Not one, even the highest quality filter, is able to completely purify tap water from the salts and minerals contained in it. Therefore, hard insoluble precipitate often appears on the walls of our dishes. It not only significantly slows down the process of boiling water and spoils its taste, but also negatively affects our health. After reading this article, you will learn how to clean the kettle from limescale with citric acid.
Why does limescale appear and why should it be disposed of?
The reason for the formation of scale lies in the salts contained in tap water. The higher their concentration, the more and more often a plaque appears. As a result of heating, calcium and magnesium salts precipitate into an insoluble hard precipitate adhering to the walls of the dishes.
These carbonate deposits cannot be ignored; they must be disposed of. And the sooner this is done, the better. It should be understood that cleaning the kettle from limescale with citric acid is very important not only because damage to dishes can be prevented. There are several reasons for this. Limescale does not allow to keep dishes in perfect cleanliness. Small particles of sediment can get into your cup, and this is not too beneficial for the human body.
A layer of scale prevents normal heat transfer. Of course, for an ordinary stainless steel kettle, this is not critical, but an electric device can fail. The heat emanating from a disk or a spiral ceases to be transferred to water, as a result of which the metal is subjected to the so-called thermal overload.
What to do when you notice limescale in a teapot?
How to remove citric acid deposits, formed on the walls of the vessel should know every mistress. With this affordable tool, you can easily clean any kettle, including glass, ceramic, enameled and even electric. This method allows you to get rid of small and medium layers.
To do this, you need citric acid from scale in the kettle and ordinary tap water. Having fallen in a vessel 30-40 grams of the powdered product, you need to fill it with liquid, put on a slow fire and boil. In case of incomplete dissolution of the plaque, you can rub the walls and the bottom of the dishes with a non-metallic brush or a sponge of medium hardness.
How to clean the kettle from limescale with citric acid in a cold way?
This substance acts so strongly on calcareous deposits that even with a small layer the dishes can not be heated. To use this method, it is enough to pour 50 grams of powdered citric acid into a metal vessel, fill it to room temperature with water, mix thoroughly until crystals are completely dissolved and leave for three hours. After this time, you need to drain the solution and thoroughly rinse the kettle with a hard washcloth. After that, the vessel is filled with clean water and boiled over low heat for 10 minutes. Then the liquid is drained and the dishes are thoroughly rinsed again.
How to get rid of scale using the hot method?
It should be noted that this method is not suitable for electric kettles. It is quite effective in dealing with a thick layer of limescale. Before cleaning the kettle with citric acid from scale, pour 100 ml of 9% vinegar into it, pour 25 grams of powdered acid into it and fill it with water to the top. The resulting solution is boiled over minimum heat for at least a quarter of an hour. After this time, the liquid is drained, a new product is prepared and boiled for ten minutes. Then these steps are repeated for the third time.
If the scale layer has not disappeared, then it is recommended to leave the hot solution in the vessel for the whole night. In the morning, drain the liquid, clean the inner walls of the dishes with a washcloth and rinse several times with clean water.
How to remove old deposits?
This can be done in several stages. Not only citric acid will be used. From the scale in the kettle, you can use soda and vinegar. Half a glass of soda is poured into a vessel washed inside and out, pour water, and then the resulting solution is boiled for twenty minutes. By itself, this tool does not remove scale, but only helps to quickly deal with the old calcareous layer.
At the next stage, pour a solution into the vessel, for the preparation of which water and citric acid from scale in the kettle will be required. For 40 grams of powder you need three liters of liquid. Soda that has absorbed into the limescale will react with acid. The result of this process will be the appearance of gas bubbles, which contribute to the loosening of the hard sediment.
After pouring the solution into the kettle, pour apple or table vinegar, so that it occupies a third of the total volume, add water to it and boil over minimal heat for half an hour. After this time, you should drain the solution and thoroughly wipe the inner walls of the vessel with a not too hard washcloth. After this, you should thoroughly rinse the dishes and boil water in it several times, not forgetting to drain it. It should be understood that this method, which uses citric acid from scale in a kettle, is not suitable for cleaning electrical appliances.
Preventative measures
Of course, it is unlikely to completely prevent the appearance of scale, since poor quality tap water is to blame for everything. But still, you can daily wash the inside of the kettle with an ordinary kitchen sponge. At the same time, it is undesirable to use detergents, since soap settles on the walls of the container, and then, together with boiled water, it can enter our body.