Former Great British Bake Off star and champion Nancy Birtwhistle shared her natural remedy for banishing limescale and making kettles ‘brand new’. Appearing on ITV’s This Morning, Nancy praised lemons as a natural and non-toxic alternative to chemical cleaners, which are effective for removing stains, getting rid of unwanted smells, and getting rid of limescale.
Limescale forms and builds up when hard water – which contains high numbers of minerals like calcium and magnesium – evaporates, leaving behind minerals as chalky, white deposits. Limescale, also known as calcium carbonate, is likely to get worse if you live in a hard-water area. Calcium carbonate remains dissolved until the water is heated up.
As the water in a kettle boils, some compounds like carbon dioxide boil off and evaporate. BRITA explained that this process changes the solubility of calcium carbonate, which precipitates into a thin, white deposit within the kettle jug.
How to remove kettle limescale
Nancy told hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shepherd: “If you live in a hard water area you’re probably going to get a limescale build-up in your kettle… So four lemon halves in there. Fill it with water. Bring it to the boil. Leave it all night.
“And then the next morning, boil it up again. Tip away that water and your kettle will be gleaming.”
Place four lemon halves – two lemons – into the kettle. Fill it up with water and switch on to boil.
Then leave the water and lemons inside of the kettle overnight. Next day, give it another boil before pouring away the boiling water. Remove the lemons and wash away any remaining limescale.
Lemons are an effective natural remedy as they contain citric acid, which can help dissolve mineral deposits in limescale.
This acid helps break down the calcium and magnesium in hard water stains
While using lemons as a descaler is generally safe and an effective natural remedy, there are a few things to keep in mind when using them – or any lemon derivatives.
Although lemons contain citric acid, which is helpful in dissolving the limescale, it’s still only a mild descaling agent in comparison to other solutions, such as using citric acid itself or vinegar.
The clip has already been viewed over a massive 495,100 times, receiving 13,400 likes and 166 comments. Many people recommended using a chemical descaler, claiming it’s cheaper than forking out for lemons.
A number of people also recommended some other natural ingredients, including vinegar. One person said: “Vinegar gets it clean in 2 mins. Rinse out and off you go.”
While another suggested: “Just use baking soda, idk why this is on telly.”
Isabella advised, “I empty the kettle and let it dry every time and I don’t get the build up,” while Nala wrote, “Literally a small amount of citric acid boil it once and it’s clear no need to boil it twice.”