On the inner walls of any water-heating device, be it a washing machine or an electric kettle, over time, a layer of some kind of foreign substance appears. Its color depends on the quality of the water and can even be red if rust is present in the pipes. At first it's just a wet “fluff”, then a denser structure, and in the end, the plaque on the walls of the kettle turns into a stone that cannot be washed off just like that.
What is harmful scale
It would seem that nothing terrible is happening. Well, a raid, and what's wrong? Why think about how to descale an electric kettle? Simple observations reveal that:
- firstly, there is always turbidity in the water poured from such a kettle;
- secondly, the taste of the liquid deteriorates;
- thirdly, the kettle heats water much more slowly, since scale is not thermally conductive;
- fourthly, and most importantly, the heating coil breaks down very quickly, that is, justburns out;
- fifth, if you constantly drink water with an admixture of cloudy scale, these particles may settle in the kidneys, which leads to the formation of urolithiasis.
Where do foreign substances come from in clean water
Drinking water, no matter how transparent it may seem, contains a huge number of different substances. These are minerals in dissolved form, and metals, and various s alts. Thanks to such impurities, when water is boiled, a uniform coating is formed on the inner surface of the vessel. Moreover, even running the liquid through the cleaning filters does not give a complete release from these substances, and you need to think about how to clean the kettle from scale.
The content of calcium-magnesium impurities affects the softness of drinking tap water. In addition, this indicator also depends on the amount of disinfectants. There are several levels and types of hardness:
- sulfate;
- carbonate;
- silicate.
Water has a carbonate type of hardness and usually flows from faucets. How to clean the scale in the kettle to enjoy delicious drinks? First of all, let's look at some facts about hard and soft water.
Which water is he althier: filtered or regular
It is believed that water with a high content of s alts and minerals (hard) is undesirable for drinking. However, according to research by experts, it is in dissolved form that the amount of calcium and magnesium necessary for he alth enters the human body. Loosen without calciumwalls of capillaries and bones, cell permeability increases. The result of this is an increase in blood pressure.
Water with too high hardness (10 mEq/liter or more) is harmful to the human digestive system. Too softened life-giving moisture (1.5 mEq / liter or less) causes an imbalance of minerals in the body, increases the risk of heart and vascular diseases. It is extremely harmful to constantly drink softened and purified water. This affects the depletion and depletion of bone tissue and blood clotting.
Everything is good in moderation, so soft water can be used for boiling.
How to restore the novelty of the "insides" of the teapot
Both aluminum, and enameled, and electric kettles can be freed from harmful plaque in the same way. There are several of them:
1. How to clean the scale, if the whitish layer is still thin and soft? It can be easily washed off by rubbing it hard over the surface of the heating element and the walls with an ordinary sponge. Or you can pour a large amount of washed potato and apple peels inside, add 2 tbsp. tablespoons of soda and boil for about half an hour. Then rinse repeatedly with fresh water.
2. Sometimes housewives use special chemicals to remove scale. Here you need to act exactly according to the attached instructions.
3. How to clean the kettle from scale, which has turned into a denser structure? An ordinary metal vessel for boiling water is released in the following ways:
- Wearing rubber gloves and picking up a washcloth frommetal shavings, it is necessary, with physical effort, to tear out the inside of the kettle. For those who are looking for a way to descale an electric kettle, this barbaric but effective method will not work.
- If you pour ordinary cucumber pickle inside and leave it in a bowl all night, then the scale will dissolve almost without residue. After such purification, it is necessary to boil clean water a couple of times, otherwise the taste of cucumbers may remain.
- How to clean scale with citric acid, almost everyone knows. Pour a couple of spoons of "lemon" into an electric kettle with water, boil for 10-12 minutes, then cool naturally. Rinse thoroughly afterwards.
- Another way to descale an electric kettle is with a "pop" of vinegar and soda. Vinegar is poured into a kettle of water and 1 tbsp. a spoonful of soda. After the effervescent reaction stops, the liquid must be boiled, then rinsed well.
4. When thinking about how to descale an electric kettle, you need to keep in mind that plastic kettles cannot be cleaned with vinegar, but Fanta can be used for this procedure. Just pour it inside and leave it overnight, then wash the residue well.
How to get rid of hardened scale
Sometimes you need to put in order a kettle with a “hardened” layer of hardened scale. Remove this "trouble" in several stages:
- First, you need to boil 2 tbsp dissolved in water for half an hour. spoons of soda. cool downand pour out the liquid.
- Boil water with 1 tbsp. spoon "lemon", cool and drain.
- Add 100 ml of acetic acid and boil again for about 30 minutes.
- Remove loose scale and rinse the kettle several times. You can boil fresh water in it to completely get rid of the pungent odor.
Traveling method
Another of the methods tested in field conditions is the “roasting” of an aluminum vessel on fire. A kettle without water is heated over high heat until the scale begins to crackle and shoot inside. It gets hot and may even start to smoke.
After some time (about 15 minutes), you need to remove the red-hot metal vessel from the fire. After removing the lid, you need to quickly pour a liter of water inside and immediately close it again. Under the influence of temperature difference and sudden steam, scale falls off the walls of the kettle. It remains just to pour the contents along with the petrified pieces.
It is important to be especially careful when using this method, otherwise you can burn yourself with hot steam. If there are plastic parts on the kettle, it is better not to use this method, as these parts will definitely melt.
To avoid extreme procedures with cleaning the kettle, they usually do it 2 times a month or more.
