How to descale a kettle at home?

It is not easy to find a house where there will be no kettle - ordinary or electric. Since many of us use mostly hard tap water for boiling, it’s not surprising that sooner or later this tank will become scum on the inside. Plaque is not only aesthetically unattractive, but also harmful to health - its microparticles get into your mug with tea or coffee. And the electrical device may well fail due to such growths. Therefore, today we will talk about how to clean the kettle from scale quickly, efficiently and in simple ways. We will analyze the most popular!

Why is scale formed and why is it dangerous?

In metal, glass and enameled kettles, we see growths on the inner walls and bottom, in the electric - mostly on the heating element. The reason for the formation of scale is the salt, which is so rich in tap water. Accordingly, the harsher the latter, the more intensive the formation of calcareous growths. Special filters will not help here either - they only soften the water a little, but do not completely deprive it of its salts.

Descaling the kettle at home is very important. Here's the danger of ignoring the problem:

• It is the scum that is the cause of the destruction of the walls of ordinary kettles and the premature failure of electrical ones. The growths on PETN lead to its overheating, not allowing water to directly contact with the metal, heating the latter to high temperatures.
• The use of strainers and filters does not always protect our body from getting scale with drinks. And it can cause problems with the genitourinary system and kidneys.

Method number 1: vinegar

The method is ideal for metal containers. Use with caution with regard to glass and plastic - after all, we are faced with an aggressive tool. How to clean the kettle from vinegar scale:

1. Dilute the substance with water. This is 100 ml of 9% food vinegar per 1 liter of water. If you use vinegar essence (70%), then it is enough 1-2 tbsp. spoons.
2. The composition is poured directly into the kettle, which is placed on a small fire.
3. Wait for the solution to boil.
4. When lifting the cover, periodically check for flaking. Typically, 15 minutes of boiling is enough for the growths to leave the walls and bottom.
5. Rinse the kettle thoroughly under running water, removing both scale and vinegar residues.

Method number 2: citric acid

But this substance was created for plastic electrical appliances. Also, they can easily be washed and glass containers. Let's figure out how to clean the kettle from limescale with citric acid:

1. First, dilute 1-2 teaspoons of the powder in 1 liter of water.
2. The solution is simply poured into a kettle, which you turn on and bring to a boil.
3. As a result of the process, the plastic layer “updates” - the coating easily peels off under the influence of acid.
4. You only need to rinse the kettle thoroughly and then boil empty water in it.

Note that boiling with acid is already an extreme measure. It is best to carry out monthly preventative cleaning of the device. How to descale an electric kettle in this case? In the same amount, dilute citric acid in water and leave the composition in the teapot for several hours.

If you don’t have acid at hand, then a quarter of a lemon can easily replace it.

Method number 3: sparkling water

How to clean the kettle from enamelled or metal scale? Use carbonated drinks - Coke, Pepsi, Fantu, Sprite and the like. But for electric kettles, this method is not suitable!

We note by the way that the gas inlet is also capable of dissolving rust and even cleaning automobile carburetors. And here is what we will do specifically for the teapot:

1. Unscrew the cork - allow the soda to stand open for a while.
2. As soon as the gas bubbles stop rising, fill the drink into the teapot by about half.
3. Now it remains to bring the liquid to a boil.
4. In conclusion, we carefully rinse the container of scale deposits. That's all.

By the way, if you intend to clean a snow-white or light teapot with soda, then it is better to use a colorless drink for these purposes - for example, Seven-Up, Sprite. Pepsi or Fanta can leave its characteristic shade on the walls of the container.

Method number 4: soda + citric acid + vinegar

Just say that the method for the most difficult and advanced cases. For electrical appliances, it should not be used at all.

How to descale the kettle here:

1. Pour water into the container, add 1 tbsp. a spoonful of baking soda.
2. Bring the solution to a boil, then drain it.
3. Pour fresh water into the container. In it we will already dissolve citric acid - 1 tbsp. a spoon. We will boil over low heat for half an hour. The composition merges again.
4. We recycle fresh water into the kettle, dissolve 1/2 cup of vinegar in it. Again boiling for half an hour and draining.

In most cases, such a three-step procedure is enough for the scale to descend on its own. One way or another, even if left, it will become supple and soft. Therefore, you can easily remove it with an ordinary soft sponge for dishes. But metal and hard brushes, washcloths for cleaning teapots are strongly recommended that you not apply.

You can use a slightly different version - vinegar + soda:

1. Fill the kettle 2/3 with water.
2. Add baking soda in the calculation of 1 tbsp. spoon per 1 liter of water.
3. Boil the composition for half an hour.
4. Pour this solution.
5. Add fresh water, stir vinegar in it - 1/2 cup per 1 liter of water.
6. Boiling again for half an hour.
7. Drain the solution and thoroughly rinse the kettle.

Method number 5: soda

This method is equally good for enameled and metal containers. You can clear the kettle of soda lime as follows:

1. Fill a container with water and pour in 1 tablespoon of baking soda.
2. Then we put the kettle on the stove and bring to a boil over low heat.
3. So the solution in it boils for another half hour.
4. Then we merge the composition, rinse the kettle, fill it with clean water and again send it to boil. This step will allow us to remove the remaining soda from the inside of the kettle.

Method number 6: brine

Quite an unusual folk method. How to clean the kettle from scale using a preservation solution - tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and other tasty pickles? The scheme is similar:

1. Pour the brine into the kettle, put the container on the fire.
2. Bring to a boil.
3. Boil until the scum begins to move away from the walls.
4. Rinse the kettle thoroughly after such cleaning.

Why is the brine so good? The fact is that it contains citric acid, which helps to exfoliate calcareous growths. By the way, the brine copes with rust from iron salts in the same teapot.

Method number 7: potato peeling

We also hasten to introduce you to the non-waste descaling method - potato peelings. But note that he will cope well only with mild growths on the walls of metal and enameled dummies.

Here's what we will do:

1. Potato peeling first of all needs to be washed well from dirt.
2. Put them in a kettle, fill with water.
3. Put the container on the fire, bring the brew to a boil.
4. Remove the kettle from the stove, leave for a few hours to insist.
5. Then empty the cleaned water and rinse the container thoroughly.

And also, to the hostess, note - do not rush to throw away peeling of apples or pears. If you brew them according to a similar instruction, you can get rid of a small whitish salt scale on the inside of the container.

Special tools

As you can see, it’s easy to clean the kettle from scale using improvised tools that can be found in almost every house. However, in our article we will not ignore special substances that effectively cope with the problem.

Recognized leaders will be Cinderella and Antinakipin. Use - according to the instructions. It does not differ from us as described above - the product is also added to water, after which it is poured into a kettle and boiled. At the end of the procedure, the container is thoroughly washed with a chemical preparation.

After cleaning ...

So we figured out how to clean the kettle from scale. No matter which method you used, after cleaning we recommend that you do the following:

1. Rinse the container thoroughly from the inside.
2. Boil empty water in the kettle once or twice, not for drinking.

The fact is that not all cleaning products used will be useful if they enter your body with tea or coffee.

Problem prevention

The methods that we have presented are quite simple and effective. But still it’s better to prevent the problem than to fix it. Therefore, we present to your attention several effective recommendations that will help you to meet scum in a teapot quite rarely:

1. Do not forget about preventative cleaning. It should be done at least once every 1-2 months. Here, such gentle means as brine, peeling apples or potatoes are suitable.
2. Get a water filter. Although it does not rid the liquid of all impurities, it will significantly reduce the amount of salts in it. And that means that scale will be formed much less.
3. Once you have finished drinking tea, pour the remaining water from the bottom of the kettle. Do not forget to rinse the container before collecting fresh water into it.
4. A good option is to buy bottled water. Or, if possible, use a spring or melt.

Now you know how to quickly and efficiently remove the kettle from scale. We also advise you to listen to preventive recommendations that will help to meet this problem as little as possible.