no liquid reservoirs in the machine.
3. How to clean scale with soda
- Suitable for any kettles, coffee machines.
- Proportions: teapots and coffee machines - 1 tablespoon for every 500 ml of water.
- pros: accessibility, simplicity.
- Minuses: does not remove all types of plaque, does not cope with old deposits.
The mechanism for cleaning teapots and coffee makers with soda is simple: fill them with water, add soda and boil. In this case, it is recommended not to remove a regular kettle from the heat for another 20–30 minutes after boiling, and to turn on an electric kettle several times.
After the procedure, wash the inside of the kettle or coffee machine reservoir and boil clean water.
If the plaque is very strong, try a more alkaline soda ash instead of baking soda. Or add the same amount of salt to regular soda.
4. How to descale with soda water
- Suitable for any kettles, coffee machines, irons.
- Proportions: the vessels are filled approximately ¾.
- Plus: effective even with thick plaque.
- Minus: A colored drink may stain the vessel. Therefore, to clean irons and white plastic electric kettles, it is better to use clear soda, including mineral water.
How to descale a kettle or coffee machine
Open the bottle and wait until most carbon dioxide will disappear.
Pour the soda into the kettle or coffee maker reservoir, hold for 15–20 minutes, and then boil.
Thanks to phosphoric acid and carbon dioxide, sodas do a great job of removing salt deposits.
Pour the soda into the water reservoir, turn on the appliance, hold the iron vertically and release steam. If there is a lot of scale, do this several times.
5. How to clean scale with brine
- Suitable for any teapots.
- Proportions: The kettle must be filled ¾ full.
- pros: simplicity, accessibility.
- Minuses: does not cope with persistent plaque, specific smell.
The brine contains milk and acetic acid. Fill the kettle with strained cucumber or tomato brine and boil for 20–30 minutes.
After this, drain the brine and scale and wash the kettle with a soft sponge and cleaning agent.
6. How to clean scale with soda, citric acid and vinegar
- Suitable for any teapots.
- Proportions: 1 tablespoon of soda, 1 tablespoon of citric acid and a glass of vinegar per liter of water.
- Plus: even breaks up rock salt deposits.
- Minus: troublesome, strong smell, exposure of devices to aggressive components.
Fill the kettle with water, add citric acid and boil. If the kettle is electric, do this 2-3 times. If regular, let the lemon soda solution bubble for 20–30 minutes.
Drain and refill the kettle with water. Boil it and pour in vinegar. Leave for 15–20 minutes.
If after this the scale does not come off on its own, it will become loose. You can easily remove it with a sponge and dishwashing detergent.
At the end, boil clean water in the kettle again and then drain it.
What to do to prevent scale
- Try to pour only filtered water into kettles, coffee machines and irons.
- Rinse the appliance before adding water.
- Do not leave water in the appliance after use. It's better to pour a new one each time.
- Get rid of scale at least once a month, even if there is no pronounced plaque on the heating elements and walls. If the device has a self-cleaning function, use it.
Even if the water has been purified by a filter, it still contains residues of harmful metals. Such water leaves traces of settling impurities on the dishes, and a coating forms on the walls, which, when heated, can distort the taste of the liquid. Known different ways cleaning dishes. But recommendations to clean the kettle with citric acid, as the most gentle way, are very popular.
Scale hazard
Plaque formation is a natural process. This is a compound of calcium and magnesium salts that does not dissolve and is formed when a liquid is boiled. At elevated temperature her changes chemical composition, at this moment salts are released that settle on the walls of the dishes.
- Even if a small dose of plaque particles enters the human body, there will be virtually no harm. If these salt particles are constantly introduced into the body with food or tea, unpleasant symptoms may occur. Experts call this reabsorption. Salts accumulate in the joints, blood vessels become blocked, kidney stones form, and the urinary system suffers.
- An electrical appliance with deposits on it heating element It takes a long time to heat up, which causes damage quickly. In addition, energy consumption increases significantly.
If a replacement can be made when an electrical appliance breaks down, then health problems can be avoided by descaling the kettle with citric acid.
How to prepare a kettle
How to properly descale? It is not recommended to use cleaning products similar in composition to washing machine cleaners. It is recommended to cleanse folk remedy– citric acid. This method has worked well.
Preparatory steps before descaling the kettle with citric acid:
- It is not recommended to use a metal sponge or brush;
- The unit must first be cooled before cleaning at home. The electric one should be disconnected from the network;
- The mains-powered unit must not be immersed in liquid containing detergent. Pay attention to the nose. There is a mesh in it, which also needs to be cleaned;
- Make sure you have a complete set of cleaning ingredients in advance.
- It is better to boil the dishes with lemon juice solution for the first time before going to bed, leave it overnight, and repeat the procedure in the morning. This is done so that 3-4 hours pass when the product begins to act on metals.
Advantages of the method
Red plaque on the walls can be removed with vinegar, soda and many others. folk ways. But the most gentle remedy is considered to be citric acid for removing scale from the kettle. Positive sides Applications for cleaning this product:
The effects of citric acid are less aggressive than other agents. It dissolves metals and salt compounds;
- Citric acid becomes a barrier to corrosion in iron kettles, which is caused by scale. Removing scale with a product prevents the wall material from collapsing.
- After using this solution, there are no marks or scratches left on the surface of the unit.
- Doesn't leave unpleasant odor inside the dishes after processing.
- Using the cleaning product does not harm human health. Even if the lemon juice is not completely washed off, its particles will not harm the body. No allergic reaction from contact with it was noticed.
- The price of the product is affordable for everyone.
Features of different types of cleaning
Citric acid from scale in a kettle is the best safe remedy. The recipe with this product acts very quickly and effectively. The procedure is not difficult.
| kettle | Gentle cleaning method | Aggressive cleaning method |
| metal | Mixture: citric acid, soda, vinegar. Vinegar 150 ml. ½ a kettle of water. Prepare the solution, leave for 20 minutes. Powder 40-60 gr. Boil. Leave for 25 minutes. | |
| plastic | Lemons 1-2 packets. Water volume 1 liter. Prepare the solution. Boil. |
|
| enameled | You don't need a lot of acid. Fill the kettle with water. Stir with a wooden spoon. Boiling lasts 5 minutes. If the plaque is large, then 15 minutes. Powder 20-35 gr. liquid 2/3 kettle. |
Lemon-vinegar solution for a metal unit that is used on the stove. Do not use a metal sponge. |
| glass | ||
| electric | Powder 30-40 gr. Prepare a solution with warm liquid. Fill the unit. Leave for 4-5 hours. At the end of the time, rinse the dishes. Can be used. If the deposit is large, increase the temperature of the water to a boil. The procedure is repeated 3 times. |
Different cleaning methods
- Boiling is used in almost all recipes. It is especially recommended to boil acid solutions with heavy deposits. The solution is boiled on average for 3-5 minutes. After this, be sure to rinse. Before you start using the kettle, you need to fill the clean unit with new liquid and bring it to 100 o C, drain it. You can use it.
- The no-boiling method is good if the cleaning procedure is carried out regularly. It is convenient because it can be performed partially in a passive state: a kettle of citric acid is left to descale the kettle overnight. Prepare a solution of 60 g. powder and 1 liter of water, which is left either overnight or for 5 hours. After the time has passed, wash the dishes, add new liquid and boil.
Use lemon to clean dishes with a slight coating. 1-2 tablespoons of acid are replaced by ¼ part of lemon. A solution is prepared with 0.5 liters of liquid. Bring to 100 o C. Leave the boiling water to cool for 1-2 hours.
The electrical appliance automatically turns off when it reaches 100 o C. To continue the boiling process, you must open the lid. To prevent steam from damaging the ceiling or furniture, the unit must be placed under a hood.
The acid solution used is useful for cleaning the outside of the walls of the dishes. This solution copes with greasy marks and washes away dirt. Therefore, it is recommended to pour it after boiling not into the sink. Prepare separate dishes.
You can work with the lemon-vinegar solution while wearing gloves to avoid damaging your hands.
The cleaning procedure can be repeated several times if it was not possible to get rid of all the plaque at once.
To prevent the formation of a strong coating, make a solution and use it to treat the inside of the kettle 2-3 times for 14 days. Then you can get by warm solution, which is left in the bowl for 15-20 minutes, the resulting salts will disappear.
Scale prevention
Three simple rules will help avoid scale formation:
- The kettle should be cleaned at least once a month; the average amount is 1 time every 2 weeks.
- It is recommended to fill only with purified water. It is also beneficial for human health.
- Before pouring new water, you need to pour out the remaining liquid. It is recommended to rinse the dishes with running water.
Other methods
Important: all methods of removing plaque at home rely on the effect of acid on the scale. Recipes use products that create an acidic environment.
- Recipe for metal utensils, for prevention:
Place apple or potato peelings in a bowl, add liquid, bring to 100°C, cool for 2 hours. Wash off the plaque with a sponge.
- Brine recipe:
Pour the liquid into any metal kettle, bring to 100°C, cool for 2 hours. Use a sponge to remove any remaining plaque, rinse.
- The recipe with soda is suitable for any dishes, including cleaning them Electric kettle:
For 0.5 l water 2 tbsp. l. soda Bring the solution to 100 o C, pour soda into the liquid, dissolve, cool for 2 hours. Wipe the inside with a sponge and rinse with running water.
Using such simple ways, you can keep the kitchen and its utensils completely clean. You will have the opportunity to look like a good hostess in front of your guests.
If you do a little research on social networks, on forums and simply among neighbors and colleagues, you will find out that not everyone knows how to descale a kettle with citric acid. If we're talking about about an electric kettle, it is easier to remove scale by boiling cola and sprite in it - many believe. Others prefer to use a store-bought cleaner.
In fact, descaling a kettle with citric acid is much simpler and cheaper, safer and more effective, no matter whether your family or work team uses an electric kettle, or a regular metal one that heats up on the stove.
When a person, in response to the question of why he does not remove the scale in the kettle, answers - “Yes, there is not enough time,” one would have to add to this - “But there is enough money and health.”
You can start from the first moment - money. What is scale? These are calcareous deposits that form from fossilized salts in hard water. By themselves, they conduct heat poorly.
So, if inside metal kettle or a limescale crust forms on the electric heating element, it will take several times longer to heat up than clean dishes without any deposits. And this means greater consumption of energy resources, which are not becoming cheaper, but only becoming more expensive.
At first glance, the increase in costs seems trivial - just think, the kettle began to boil a minute and a half longer. Now count how many times a day you heat the kettle, and add up these minutes and a half. As a result, you will get an impressive amount per month, which you are guaranteed to be able to spend on more useful and interesting goals.
The second point is much more important - your health and the health of your loved ones. The digestive and urinary system organs will suffer first. Problems with the stomach, kidneys, bladder will not keep you waiting if you regularly drink water from a kettle with limescale.
How to properly remove scale
Descaling with citric acid does not pose any threat to human health. In addition, citric acid is sold in every grocery store or supermarket and is very inexpensive. Most people always have a jar of this substance or a couple of small bags in their kitchen.
In order to remove scale from the inside of a regular or electric kettle, you will need very little:
- one or two tablespoons of citric acid - the amount depends on the volume of the container for boiling water;
- several liters of water - it should fill the kettle at least two-thirds.
Everything else is very simple. First, water is poured into the kettle. Then citric acid is added to it. After this, the kettle is placed on the stove or plugged into the power supply. The water in it must boil.
- If the layer of scale is very dense and covers the entire surface, do not drain the water after boiling, but leave it for several hours until it cools completely. After this, the liquid with exfoliated pieces of lime deposits is poured out, the kettle is filled with clean water and boiled again.
- If the kettle is in quite good condition, or preventative cleaning is being carried out, then you don’t have to boil the water - the mixture with citric acid is simply left in the kettle for 5-8 hours. Then it is drained and a kettle of clean water is boiled.
Very important point- the water that was boiled in the container after citric acid must be drained. Citric acid is not toxic to humans in small quantities.
But in in this case in addition to the residues of this substance, the water also contains residues limescale. The combination of acid and lime will definitely not be good for your health. And, in addition, tea or coffee will have an unpleasant aftertaste and visible sediment. Therefore, it is better to drain the water and use fresh water for cooking and drinking.
What to do if scale remains
For owners who are not the most careful, who do not like to monitor the condition of their kitchen utensils, this is quite possible - all the scale will not be removed the first time, because the coating is too dense and thick. What to do in this case? You can repeat the procedure; the second time it will probably be more successful.
You can also try to enhance the effectiveness of citric acid baking soda. In this case, pour one spoonful of acid and soda into the kettle, and then proceed as indicated above. After the water has cooled, it is drained and, if necessary, the walls of the kettle are mechanically cleaned of scale residues using a hard sponge.
There is another way: first, boil water with soda in a kettle, then drain it and boil water with citric acid. If a deposit of lime in a heavily soiled kettle appears not only inside, but also on the outer surface, it can be cleaned with the same means. A little soda or acid is poured onto the sponge, after which the kettle is cleaned. You can pre-heat it - this will make the process faster and easier.
You can also find out on our website how to descale an electric kettle using soda and vinegar. This is also an effective and safe method, accessible to everyone.
