What is Limescale?
Limescale is a tough, milky white deposit often referred to as calcium carbonate. It is commonly found clogging up hard-to-clean places like:
- hot-water tanks
- old pipes
- central heating systems
- kettles
Limescale is primarily found in areas where hot water has evaporated and solidified. The deposits are unsightly and are difficult to remove by scrubbing alone, making cleaning a kettle a bit of a challenge. The harder one scrubs, the more susceptible the kettle is to having its inner surface removed in the process. But with the right mixture of mild acids, calcium carbonate can be easily dissolved.
How to Remove Limescale from a Kettle
Cleaning a kettle can be stress-free – the de-scaling process is easy because kettles are already designed to contain liquid. Every couple of months, just follow the instructions on the label of any store-bought kettle-cleaning product, and be sure to adhere to the product’s safety advice too. Here’s the general step-by-step process for how to clean a kettle:
- Dilute the kettle-cleaning product with water and pour into the kettle.
- Boil the kettle for a period of time.
- Leave the solution in the kettle to soak.
- Rinse with cold water.
Alternatively, use a natural kettle-cleaning method:
- Fill the kettle with an equal part solution of water and household vinegar and let this soak for an hour.
- Once the hour is up, just boil the kettle.
- Then, empty the kettle and rinse it thoroughly.
- If you don’t any vinegar to hand, try lemon juice! It not only does the same job as vinegar, it leaves the kettle smelling like lemon.
Complete your kettle clean by wiping down the outside of the kettle with a general-purpose cleaner and a damp cloth. As you can see, cleaning a kettle can really be quite pain-free.