It is not easy to find a house where there is no kettle - conventional or electric. Since many of us use mostly hard tap water for boiling, it is not surprising that sooner or later this container will become overgrown with scale from the inside. Plaque is not only aesthetically unattractive, but also harmful to he alth - its microparticles get into your mug of tea or coffee. And the electrical device may well fail due to such growths. Therefore, today we will talk about how to descale the kettle quickly, efficiently and in simple ways. Let's take a look at the most popular!
Why does scale form and why is it dangerous?
In metal, glass and enameled teapots, we see growths on the inner walls and bottom, in electric - mostly on the heating element. The reason for the formation of scale is s alt, which is so rich in tap water. Accordingly, the harder the latter, the more intense the formation of lime build-up. Special filters will not help here either - they only soften the water a little, but do not deprive it ofs alt completely.
Descaling the kettle at home is very important. Here's the danger of ignoring the problem:
- It is scale that causes the destruction of the walls of ordinary kettles and the premature failure of electric kettles. Growths on the heating element lead to its overheating, preventing water from directly contacting the metal, heating the latter to high temperatures.
- The use of strainers and filters does not always protect our body from getting limescale along with drinks. And it can cause problems with the genitourinary system, kidneys.
Method 1: Vinegar
The method is ideal for metal containers. Use with caution in relation to glass, plastic - after all, we have an aggressive agent in front of us. How to descale a kettle with vinegar:
- 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 1-2 tbsp is enough. spoons.
- The composition is poured directly into the kettle, which is placed on a small fire.
- Wait for the solution to boil.
- When lifting the lid, periodically monitor the flaking of scale. Usually 15 minutes of boiling is enough for the growths to leave the walls and bottom.
- Rinse the kettle thoroughly under running water, removing both scale and vinegar.
Method 2: Citric Acid
But this substance was created for plasticelectrical devices. They can also easily clean glass containers. Let's figure out how to clean the kettle from scale with citric acid:
- First of all, dilute 1-2 teaspoons of powder in 1 liter of water.
- The solution is simply poured into the kettle, which you turn on and bring to a boil.
- As a result of the process, the plastic layer will "renew" - the plaque will easily peel off under the influence of acid.
- You only need to thoroughly rinse the kettle and then boil the water "idle" in it.
Note that boiling with acid is already an extreme measure. It is best to carry out preventive monthly cleaning of the device. How to descale an electric kettle in this case? Dilute citric acid in the same amount in water and leave the composition in the kettle for several hours.
If you don't have acid on hand, a quarter of a lemon can easily replace it.
Method 3: sparkling water
How to clean the kettle from scale enameled or metal? Use carbonated drinks - Cola, Pepsi, Fanta, Sprite and the like. But this method is not suitable for electric kettles!
Note by the way that gas water is also able to dissolve rust and even clean car carburetors. And here is what we will do specifically for the teapot:
- Unscrew the cork - let the soda stand for a whileopen.
- As soon as the gas bubbles stop rising, pour the drink into the kettle about half way.
- Now it remains to bring the liquid to a boil.
- In conclusion, we thoroughly rinse the container from the remaining scale. That's it.
By the way, if you intend to clean a snow-white or light teapot with soda, it is better to use a colorless drink for this purpose - 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
Let's say right away that the method is for the most severe and neglected cases. For electrical devices, it should not be used at all.
How to descale the kettle here:
- Pour water into the container, add 1 tbsp. a spoonful of baking soda.
- Bring the solution to a boil, then drain it.
- Fill fresh water into a container. In it we will already dissolve citric acid - 1 tbsp. spoon. We will boil on low heat for half an hour. The squad is draining again.
- Refill the kettle with fresh water, dissolve 1/2 cup of vinegar in it. Boil again for half an hour and drain.
In most cases, this three-step procedure is enough for the scale to gradually disappear by itself. One way or another, even if left, it will become supple and soft. Therefore, you can easily remove it with a regular soft sponge for dishes. But metal and hard brushes, washcloths for cleaning teapots, we strongly recommend that you do notapply.
You can also use a slightly different version - vinegar + soda:
- Fill the kettle 2/3 full with water.
- Add baking soda at the rate of 1 tbsp. spoon per 1 liter of water.
- Boil the composition for half an hour.
- Pour out this solution.
- Add fresh water, stir in vinegar - 1/2 cup per 1 liter of water.
- Boil again for half an hour.
- Drain the solution and rinse the kettle thoroughly.
Method number 5: soda
This method is equally good for enameled and metal containers. You can clean the kettle from scale with soda like this:
- Fill a container with water and add 1 tablespoon of baking soda.
- Then we put the kettle on the stove and slowly bring it to a boil.
- So the solution in it boils for another half an hour.
- Then we drain the composition, rinse the kettle, fill it with clean water and send it to boil again. This step will allow us to remove the remaining baking soda from the inside walls of the kettle.
Method number 6: pickle
A rather unusual folk method. How to clean the kettle from scale with a preservation solution - tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and other delicious pickles? The scheme is similar:
- Pour the brine into the kettle, put the container on the fire.
- Bring to a boil.
- Simmer until the scale starts to move away from the walls.
- Rinse the kettle thoroughly after this cleaning.
Why is pickle so good? The point is that it containscitric acid, which helps to exfoliate limescale. By the way, the brine does a great job with rust from iron s alts in the same kettle.
Method 7: Potato peels
We are also in a hurry to introduce you to a waste-free method of descaling - potato peelings. But we note that it will only cope well with mild growths on the walls of metal and enameled teapots.
Here's how we'll do it:
- Potato peelings must first be thoroughly rinsed from dirt.
- Put them in a teapot, fill with water.
- Put the container on the fire, bring the brew to a boil.
- Remove the kettle from the stove, let it steep for a few hours.
- Then pour out the cleaning water and rinse the container thoroughly.
And one more thing, note to the hostess - do not rush to throw away peels from apples or pears. If you brew them as instructed, you can get rid of the slight whitish s alt scale on the inside of the pot.
Special tools
As you can see, it is easy to clean the kettle from scale with improvised means that can be found in almost every home. However, in our article we will not ignore special substances that effectively cope with the problem.
The recognized leaders will be "Cinderella" and "Antinakipin". Use - according to the instructions. It does not differ from the one described above - the product is also added to the water, after which it is poured intokettle and boil. At the end of the procedure, the container is thoroughly washed from the chemical preparation.
After cleaning…
So we figured out how to descale the kettle. No matter which method you use, after cleaning, we recommend that you do the following:
- Rinse the inside of the container thoroughly.
- Boil water "idle" in a kettle once or twice, not for drinking.
The fact is that not all cleaning products used will be useful if they get into your body along with tea or coffee.
Problem Prevention
The methods we have presented are quite simple and effective. Still, it is better to prevent a problem than to fix it. Therefore, we present to your attention a few effective recommendations that will help you meet scale in the kettle quite less often:
- Don't forget about preventive cleaning. It should be done at least once every 1-2 months. Gentle products such as brine, apple or potato peelings are suitable here.
- Get a water filter. Although it will not rid the liquid of all impurities, it will significantly reduce the amount of s alts in it. This means that much less scale will form.
- As soon as you have finished drinking tea, pour out the rest of the water on the bottom of the teapot. Don't forget to rinse the container before filling it with fresh water.
- A good option is to stock up on bottled water. Or, if possible, use the springor thawed.
Now you know how to quickly and effectively descale the kettle. We also advise you to listen to preventive recommendations that will help you meet this problem as rarely as possible.
