Nothing is worse than making a cup of tea only to find slimy white flakes in your beverage, but this can only happen if you do not regularly clean your kettle.
Many people overlook washing their kettle, but it is essential if you live in a hard water area as limescale will build up over time.
Limescale is harmless to drink, but it forms a white crusty stain at the bottom of kettles, which not only spoils your cuppa but will wear down the heating element over time and cause the kettle to break.
Lynne, a household expert and founder of New Mummy, has shared that removing limescale properly is “easy” and “no effort” as long as you use two natural ingredients.
She said: “Why do I love these natural products for cleaning? It is simple really, I often I see the results without putting much effort in. Descaling a kettle with vinegar or lemon is exactly this. Easy cleaning.”
Limescale is mainly made up of calcium carbonate, a mineral that is left over when water evaporates. To get rid of it, you need an acidic substance that can break it down.
White vinegar contains acetic acid, while lemon juice contains citric acid. These acids dissolve the limescale naturally without having to awkwardly scrub the bottom of your kettle.
Both vinegar and lemon juice are cheap, highly effective, and safe ways to remove limescale without having to use harsher chemicals in your kettle.
How to remove limescale from your kettle properly
Getting rid of limescale is incredibly quick and easy, and it can be done in roughly five minutes.
Lynne said: “Descaling the kettle with vinegar in the video literally took less than five minutes to do. And in that five minutes I don’t actually have to do anything, usually I’m fussing over the kids and making their dinner or something.”
Using either white vinegar or lemon juice is fine, but many people prefer to clean their kettle with lemon juice, as vinegar is more pungent and requires more work to rinse away.
You need only fill your kettle with one part water and one part lemon juice or white vinegar.
Boil the kettle and then leave it alone for a few minutes to give the cleaning substance time to break down the limescale.
Lynne said: “May be instant, but it may take a few minutes, or an hour if the limescale is very thick or hard to see i.e. not a glass kettle).”
There may also be limescale on the kettle sprout, so simply wipe it with a clean cloth and a little lemon juice or white vinegar.
Once the time is up, pour the water and cleaning solution out, then rinse the kettle with clean water.
The limescale should now be completely gone, and you should have a sparkling, clean, descaled kettle. If any limescale remains, leave the lemon juice or vinegar to sit in the kettle for longer.