Brits are known for drinking tea, which makes sense as the nation drinks around a staggering 36 billion cups every year. It is clear that kettles in UK households are used a lot, with the majority using them multiple times daily, which is why it is crucial that kettles are kept clean.
Neglecting your kettle will cause a build up of limescale, which can result in chalky bits in the water. While some kettles have built-in filters to stop pieces from being poured into a drink, it doesn’t completely stop limescale from accumalating. Therefore, households are being urged to regularly descale their kettles – with one method recommended to be followed every four to eight weeks.
The straightforward method requires two things — distilled white vinegar and water. Good Housekeeping recommends doing it last thing at night so your kettle is fresh and clean for the morning.
The first thing you want to do is fill the kettle just below half capacity with water and part-way boil it. Before it starts to bubble, switch off the kettle, and add in distilled white vinegar, until the kettle is three quarters full.
Make sure the first step is done with caution to avoid any splashback, and don’t boil the vinegar as its odour will fill your kitchen.
Leave the mixture to soak overnight, ensuring that the kettle is unplugged. It’s worth putting a note on the kettle to warn anyone else not to use it. In the morning, you’ll then find that the limescale has easily come away.
The next thing to do is rinse your kettle as it will remove any lingering vinegar odours, and just like that, you’ve descaled your kettle.
According to Good Housekeeping, you can completely skip out the heating water step if your kettle only has light limescale. However, the hot water will make the cleaning treatment work better.
It added: “Heating the water will provide better results for more stubborn residue. These amounts aren’t set in stone either; as long as the water and vinegar are roughly equal parts, you can use less of each if your limescale is predominantly surrounding the element.”
If your kettle has a filter, it might be worth descaling too. You can do this by removing or popping it out of place, depending on the type you have, then scrub the filter with white vinegar, using an old toothbrush, before rinsing and then replacing.