How to clean the kettle from scale: we reveal all the secrets. The most effective and safest methods for descaling a kettle

When hard water boils, a huge amount of salts is released. Over time, they cling to the walls and bottom of the kettle, and they are called "scale". At first glance, scale does not really interfere with life - so what if the water has become cloudy, but something crunches on your teeth? And if the owners of ordinary enameled kettles can ignore scale for years, then the owners of electric kettles can be upset - with a thick layer of scale, the life of the kettle decreases several times, up to six months.

In order to extend the life of the electric kettle and preserve the taste of water, regular cleaning of scale, which occurs mainly on the heating elements, is necessary. The main means in the fight against scale:

lemon acid;
table 9% vinegar;
soda;
salt;
chemical agents against scale, for example, Antinakipin;

In all cases for effective removal scale this or that remedy must either be boiled or left overnight. However, these well-known and available funds can really help in getting rid of scale. What is guaranteed to give a 100% result?

"Antinakipin"
- According to the instructions, pour the product into the kettle and fill with water.
- Boil.
- Rinse the kettle thoroughly under running water.
- Boil and drain the water 3-4 more times to get rid of the remnants of the product.
Outcome. With scale on the walls of the kettle, Antinakipin coped perfectly well. But the high layer of scale at the bottom remained almost unchanged. From side effects was tagged bad smell all over the kitchen and fears to drink water from a boiled kettle. However, you can safely use it if the plaque is small.
Lemon acid
- Pour a tablespoon of citric acid into the kettle and fill it with water.
- Boil.
- Rinse the kettle under cold water.
- Boil again.
Outcome. The walls of the kettle are crystal clear, but the scale on the bottom still lives, despite the fact that the citric acid had to break down the alkali, which forms the basis of the scale. After re-boiling the results have not changed, but reviews of the use of citric acid are full of success. Maybe it does not work on all teapots?
Soda
- Pour a tablespoon of soda with cold water as much as the volume of your kettle allows.
- Boil.
- Rinse the kettle under running water.
- If necessary, you can rub the loosened scale with a sponge.
- Boil and drain the water from the kettle 2 more times to remove the remaining soda.
Outcome. The scale has become a little looser, making it possible to slightly scrape it off with the hard side of the dishwashing sponge. However, partially the scum, already saturated with useful and not very useful means, remains in its rightful place.
Soda with salt
- Just like in the previous version, pour two tablespoons of soda into the kettle and fill it with water, but now add a tablespoon of table salt to it.
- Boil.
- Leave for 5-10 minutes and drain the water.
- Rinse the inside of the kettle with running water.
- Boil new water two or three times. clean water to clean the kettle completely.
Outcome. Finally managed to defeat the scum! The plaque has dissolved almost completely, only a small layer remains, which can be easily wiped off with a sponge. The kettle shines, the sediment no longer crunches on the teeth - is this not a real effect.
Vinegar.
- Pour 200 ml of 9% table vinegar into the kettle for 1.5 liters of water and leave the mixture for 15-20 minutes.
- Boil.
- Rinse the kettle thoroughly under a strong stream of running water.
- Boil and drain fresh water several times.
- Rinse the kettle again.
Outcome. The entire inner surface of the kettle became absolutely clean, the bottom shone, but the deeply embedded pieces of scale remained where they were. One of the side effects was a peculiar smell that filled the entire kitchen, but was easily removed from the surface of the kettle with running water. In general, like using citric acid, this method is good for small layers of scale, which it will clean off without difficulty.

Many well-known anti-scale recipes are completely invalid in conditions real life, but less common recipes give unexpectedly good results. As a result, it is best to descale the electric kettle with soda in combination with salt. Well, and most importantly, as a result of the experiments, not a single teapot was harmed.

The water in our taps leaves much to be desired, and the question of how to descale the kettle does not lose its sharpness. For electric kettles, the deposit on the walls is not just a terrible internal one, but a deterioration in the thermal conductivity of the metal in proportion to the thickening of the layer, which provokes a decrease in the power of the heater and its service life (wear work has not done anything better yet). Boiling water requires increased time and energy costs. Scale has a similar effect on ordinary kettles - the burner also needs much more time. Bottom line: cost overruns, premature wear of household appliances.

The scale that has settled on the heating elements of heating boilers often leads to rupture of pipes. Whether she can break the heating element of the kettle is unknown. Apparently, because the housewives are used to descaling kettles - let's figure out how they do it.

How to clean the kettle from scale at home

There are enough ways to clean the kettle at home. Stores offer a wide range of special means. Some of them work instantly, and some do not work at all. It depends on the manufacturer, his honesty. The vast majority of descaling tablets/liquids/gels are based on acetic and citric acids.

regular teapot

At home, vinegar and citric acid are added:

brine;
baking soda;
fanta, sprite, coca-cola;
potato and apple peels.

Not all products suitable for cleaning ordinary teapots are suitable for processing electrical. The point is the duration of exposure and the proper temperature: if you need to boil for a long time on a quiet fire, in this way it will not be possible to descale an ordinary electric kettle, but a thermos kettle can.

How to clean a kettle with vinegar

Kettle-thermos

This descaling method is suitable for regular kettles and thermos kettles with temperature control. Vinegar must be diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10 (100 ml of vinegar per liter of water), fill the kettle with the solution and put it on the stove (turn it on). As soon as the water boils, you need to see if the scale has exfoliated. If the walls of the dishes have not yet been freed from sediment, leave to boil on a quiet fire for about 15 minutes (the electric one will not boil quietly, therefore the method is not suitable).

Important! After the procedure, the dishes must be thoroughly washed, boil several portions of water in it, and ventilate the room well.

How to clean the kettle with citric acid

Cleaning the kettle citric acid- a universal method, equally effective for conventional and electric (metal and even plastic) models. Citric acid must be dissolved in water at the rate of 2 teaspoons per liter. Pour the solution into the kettle and boil.

Tip: Don't let your cookware get to the point where descaling will require hard cleaning. With the help of citric acid, carry out prophylaxis: fill the kettle with a solution, as soon as plaque appears on its walls, and leave it for several hours.

How to remove scale with soda

With soda, they do the same as with vinegar, but they boil longer. It is necessary to pour soda with water at the rate of 1 liter per tablespoon, put on the stove, let it boil, reduce the heat to low and keep for half an hour so that the solution barely boils.

After half an hour of boiling, the liquid must be poured out, the kettle should be thoroughly washed and clean water should be boiled in it, after which it should also be poured out.

Non-format: soda, pickle, cleaning

Obvious vinegar and citric acid can be replaced with non-standard, even unexpected, means. The scale in the kettle is perfectly handled by food and drinks.

soda

Excellent tool - "Sprite"

Soda is so "safe" that it does a great job of decalcifying kettles. Why are there dishes - they successfully wash car carburetors with sweet water. Sprite, Coca-Cola and Fanta do the same, but it is better to use Sprite - Coca-Cola and Fanta may well leave colorful stains on metal walls instead of scale.

The method is suitable for any teapots - you don’t even have to keep it for a long time (such a “fusion” composition): you need to half fill the teapot with a miracle drink and bring it to a boil. It is first necessary to rid the water of the gas (it does not clean the gas - the caustic substance is contained in the water itself). The method is beautiful in its clarity. It can serve as a help and evidence base in educating children about the harm of purchased soda.

Brine

Too good way cleaning electric kettles from scale - no need to simmer for a long time. how active substance the same vinegar works - the brine is not an independent remedy. To clean the kettle, it is enough to fill it with brine, boil, cool, empty and thoroughly wash. Particularly effective cucumber pickle.

Anti-calc cleaners

This method is ancient - it was successfully used by our grandmothers and great-grandmothers. Potato and apple peels are used as a cleaning agent (not starch works, but acids). Descaling is simple: you need to load the peel into the kettle, pour water and put on fire.

After the water boils, you need to remove the dishes from the stove, leave for a couple of hours, then rinse thoroughly, draining the solution. Before the procedure, cleanings are also thoroughly washed, if they are potato.

How to descale a particularly neglected kettle

Unfortunately, this method is not suitable for an electric one, but an ordinary kettle, even if it is in a very neglected state, can be cleaned. The success of the method is ensured by complex processing. You need to act in three stages:

Fill with water, add a tablespoon of soda, boil and drain the solution.
Fill with water, add a tablespoon of citric acid, bring to a boil and leave for half an hour over low heat; drain the solution.
Fill again, add half a glass of vinegar, let it boil, leave for half an hour on a quiet fire; drain the solution.

Metal kettle that can withstand tough cleaning

After the procedure, you need to thoroughly wash the dishes, boil several portions of water “idle” in it.

It happens that the sediment remains on the walls, but after such an impact treatment it is easy to remove it with a dish sponge.

Important! Do not use hard brushes, especially those with metal teeth, and abrasive sponges.

Tip: Buy a glass electric kettle with a heated bottom. It is impossible to start it: transparent walls will not allow; scale does not settle on the walls, but floats in flakes; a special cleaner for dishes, glass, ceramics (Cillit, for example) can easily get rid of plaque.

Model with heating bottom and glass walls

At home, it is not so difficult to clean the kettle from scale, but it will take time. Sediment appears due to excessive mineralization of water, but this can be avoided by using purchased water. It is inexpensive (especially when it comes to health: the body does not rejoice when salts and minerals are excessively introduced into it), and you do not have to periodically remove scale.

Scale appears due to impurities contained in poor-quality water. During boiling, they settle on the walls of the kettle and spoil the taste of hot drinks. Also, scale does not conduct heat well, so a dirty kettle will boil longer.

How to clean a kettle with vinegar

The method is suitable for very dirty teapots made of plastic, glass, stainless steel.

You will need:

½ liter of water;
1 cup 9% vinegar or 2 tablespoons 70% vinegar essence.

Heat water in a kettle, and then pour in vinegar or vinegar essence and leave the solution for an hour. During this time, the scale will soften. Rinse the kettle from the inside with a sponge, boil clean water again and drain it.

How to clean the kettle with lemon or citric acid

The method is suitable for electric kettles made of stainless steel, plastic or glass with a moderate layer.

Not suitable for enamel and aluminum kettles.

You will need:

½ liter of water;
¼ lemon or 2 tablespoons citric acid.

Heat water in a kettle and put a piece of lemon or citric acid into boiling water. Leave the scale to soak for 1-2 hours. Rinse the teapot with a sponge and rinse thoroughly. After the first boil, the water will need to be drained.

How to clean a kettle with baking soda

The method is suitable for any kettles.

You will need:

½ liter of water;
1 tablespoon baking soda.

Stir the baking soda in a glass of water so that it dissolves completely. Pour the resulting liquid into the kettle, add the remaining water and boil it. Wait half an hour or an hour and heat the kettle again.

Now you can wash the kettle and boil clean water in it. True, after it will have to be poured.

How to clean a kettle with soda

The method is suitable for stainless steel kettles heated on a stove.

Not suitable for aluminum, enamel and electric kettles.

You will need a bottle of any lemonade. The most famous option is cola, but it is better to use a colorless drink (it is important that the composition contains citric acid).

Let an open bottle of lemonade sit for 2-3 hours to eliminate gas bubbles. Then it's simple: pour the drink into the kettle and bring to a boil. Then thoroughly wash and rinse everything.

How to peel a kettle

The method is suitable for enameled and metal teapots with a weak layer of scale.

Not suitable for electric kettles.

You will need:

½ liter of water;
skin 2-3, apples or pears.

Rinse the cleaning from dirt and sand, put them in a kettle and fill with water. Boil the liquid and leave to infuse for one to two hours. A light layer of scale will come off on its own, rub stubborn dirt with a sponge for washing dishes. After rinsing, the kettle will shine like new.

If you have a particularly capacious kettle, and scale has accumulated on the walls, take large quantity water than indicated in the recipes. The liquid must cover the contaminants completely.

How to keep the kettle clean for a long time

Pour soft water into the kettle. If you don't buy bottled, use a filter. Or at least stand your tap water for a few hours to allow the impurities to precipitate.
Boil water in the kettle no more than once. Better fill it fresh.
Rinse the inside of the kettle at least once a day. And ideally before each use.
For prevention, once a month, boil a filled kettle with one tablespoon of citric acid.

Have you ever tested tap water? If not, then one can only assume what is contained in it, except for “ash-two-o”. Some substances are easy to detect even without careful analysis - these are metal salts of magnesium and calcium. The water in which they are contained is called hard water.

Take a look inside your teapot. If you see a persistent grayish coating (scale) - it means that the water in your water supply is hard.

Hardness of water

There are many ways to get rid of hard water. You can use chemicals or filters, but the easiest way is to boil the water. In this case, soluble hydrocarbons will turn into insoluble carbonates and settle in the form of scale on the walls of the dishes.

We note right away that it is impossible to use hard sponges or knives, this can damage the dishes. Knowing that the walls are only chemical compound, try to act on it by chemical means.

You can descale the kettle with the help of inorganic and organic acids. Have you ever extinguished soda with vinegar? Something similar happens with scale when acids are added. First, use vinegar. Moreover, it is in the arsenal of any hostess.

We take vinegar

People got acquainted with vinegar a long time ago, when the first barrel of wine turned sour from an unlucky winemaker. But it is unlikely that people thought that this spoiled wine would be quite a valuable tool in the economy.

Use at least 9% vinegar for cleaning. In one liter of water, 150 g of the substance must be dissolved. It is even better to use a more concentrated solution - vinegar essence. It can be taken one (maximum two) tablespoon. Pour the solution into the kettle (up to half the volume) and boil. You need to boil for at least half an hour.

During the cleaning procedure, there will be a strong smell of vinegar in the kitchen. Therefore, it is advisable to open a window or at least a window, and remove children and asthmatics to another room. After the procedure, the kitchen should be well ventilated.

If the plaque is large, it is not possible to remove it immediately. In this case, the cleaning can be repeated. At the very end, rinse the dishes thoroughly to get rid of the persistent smell of vinegar.

With the help of vinegar, you can also clean the electric kettle from scale. It is necessary to pour clean water into it to the very top and dissolve the required amount of the product in it.

The peculiarity of cleaning the electric kettle is that continuous boiling for a certain time is impossible.

Proceed as follows: wait until the kettle turns off automatically, then wait a little and turn it on again. Repeat several times. After the procedure, boil the kettle with the addition detergents and then with pure water.

Lemon cleansing

It is not difficult to clean a kettle from scale with citric acid. You can buy it at the grocery store. The advantage of this tool is the absence of a pungent odor and absolute harmlessness. Despite the fact that it is a weak organic acid, it is able to dissolve hardness salts.

The whole cleaning procedure consists of 6 stages:

Buy 1-2 25g or 20g packs of citric acid.
Pour two thirds into the kettle cold water and pour one sachet of citric acid into it.
Boil water for about 5 minutes.
Check the quality of cleaning. To do this, remove the kettle from the heat and gently stir the water in it. Flakes in the water indicate the effectiveness of the procedure.
After cleaning, drain the dirty solution and rinse the kettle under running water.
Boil the kettle twice with clean water.

If there is not a lot of scale in the kettle, the cleaning procedure can be carried out without boiling. Dissolve citric acid in water, pour into a teapot, wait about 5 hours. Then proceed as in the previous case.

Soda will help

And now we will tell you how to use soda to clean the kettle from scale. First, pour clean water into the kettle tap water. Then dissolve the soda - a tablespoon with a slide - and boil.

Wait about 20 minutes, then drain the solution and refill the kettle. Then you need to add one tablespoon of citric acid and boil. Pour out the dirty water and clean the kettle with a soft sponge.

Citric acid can be replaced with vinegar. To clean it, you need to boil water and immediately add 3 tablespoons of soda to it. After half an hour, boil the solution again and pour it out of the kettle. Then fill it up hot water with vinegar essence (2 tablespoons).

Bring the solution to a boil, wait half an hour and pour. As in previous version, clean the remaining loose plaque with a sponge. Such cleaning can be carried out for teapots of any kind.

Baking soda loosens scale, while citric or acetic acid dissolves it. Using baking soda for cleaning is very beneficial because it is cheap, affordable and absolutely harmless.

Coca-Cola against scale

Why Coke? It contains inorganic phosphoric acid, which is added to the drink to improve the taste. And the action of phosphoric acid on carbonates is similar to the action of acetic and citric acids.

Of course, the concentration of acid in Coca-Cola is low. Therefore, with a thick layer of scale, it will not help. But it will cope with a small raid. Moreover, it is the most safe way clean the teapot.

Pour the drink into the teapot up to half the volume. Wait for the gas bubbles to come out. After that, boil the water and let it stand for half an hour. Then drain the solution from the kettle and rinse with clean water.

To keep your kettle always in perfect condition, descale it every month. With a small layer of contamination, the cleaning procedure can be carried out without heating. In advanced cases, use industrial scale removers. And do not forget to rinse the dishes well with tap water after any cleaning.

The modern variety of teapots is amazing. You can't keep up with innovations: manufacturers are experimenting with materials, technologies, shapes and colors. To make the kettle last for a long time, it is advised to use spring, filtered or bottled water. And if this is not possible, defend the water from the tap throughout the day.

Why does plaque appear

Over time, scale will appear in any kettle. But increased water hardness will greatly reduce these periods and cause many problems. Firstly, scale is dangerous for the heating element. A spiral or a metal disk covered with a coating quickly overheats, loses heat transfer and, as a result, burns 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 calcium and magnesium salts in excess. Hardness is considered normal from 3 to 6 meq/l. White and dark spots on faucets, a sink or toilet bowl, clogged holes in the shower tube, whitish spots on washed dishes, permanent lime deposits in the kettle are sure signs of high water hardness (from 6 to 9 mg-eq / l).

Many people think that installing a filter (jug, flow or reverse osmosis) will completely eliminate the problem of scale. In fact, it will reduce the formation of plaque, but not by much. 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

Before you remove the scale in the kettle, you need to remember: it is impossible to mechanically remove the already formed plaque. If you start scrubbing or scratching it with your own hands, ruin the device. Therefore, in our time there are many chemicals to fight scum. Basically, these are liquid or powdered preparations based on soda ash.

They all have an identical principle of operation: according to the indicated dosage, we fall asleep in a kettle, fill the device with water to the maximum mark and boil it. After that, 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 to the bottom and walls of the kettle even more firmly.

Main disadvantage industrial facilities in 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 be sure: time-tested folk recipes guarantee 100% positive result. Ordinary soda, vinegar and "lemon" are recognized leaders among the descalers in the kettle. To successfully get rid of hard deposits, you will need knowledge about dosages, cleansing steps and rules for use in different types appliances.

For an ordinary enameled teapot

Such instances are becoming less and less common in modern kitchen interior. But, of course, they continue to be bought, because they are much cheaper than their electric counterpart. Caring for an enameled teapot is quite easy. 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, rinse the dishes abundantly.
If the sediment is not completely gone, repeat the procedure.

To boil the kettle from scale with vinegar and not get poisoned by caustic steam, you need to open the windows during operation and put on a protective gauze mask. And before using the kettle, boil clean water “idle” again 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, thoroughly wash off the lime grains.

Store-bought remedy can be replaced with lemon: cut into pieces and boil for ten minutes.

Soda

Boil a soda solution diluted in the following proportion in a kettle: two tablespoons of baking soda per liter of water.
Wait until it cools down and remove soft deposits with a sponge.
If the descaling quality is not satisfactory, repeat twice.
This procedure can also be preceded by acetic 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 is essential heating elements. It is more convenient to clean a kettle with a disc heater than with a spiral one, reminiscent of a Soviet-era kettle. In addition, the first is more durable and heats the 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 stand up to 20 minutes.
Wash off the natural acid-base composition.

Successfully wash off scale in electric kettle glass will help vinegar. Everything is extremely simple: open the window, boil water, and only after turning off the appliance, pour two or three tablespoons of food vinegar into boiling water, cover kitchen towel until completely cool. Control to shiny metal surface the heater did not darken. Rinse thoroughly with running water.

stainless steel

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

A stainless steel teapot is less prone to lime build-up. Nevertheless, a few more tips will be useful on how to quickly get rid of scale in a kettle made of such material. So, in a container, you can boil the brine from pickled cucumbers or tomatoes. Cleaning with apple or grape vinegar is also recommended - a glass of the product is poured into a boiled liter of water and left for half an hour.

from ceramics

Beautiful painted ceramic teapots, although very durable, require careful and careful handling. special recommendations there is no plaque to clean, so choose one of the recipes above.

Remember safety measures while working with boiling water and cleaning agents. folk remedies. This is important because, according to reviews, ceramic teapots quite weighty, keep warm for a very long time and have rather uncomfortable, very hot handles.

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 means at hand. You can also try and evaluate a peculiar way: boil water with apple peels in a saucepan, 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 do not know how to remove heavy scale in the kettle? Running cases will be “cured” by the following method, which consists of six simple steps.

Add three tablespoons of soda to a kettle with boiling water.
After half an hour, boil again and pour immediately.
Get 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 to remove the vinegar smell.

Does the method work with Coca-Cola

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

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

Practice shows that The best way for removing lime deposits- this is to clean the kettle from scale with citric acid by boiling water with a couple of spoons of "lemon". It turns out cleaner and cheaper than using Coca-Cola, and also without a pungent smell, as in the case of using vinegar.

"Options" from scale

Interestingly, there are ways not only to remove scale in the kettle, but also how to prevent its occurrence. To do this, you just need to select a device with additional "options". Inside some models (although they are more expensive), cleaning cartridges are installed that filter and heat water at the same time. There are also teapots with gilding on the spiral, 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 washing machine along with a water heater.