What is the best way to descale a kettle? How to descale a kettle using folk remedies and chemicals. Household chemicals to combat scale

The modern variety of teapots is amazing. It’s hard to keep up with innovations: manufacturers are experimenting with materials, technologies, shapes and colors. To ensure that the kettle lasts a long time, it is recommended to use spring, filtered or bottled water. And if this is not possible, let the tap water stand for 24 hours.

Why does plaque appear?

Over time, scale will appear in any kettle. But increased water hardness will shorten these times many times and cause many problems. Firstly, scale is dangerous for the heating element. Spiral or metal disk, covered with plaque, quickly overheat, lose heat transfer and eventually burn out. Secondly, boiling will require additional energy costs. Well, it is clear that water only from clean dishes will give coffee or tea a good taste.

Hard water contains excess amounts of calcium and magnesium salts. A hardness of 3 to 6 mEq/L is considered normal. White and dark spots on faucets, sink or toilet, clogged holes in the shower tube, whitish spots on washed dishes, permanent lime deposits in the kettle - sure signs high water hardness (from 6 to 9 mEq/l).

Many people believe that installing a filter (jug, flow or reverse osmosis) will completely eliminate the scale problem. In fact, it will reduce plaque formation, but only slightly. The action of most filters is not aimed at softening water, but at its mechanical cleaning from heavy metals and bleach.

How to descale a kettle: special chemistry

How to wash an aluminum kettle and remove rust? Before descaling a kettle, you need to remember: it is impossible to mechanically remove scale that has already formed. If you start scrubbing or scratching it with your own hands, you will ruin the device. Therefore, in our time, many chemicals to combat scale. Basically, these are liquid or powdered preparations based on soda ash.

They all have an identical principle of operation: pour the indicated dosage into the kettle, fill the device with water to the maximum mark and boil. After this, rinse thoroughly, boil fresh water again and drain.

Do not use cleaning gels and powders with large abrasive granules. They will scratch the surface, and the scale will stick even more firmly to the bottom and walls of the kettle.

The main disadvantage of industrial products is that chemical substances may enter the stomach. So it's not harmless. Yes, and not all formulations give the desired effect.

The old fashioned way

You can rest assured: time-tested folk recipes guarantee 100% positive result. Ordinary soda, vinegar and lemon juice are recognized leaders among descalers in a kettle. To successfully get rid of solid deposits, you will need knowledge about dosages, stages of cleansing and rules of use in different types devices. You can also boil it to remove contaminants.

For a regular enamel teapot

Such specimens are increasingly rare in modern kitchen interior. But, of course, people continue to buy them, because they are much cheaper than their electric counterpart. look after enamel teapot easy enough. The main thing is to do everything in a timely manner.

Vinegar

Fill the kettle with a solution of two parts water and one part table vinegar. Bring to a boil and cool naturally.
Then drain the water and rinse the dishes thoroughly.
If the sediment has not completely disappeared, repeat the procedure.

To boil a kettle from scale with vinegar and avoid getting poisoned by the caustic steam, during operation you need to open the windows and put on a protective gauze mask. Before using the kettle, you should boil it again. clean water“idle” to eliminate the specific vinegar aroma.

Lemon acid

Fill the kettle with lemon water at the rate of 10 g of lemon per liter of water.
Boil.
Leave the hot solution for several hours.
Pour and thoroughly rinse off the lime grains.

You can replace the store-bought product with lemon: cut it into pieces and boil for ten minutes.

Soda

Boil a soda solution in a kettle, diluted in the following proportion: two tablespoons of baking soda per liter of water.
Wait until it cools down and remove soft deposits with a sponge.
If the quality of descaling is not satisfactory, repeat twice.
This procedure can also be used to precede vinegar cleaning.

For electrical appliance

The electric kettle is very easy to use. Heats water quickly and almost silently, looks very aesthetically pleasing and modern. Irreproachable appearance Such a teapot also requires internal cleanliness. Regular care especially necessary for heating elements. It is more convenient to clean a kettle with a disk heater than with a spiral one, reminiscent of a Soviet-era boiler. In addition, the first one is more durable and heats water faster. How to effectively descale an electric kettle? Which methods are suitable for devices made of different materials?

From glass

Boil water with a couple of tablespoons of citric acid and the same amount of soda powder.
Let it sit for up to 20 minutes.
Wash off the natural acid-base composition.

Vinegar will help to successfully remove scale from a glass electric kettle. Everything is extremely simple: open the window, boil water and only after turning off the electrical appliance, pour two or three spoons into the boiling water food vinegar, cover kitchen towel until completely cooled. Make sure it's shiny metal surface the heater did not darken. Rinse thoroughly with running water.

Made of stainless steel

Pour a full kettle of water (standard capacity - 1.7 liters).
Add a couple of tablespoons of baking soda and boil.
After cooling, remove the white flakes with a soft washcloth.
Rinse thoroughly.

A stainless steel kettle is less susceptible to the formation of limescale deposits. Nevertheless, a few more tips on how to quickly get rid of scale in a kettle made of this material will be useful. So, you can boil the brine from pickled cucumbers or tomatoes in a container. Cleaning with apple or grape vinegar is also recommended - pour a glass of the product into a boiled liter of water and leave for half an hour.

Made of ceramics

Beautiful painted ceramic teapots, although very durable, require careful and careful handling. There are no special recommendations for cleaning plaque, so choose one of the recipes suggested above.

Remember safety precautions when working with boiling water and cleaning agents. folk remedies. This is important because, according to reviews, ceramic teapots are quite heavy, retain heat for a very long time and have rather uncomfortable handles that get very hot.

Made of plastic

Such an electrical appliance is the cheapest, lightest and most unpretentious. It will be as good as new if you clean it with any product you have at hand. You can also try and evaluate a unique method: boil water in a saucepan with apple peelings, let it brew a little and pour it into an electric kettle. After a couple of hours, pour the compote into the sink and rinse the cleaned dishes with water.

Advanced cases, if the plaque does not go away

You don't know how to delete strong scale in a teapot? Advanced cases will be “cured” by the following method, consisting of six simple steps.

Add three tablespoons of soda to a kettle of boiling water.
After half an hour, boil again and pour out immediately.
Take fresh water and now add a couple of tablespoons of vinegar.
Boil the solution again and pour it out after half an hour.
Remove the resulting loose mass with a soft sponge.
Rinse well so that no vinegar smell remains.

Does the Coca-Cola method work?

Salt deposits of calcium and magnesium dissolve under the influence of citric, acetic, orthophosphoric acids. The latter - H3PO4 - is part of the popular drink Coca-Cola. To descale a kettle with Coca-Cola, you just need to pour 0.5 liters of the drink into the appliance (this is enough to completely cover the heater). In 15 minutes, soda will remove light deposits without boiling. You can consolidate the effect by boiling this sweet aromatic liquid in a kettle and at the end simply rinsing it well with water.

This unusual way Suitable for glass teapot. And for plastic, stainless steel and ceramics, avoid drinks with dyes, they can pigment the walls of the electrical appliance. Try boiling regular sparkling water.

Practice shows that The best way To remove lime deposits, descale the kettle with citric acid by boiling water with a couple of spoons of lemon juice. It turns out cleaner and cheaper than using Coca-Cola, and also without the pungent odor, as is the case with vinegar.

"Options" for scale

Interestingly, there are ways not only to remove scale from a kettle, but also how to prevent its occurrence. To do this, you just need to select a device with additional “options”. Some models (though they are more expensive) have cleaning cartridges installed inside them that filter and heat the water at the same time. There are also teapots with gold-plated spirals, the function of which is to protect the part from hard deposits and corrosion. But the most “advanced” users recommend installing an electromagnetic water converter at home. So in one fell swoop you can solve all problems with increased water hardness and protect not only the kettle, but also the washing machine and the water heating tank from scale.

Every housewife is faced with the problem of how to remove scale from household appliances. The cause of this problem is the use of hard water. Which contains a fairly large amount of soluble calcium and magnesium salts.

It is thanks to them that cloudy stains appear on dishes after washing. There are several solution options: either install a special filter that works to soften it, or use a purchased distilled one, or deal with an existing problem.

The harder the water, the faster our appliances become dirty, and if we allow severe contamination, as experts say, drinking this kind of water will have a rather detrimental effect on your health over time. There are several fairly common and cheap methods for removing these troubles from surfaces.

Kettle

This is probably the most common household appliance, which is susceptible to dirt from inside, due to constant contact with liquid. The methods below are well suited not only for cleaning this appliance, but also for descaling pots.

So 6 inexpensive ways, the effectiveness of which is probably not the same as that of dry cleaning, but still deserves attention and testing.

Vinegar. A well-known product that came to us from ancient times. You can find it in any store at a ridiculous price. Dilute 500 ml of water in one glass of 9% vinegar. Then there are several options for use: bring water to a boil and then pour in the vinegar solution, or immediately pour in the mixture and boil it for about half an hour. After this, boil clean water several times. This method is great when it has formed thick layer scale
Lemon acid. The method is similar to the first, only you add a couple of tablespoons of acid to the same amount of water. We also boil everything, and the time can be increased depending on the severity of the case, and let it cool. Finally, boil clean water several times to get rid of any remaining citric acid. To get rid of odors, you can add sugar or Bay leaf.
Soda. Grandma’s well-known method, she probably cleaned everything. You can also try it as an option. Dilute half a liter of water with a few tablespoons of powder. Pour in the entire resulting mixture and boil for half an hour. We wash the device clean water if necessary several times until it disappears completely unpleasant odors.
Sprite, Coca-Cola or mineral water. The method is only suitable for stainless steel kitchen utensils and electric kettles. It is necessary to release unnecessary gas, pour liquid inside and boil for 30 minutes.
Descaling using potato peels or apple skins. Peel the peel, put it in a kettle, fill it with water and boil for two hours. Let it cool. This method is more suitable for prevention than for effective disposal.
Brine. Boil for a short time inside the device and let cool.

Cleaning the water heater

Experts recommend cleaning the water heater approximately once every 2 years. Since the water supplied is hard, over time the heating element also becomes “overgrown” with scale. Accordingly, the larger the scale layer, the more difficult it is to heat the water in the tank. More time is needed, which means more electricity. There are two cleaning methods:

Mechanical. It is necessary to take out the heating element and clean it manually from scale using a knife, a brush with metal bristles, a wooden spatula or other means. After this, go over it with sandpaper.
Chemical. You can also clean the heating element, like a kettle, using vinegar or citric acid. However, it is necessary to ensure that the rubber seals are not immersed in water.

Cleaning the iron from scale

Almost all modern irons include a steam function. After a certain time, the holes through which steam or water enters become covered with a layer of scale. And probably almost everyone is familiar with the unpleasant moment when, when steam or water is supplied, pieces of rust are sprayed out.

The thing can no longer be cleaned. Therefore, in order to avoid such surprises, the soleplate of the iron must also be periodically descaled.

There are several stages to cleaning an iron:

Cleansing from the inside. It is necessary to dilute a small amount of water with one packet of citric acid (or cut the lemon into small slices). Pour this mixture into the hole and let it heat up. With a burst of steam, all channels will be well cleared of scale.
Iron sole. Can be cleaned with a surface cleaning pencil. If you don’t have it at hand, then wet a soft sponge with vinegar essence and thoroughly wipe the deposits off the iron. An alternative can also be baking soda, normal toothpaste, hydrogen peroxide and so on.

Cleaning the washing machine from scale

Like all devices that interact with water, we cannot leave washing machine without attention. Professionals recommend descaling your machine once every 2-3 months.

Of course, there are now quite a large number of cleaning products on the market. But not everyone can afford them, and why spend extra money? If you can use all the same methods that will perfectly get rid of scale.

To do this, you still need to take citric acid, about 100-200 grams, already known to us products such as 9% vinegar or baking soda will do. Having chosen the product that you like, you need to pour it into the powder compartment. Having set it to any long program at 90-95 degrees, turn on the machine for washing without laundry. And the scale is gone! Easy manipulation with minimal costs.

Descaling your coffee machine

Technologies do not stand still; modern coffee machines already have a descaling function. But what to do if your car does not have a function or is an older model?

In this case, citric acid or vinegar will still come to our aid. For cleaning or prevention, you need to pour the solution into the tank of the coffee machine and run it “idle”. After completing the program, leave it inside for 2-3 hours, then pour it out and run the car a few more times, but with clean water.

Conclusion

Summarizing all of the above, it is quite possible to replace expensive means for getting rid of scale with simple and affordable means for every housewife. Which will clean all surfaces just as well.

But still, advice from professionals is that it is necessary to regularly carry out preventive maintenance of devices. In order to prevent old scale from forming into a thick layer. At the very least, this promises you the failure of the equipment and the purchase of a new one.

5 minutes to read. Published 05/01/2019

An electric kettle is an almost irreplaceable household appliance. With its help, you can boil water for making tea or coffee quickly and easily. There is no need to monitor it; after boiling, it will turn off on its own and will not waste electricity. But even the most modern electric kettle requires care and regular cleaning.

Causes of scale

The electric kettle seems to be a device that requires absolutely no maintenance. But if you don’t pay enough attention to the technology, over time it may begin to work less efficiently or even break down.

Most common cause failure is caused by the accumulation of excessive deposits. They cover the walls and heating element, reducing the rate of heating of the water.

Scale in an electric kettle is salts and compounds contained in water and precipitated when heated. It is impossible to completely get rid of this phenomenon. But a set of care measures will allow
using various means as little as possible.

It is important to understand that deposits on the bottom of the kettle are not only a cosmetic problem. They significantly reduce the rate of heating and, if ingested, can cause the formation of sand in the kidneys or aggravate an existing disease.

Routine care

Correct daily care behind the electric kettle will allow global cleaning to be carried out very rarely. To keep salt deposits to a minimum, it is important to follow the following instructions:

The container should be cleaned regularly, preferably every evening. Simply drain the water and wash the inner surface with a sponge.
Do not boil more water than necessary. Salts from the liquid remaining after heating in the kettle will thicken the layer.
Use purified water. This will protect your equipment and is healthier.

To ensure that maintenance is not too labor-intensive and that your household appliance lasts as long as possible, it is important not only to know how to remove scale from an electric kettle, but also to do it regularly. Thin layer deposits are much easier to deal with and you don’t need to use special products to remove them.

Almost any acid-containing products effectively remove deposits. To clean electric kettles you can use both industrial compounds, and improvised means.

Special means

Helps fight scale on the walls and heating elements of electric kettles ready-made compositions, which can be purchased at the store in the household chemicals department. It’s quite easy to recognize them; the manufacturer puts an image of the equipment on the packaging, the name usually corresponds to: “Anti-scale” and the like.

They should be used in strict accordance with the manufacturer's instructions, and do not exceed the dosage and exposure time.

Usually the scheme is simple: the product needs to be dissolved in water in a certain proportion, poured into a kettle, boiled and left for a while. After this, wash the equipment and use it as usual.

Industrial products contain several types of acids and auxiliary substances that successfully combat salt deposits. It is important to know how to clean an electric kettle so as not to harm the health of your family. You can also use improvised means that are found in every home.

Lemon acid

As part of special means
is an integral component. It can be used to clean equipment quickly and efficiently. And what’s especially nice is that such care will not be expensive at all.

For one treatment you will need 1 sachet of acid containing 25 g of the substance.

You should proceed according to the following scheme:

Fill a kettle full of water and add the contents of 1 sachet.
Bring the water to a boil and turn off the device. Be careful; when boiling, the solution may begin to foam.
Leave for 30 minutes to act. Then drain the composition.

The impact is based chemical reaction converting citric acid to acetic acid.

After cleaning, thoroughly wash the equipment and boil clean water in it. This will help get rid of the smell. If necessary, repeat all manipulations.

Food vinegar

Food vinegar, which is found in every kitchen, is acetic acid diluted to a safe concentration. With its help you can clean the kettle quickly and effectively.

Pour a vinegar solution into the kettle (1 part 9% vinegar to 2 parts water). Bring the mixture to a boil and turn off the device. Leave until completely cool. After drain active composition and thoroughly wash the container using a moderately hard sponge.

The acid will soften the scale and make it easy to remove.

After cleaning, the equipment should be thoroughly washed and clean water boiled several times. This will help get rid of specific smell acid composition.

Baking soda

Soda is a fairly active substance that can remove even a large layer of scale. It is worth turning to it if a softer influence does not bear fruit.

Pour water into the kettle and add a tablespoon of soda to it. Boil and leave the composition to act for several hours. The alkaline solution will soften the deposits and they can be removed with a sponge.

If this action is not enough, you can repeat the procedure or add citric acid to the water instead of soda at the rate of 1 sachet per 1.5 liters of water. Boil the solution and leave for an hour.

After this, traditionally clean the surface with a sponge.

Carbonated drinks

Most carbonated drinks contain citric acid. This is what will help you deal with scale in the kettle. The method of removing deposits using drinks is passed on by word of mouth and is considered effective, but it also has its own characteristics:

You should choose colorless drinks. Dyes, especially bright ones, can leave stains that are more difficult to clean than salt deposits.
Before use, partially remove gas from the liquid. Otherwise, during the boiling process, the drink will foam, flooding everything around.
The drink should be poured into a kettle, boiled and left to act. Literally in an hour the scale will begin to come off in layers and can be removed mechanically.

Before cleaning an electric kettle, it is important to warn all family members about this. Liquids and compositions used for such work are colorless and can be confused with plain water. A few sips of citric acid solution will not cause significant harm, but negative emotions are guaranteed.

So that the electric kettle remains an indispensable assistant, it should be cleaned regularly, avoiding the formation of a significant layer of scale. It is enough to boil the acid composition once every few weeks, and the heating elements of the equipment will shine clean.

Because of large quantity salts and impurities in the water, we can observe how scale forms in our kettles. The more scale there is in the kettle, the longer it will take to heat the water, and it’s not always pleasant when something floats in the water. There are several ways you can clean your kettle at home, and today we will tell you about them!

How to descale a kettle?

Using the most simple products, which every home has, we can periodically carry out procedures for cleaning the kettle so that it lasts longer. Today we will tell you how to clean a kettle using such things

Baking soda
. Vinegar, 9%
. Sparkling water
. Lemon acid

How to clean a kettle with baking soda?

1. Fill a kettle full of water and add 1 tablespoon of baking soda.

2. We put the kettle on the fire (if it is an electric kettle, then turn it on) and wait until it boils.

3. When the kettle boils, turn off the heat and let it sit for 20 minutes.

4. Pour out the water from the kettle and add new water, now you need to add 20 grams of citric acid.

5. We repeat the heating process, and then wait half an hour.

6. Rinse the kettle and enjoy the cleanliness.

How to clean a kettle with vinegar?

1. Pour water into the kettle until it fills 2/3 of the maximum volume. Then pour vinegar until full.

2. Place the kettle on the fire and wait until it boils. As soon as this happens, remove the kettle from the heat and let it sit until the kettle cools down. We will see for ourselves how, over time, the scale will begin to disappear.

3 . As soon as the scale disappears, we should wash the kettle very well, after which it can already be used.

How to clean a kettle with soda?

One of the newest and most unconventional descaling products, but as people say, it is very effective.

The method of application is very simple - pour colorless mineral water into a kettle and boil it. The scale will disappear during heating.

If you use this method, we recommend taking colorless mineral water, since colors from other water can remain on the walls of the kettle.

How to clean a kettle with citric acid?

1. Pour a full kettle of water and pour 1 sachet of citric acid into it.

Limescale deposits that appear over time on the walls of new electricalteapot can ruin the mood of any housewife. Existing methods will help keep it clean on an ongoing basis.

Causes and consequences of scale formation

The formation of plaque on the walls and spiral of an electric kettle is caused by the use of hard water containing a significant amount of mineral salts.

Important! Scale on the walls of electrical teapot slows down the heating of water, and accordingly contributes to greater energy consumption due to increased time spent for boiling reading. Additional disadvantages are the increase in noise produced by the electric kettle during heating; boiled water acquires an unpleasant aftertaste. In addition, sediment microparticles fall back into the water, polluting it.

The presence of scale reduces the service life of electrical appliances, leading to their breakdown.
There are two ways to remove deposits:

mechanical;
chemical;

The use of the first method, in addition to requiring certain physical effort, can also damage the heating element of the kettle or its body.
The effectiveness of the second method depends on the application:

special industrial cleaning products;
baking soda;
citric acid;
vinegar;
sparkling water.

It is impossible to get rid of scale forever, since even the cleanest and filtered water contains a certain amount of calcium and magnesium salts, which settle as scale on the walls and heating element under the influence of high temperature.

Methods for cleaning an electric kettle

Method 1

A combination of vinegar or citric acid and soda will help get rid of old scale:
To do this, add 1/2 cup. soda into a kettle with water and bring the soda solution to a boil.
Turn off and stand for 20-30 minutes, drain the water. Then pour fresh water and add 2-3 tbsp. l. citric acid or 1/2 cup vinegar.
Bring to a boil again, turn off and let stand for about 30 minutes. Pour out the water and wash the kettle thoroughly.
The scale that remains on the walls can be easily cleaned with a kitchen sponge.

Method 2

Using soda alone has a more gentle effect:

Pour into boiling water soda ash and leave until completely cool. The soda solution will soften the lime deposits and make them loose, making it easy to clean them with a sponge.

Method 3

A vinegar solution has an effective cleaning property that allows you to remove a thick layer of scale: 2 parts water to 1 part vinegar, poured to the top in a kettle and heated to a boil.
After which the electric kettle is left to cool slowly and then thoroughly washed using detergents.

The disadvantage of this method is the pungent odor, which can then only be removed after prolonged ventilation.

Important! You should not use vinegar undiluted, as it can destroy the galvanic coating of the heating coil.

Method 4

1 liter of carbonated water can cope with small plaque deposits on the walls of the kettle: Sprite, Schweppes, Coca-Cola, which is poured into the kettle and kept for 2-3 hours.
The effect is achieved due to the content of orthophosphoric acid in these drinks, a substance that can remove deposits of lime salts.

Advice! Experienced housewives For light-colored electric kettles, it is recommended to use primarily colorless soda, since the coloring pigment of colored drinks can eat into the walls and will be quite difficult to remove.

Method 5

Citric acid will help clean the electric kettle with plastic case from moderate and minor lime deposits:

To do this, pour about 100 g of citric acid into a kettle filled with water and heat to a boil, boil for several minutes. Then turn it off, leave until it cools completely, then drain the water and rinse the kettle thoroughly.
Then it is filled with water 2 more times and boiled. This method is not as aggressive as the method using acetic acid, so may require repeating the procedure again.

As an alternative, you can also use lemons, cut into wedges with the peel included.

They are placed in an electric kettle, filled with water and boiled. In addition to the cleansing effect, this method has an additional bonus - a pleasant aroma.

Method 6

As a cleanser, you can try fresh sorrel, which is placed in an electric kettle, filled with water, heated, and boiled for several minutes.
Then leave until it cools completely, drain the water and remove the scale with a sponge. The content of oxalic acid in the leaves of this vegetable crop allows you to soften hard lime deposits and make them looser.

Preventive measures

You should not allow a thick layer of scale to form, as it will be much more difficult to remove. Preventative cleaning of the electric kettle from limescale recommended as needed and at least once every 1-2 months.
It is also not recommended to leave water in the kettle after boiling, or overnight.
Washing the kettle daily with a sponge prevents the appearance of plaque.
Although modern water purification filters do not protect against the formation of limescale, using specially filtered water for boiling allows you to keep the electric kettle clean longer.
When purchasing, it is better to choose models with a heating disk or a closed spiral, since caring for such kettles is much easier.

Some of the described methods are radical methods used when a thick layer of scale accumulates. Special means household chemicals presented on store shelves are also capable of cleaning scale from the walls of an electric kettle. They are used in accordance with the instructions presented on the packaging.

Constantly following simple rules for keeping the electric kettle clean will extend its service life.