Descaling of boiling kettle

leohan · Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2005 11:22 am Post Subject: Descaling of boiling kettle

Like to you all out there on how to remove water scaling inside boiling kettle. Thanks first.

nstreet · Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2005 1:21 pm Post Subject:

Turn the kettle off first, otherwise you may get scaulded

oilman · Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2005 4:48 pm Post Subject:

Turn off kettle. Fill kettle with vinegar, leave overnight. Empty next day, rinse kettle and use.

felix · Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2005 12:06 am Post Subject:

Citric acid will do a better job than the acetic acid in vinegar. That's because calcium citrate dissolves in water whereas calcium acetate forms an insoluble layer between the scale and the vinegar. You can buy citric acid crystals from home brew shops. A teaspoon of acid in a kettle of water is a good start and you can speed things up enormously by boiling the kettle - but watch out for fizzing! If it stops fizzing while scale still remains you have exhausted the acid. Simply add more.

leohan · Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2005 12:29 am Post Subject:

Thanks for the help guys. Haven't been to this forum for quite some time, sorry.

Diyisfun · Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2005 8:55 am Post Subject:

You can buy in supermarkets (well you can in the UK) products for descaling, & they dont take long. You could also buy the 'wire' thing to go into the kettle that will collect the scale. Sorry cant remember what they are called.

Percy Vere · Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2005 3:56 pm Post Subject:

Diyisfun wrote:

You can buy in supermarkets (well you can in the UK) products for descaling, & they dont take long. You could also buy the 'wire' thing to go into the kettle that will collect the scale. Sorry cant remember what they are called.

The wire cage will only work as long as you keep cleaning the scale off it. Best method is to buy a filter jug - kettles only fur up with filtered water when the filter is exhausted (approx 60 litres in a hard water area).