Limescale is pesky and builds up really easily in kettles – especially if you live in a hard water area as it contains high quantities of calcium and magnesium.
While this buildup isn’t harmful to consume, when you’re making a brew and it comes out with flakes of limescale in it, it can be slightly embarrassing if you have guests over.
As many people move away from harsh chemicals and steer toward more natural methods instead, many people use white vinegar to get things looking as good as new or opt for baking soda.
But when it comes to limescale in the kettle, there is another natural ingredient that cleaning fans are loving at the minute.
Unsure of how to descale her kettle, Stephanie Valko asked: “Can I get some tips for removing limescale from my kettle, please? Ideally homemade.”
While many suggestions were to use white vinegar, this can often take a long time and gives off a pungent odour that many are not a fan of.
Instead, cleaning fans suggested using citric acid. Citric acid is a naturally occurring acid that is found in a variety of fruits and vegetables but comes in a powdered form.
It has incredibly effective descaling properties and has de-greasing, anti-fungal, and anti-bacterial properties, making it ideal for cleaning both your kitchen and bathroom.
Natalie Liley said: “Citric acid is truly magical and totally cheaper than the normal descale stuff.”
Jane Bollen wrote: “Citric acid. [Put a] spoonful of it in [the] kettle whilst boiling. Leave to cool and rinse.”
Kelly Richards said: “I use citric acid or white vinegar. Both work well but I’d say the citric acid worked better than the white vinegar because the results were instant.”
Yvonne Evens commented: “Definitely citric acid, I’ve only just found out about this and it’s brilliant.
“I boiled the kettle with water and a tablespoon of the citric acid and as soon as it had finished boiling the limescale had gone.”
