How to clean the spout of an electric kettle from scale. How to descale an electric kettle? How to descale an electric kettle with citric acid

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 emitted by the electric kettle during heating, boiled water takes on 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:

1. mechanical;
2. 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. Soda solution will soften lime deposits, make them loose, which will allow you to easily clean them with a sponge.

Method 3

• Effective cleansing property that allows you to remove thick layer scale, a vinegar solution is used: 2 parts water to 1 part vinegar, poured to the top into a kettle and heated to a boil.
• After that, the electric kettle is left to cool slowly and then washed thoroughly 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 electroplating 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 recommend for electric kettles light colors Use colorless soda first of all, since the coloring pigment of colored drinks can eat into the walls and it will be quite difficult to remove it.

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 acetic acid method, so it may require repeating the procedure.

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 methods described 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.

In the majority settlements tap water contains many impurities, especially calcium and magnesium salts. During boiling, they form an insoluble precipitate. Therefore, an unpleasant coating often forms inside the kettle - scale. These salts become insoluble and are deposited on its bottom, walls and heating elements. Due to scale, the taste of water deteriorates; small pieces of it get into the tea and spoil it. appearance and our health. It is even more harmful for an electrical appliance, because it takes longer to boil and breaks down faster. Most housewives know citric acid, but there are several other ways.

What are the cleaning methods based on?

It is very unpleasant when, when you add water from the kettle, yellowish scale flakes fall into your cup. Moreover, it forms even if you use filtered water, because filtration does not remove calcium and magnesium salts from it. Over time, their insoluble forms corrode the enamel or plastic of the teapot walls. Due to scale, its boiling time increases greatly. Therefore, you need to fight it regularly: this way it will be easier to remove than a thick layer.

All methods of cleaning a kettle are based on the fact that scale is a deposit of salts. Acids are used to remove them. They react with salts and convert them into soluble form. Many people know how to descale a kettle. This method is based precisely on this property. chemicals. Nowadays descaling products are sold, some people use them because it is easier. Pour the product from the bag into water and boil. You can descale it in one go using this method. But many people don’t like that traces of chemicals may remain on the walls, so they prefer to use traditional methods.

How to descale a kettle with citric acid

This is the most common and well-known way to keep your heating device in order. You just need to pour a packet of citric acid into a kettle and boil the water for 5-10 minutes. Then leave this solution for half an hour. Many people leave the kettle with citric acid overnight if the scale layer is very thick.

How should this product be diluted correctly? For a regular two-liter kettle, take 1-2 bags of acid (or 2 heaped tablespoons). You can also use lemon juice by squeezing it from 1-2 fruits. After the boiled solution has cooled, the water must be drained, but not into the sink, as it may become clogged with scale flakes. Remaining plaque can be easily cleaned with a sponge. If the sediment is very thick, the procedure must be repeated.

Cleaning the kettle with citric acid is a very simple and cheap way. You can even descale an electric kettle this way. But not everyone uses this method, because a concentrated acid solution can be dangerous for the metal and cause corrosion. There are several other simple and safe methods.

Our grandmothers' way

Since ancient times, women have cleaned dishes with soda. It was also used to descale the kettle. Soda not only mechanically carefully removes plaque, but also softens the sediment. Along with citric acid, this is one of the most safe ways. After all, even if you don’t rinse your kettle well and the remaining product gets into your tea, it’s unpleasant, but it won’t harm you. Often these two remedies are used together. This removes old thick sediment more effectively.

How to descale a kettle with soda? Dissolve a couple of tablespoons in water and boil for half an hour. After the kettle has cooled down, boil it again. After draining the water, you will see that the scale has become loose. If you cannot remove it with a sponge, you can then boil water with citric acid, this will remove the most difficult deposits.

Other folk methods of dealing with scale

1. Boil potato peelings, apple peels or cut lemons in a kettle for an hour.
2. Instead of water, pour cucumber or tomato brine into a bowl and boil for at least an hour.
3. Boil the following solution in a kettle for an hour and a half: two glasses of water, three glasses of crushed chalk and a glass of ammonia and laundry soap.

How to clean a kettle with acid

But most often, modern housewives use acids to remove salt deposits. After all, everything folk remedies Not suitable for electric kettles.

Such solutions boil for a long time, and it will constantly turn off. Therefore, it is best to do this by pouring two-thirds of water, adding table vinegar to the top. This solution must be brought to a boil and cooled. The scale should dissolve without a trace, but if pieces of it remain, the procedure can be repeated.

Lately, many housewives have been using Coca-Cola or Fanta instead of vinegar. These drinks also contain acid, which dissolves sediment. The peculiarity of this method is that you only need to pour half of the kettle, and before that, completely remove the gases from the drink. In addition, when boiling, traces of dyes may remain on the walls of the dishes, so it is better to take colorless soda, such as Sprite.

How to properly descale a kettle

1. After using any method, the dishes must be rinsed thoroughly so that no traces of solution remain on the walls. It would be nice to boil clean water in it and pour it out.
2. When cleaning an electric kettle, do not use a highly concentrated acid solution, which can corrode the plastic walls and heating elements.
3. Be sure to warn your family not to drink tea during this time, as they may add acid to the cup instead of water.

Many housewives have long known how to descale a kettle with citric acid. But it turns out there are many other cheap and reliable ways to do this easily.

Scale is formed due to the fact that the water contains a large amount of salts, which settle on the bottom, walls and heating coil of the kettle.

The accumulation of scale inside the kettle will cause it to take much longer to heat the water. And over time, when the layer of scale thickens, the kettle may break.

At home, the following are used to remove scale:

If you do nothing, such an electric kettle will only last a year and a half. To prevent it from breaking down prematurely, you need to know how to remove scale from an electric kettle.

Method one is the easiest

Many housewives know how to descale an electric kettle. We offer the simplest and effective method which will take a little time:

1. Fill a kettle with water and add 1 tablespoon of baking soda.
2. After the kettle boils, let it sit for 20 minutes, then drain the water.
3. Then fill the kettle with fresh water with 20 grams of citric acid.
4. Boil the kettle in the same way and let it sit for half an hour.

After this procedure, rinse the kettle. If the scale has not disappeared, then its structure has become loose, and you can easily clean the kettle with a regular sponge.

Method two – “grandmother’s method”

Of course, our grandmothers did not know how to clean an electric kettle from scale - there were no electric kettles at that time)). But this method of cleaning copper teapots will also work for us. So, we need a nine percent solution of acetic acid, or more simply, vinegar.

1. First, fill the kettle 2/3 with water, the remaining third is vinegar.
2. Let the water boil and then leave the kettle until the water cools down. After some time, the scale in the electric kettle will dissolve. This is due to the fact that the acid contained in vinegar will react chemically with salts and decompose them into simple substances.
3. However, do not forget to rinse the kettle thoroughly after this, since acetic acid will remain on its walls and then enter your body with the tea.

Method three - using soda

Perhaps the most unconventional way to descale an electric kettle. However, according to many housewives, this method is very effective.

To perform this cleaning, you will need a liter of colorless carbonated water, like Sprite. Pour the soda into the kettle and boil. And the scale in the electric kettle will disappear!

The key point here is to purchase colorless soda. Be careful - the dyes contained in colored sodas will remain on the walls of the kettle when boiled, and it will be even more difficult to wipe them off than to get rid of scale.

Method four - citric acid

Do you want to know how to descale an electric kettle using regular citric acid?

1. Pour one packet of acid into a full kettle and boil.
2. Drain this liquid and rinse the kettle with running water.
3. Boil regular tap water a couple of times and pour it out.

This method is based on the same chemical reaction as when using acetic acid. Removing scale from an electric kettle may not happen immediately - after all, it’s more soft way. To do this, repeat the procedure again until the vessel is completely cleansed of salts. Also, do not forget to rinse the kettle after this procedure.

Method five - household chemicals

In addition to manual cleaning, you can also resort to using all kinds of chemicals. The household chemical store knows how to remove scale from an electric kettle.

• "Descaler"
• Major Domus
• "Antiscale: deep cleaning."

However, this method may not bring the expected result, and the money will be wasted. The kettle may not be cleaned due to the fact that the layer of scale has already sufficiently corroded the body and heating element.

And finally

Using these simple tips, you will be able to descale your electric kettle, but do not forget that the procedure will need to be repeated at certain intervals.

And remember, before you descale your electric kettle, you should warn your family members, as one of them may inadvertently make coffee from boiled Sprite, or worse.

There are many more methods for removing scale from an electric kettle, but not all of them are effective. Remember that if you use untested methods, you risk getting the opposite effect and your kettle may become completely unusable.

Despite modern systems water purification, it does not always remain crystal clear. The kettle that boils this water eventually gets an unpleasant deposit on the walls and bottom - scale. It is not always possible to remove it with dishwashing detergents, especially if the kettle is electric. Its body cannot be completely immersed in water. But there is a universal way to clean any type of kettle - citric acid.

• pour cold water into the kettle;
  
• pour a packet of citric acid (10-12 grams) into it;
  
• plug in the kettle;
  
• after boiling, open the lid and let the water boil for a few more minutes;
  
• pour the water into the pan, if necessary, rub the kettle with a soft sponge to remove plaque;
  
• You can rub the outside of the kettle with boiled water and citric acid so that there are no streaks;
  
• Pour clean water into the kettle and boil;
  
• drain all the water again;
  
• fill the kettle again, boil and you can enjoy clean water without residue.
  

Citric acid and vinegar when cleaning the kettle
This cleaning method is only suitable for metal stovetop kettles. Fill half the water, pour in half a glass of 9% vinegar. Let the kettle sit for a while (10-15 minutes). Then add a tablespoon of citric acid and boil water with this mixture. After boiling, turn off the stove and let the kettle sit for 20 minutes. Drain all the water, wipe the inside of the kettle with a sponge detergent, rinse. It is advisable to use rubber gloves for the procedure, the mixture is very aggressive. The kettle can be used in the usual way only after boiling it three times and then draining the water, so as not to get food poisoning or allergies.

Citric acid is food product, which effectively removes scale and is safe for humans in small quantities. The composition of scale is an alkali, which can only be softened and removed with acid. Special anti-scale products can be used to clean the inside of the kettle, but may be unsafe for health.