Living in the South East of England, water hardness levels are predominantly high, which means is inevitable. The number one place I find where limescale builds up is in the kettle, making it a pain to . However, ever since I started using , it's no longer a I struggle with or dread.
Having had such , I wondered if it would work just as well on my grandad's kettle that hadn't been descaled for at least three years. While he doesn't use his kettle as often as I do, there was still a substantial amount of limescale lurking on the heating element of the . Descaling kettles not only helps to improve your teas and coffees, but it will also prolong the lifespan of the appliance and reduce energy consumption.
Although is a firm favourite for many when it comes to naturally descaling a kettle, I can't stand the smell, and I find that it does not work as fast as using citric acid.
Citric acid is an amazing natural cleaning product that packs a mean punch against limescale.
This is because it's a highly concentrated fruit acid that can dissolve alkaline limescale, in much the same process as vinegar does.
For this method, I used the Dri-Pak Citric Acid, but any brand will do the exact same job.
I started by adding one and a half tablespoons of citric acid. I then added water to the kettle - just enough to cover all the areas of limescale buildup.
If you add too much water, you'll reduce the effectiveness and will require you to add more citric acid.
I then put the kettle on to boil before checking the results. It only took about two minutes for the kettle to boil.
I opened the lid of the kettle and instantly noticed that all the limescale had vanished. There was no need to leave the solution to sit for a longer period, which is the case for many kettle descaling products.
All that was left was to give the kettle a good rinse out, and the job was done. Citric acid won't leave an aftertaste, so there was no need to boil the kettle again.
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