On the inner walls of any water heating device, whether it is a washing machine or an electric kettle, a layer of some foreign substance appears over time. Its color depends on the quality of the water and can even be red if rust is present in the pipes. At first it’s just a wet “fluff”, then it’s a denser structure, and in the end, the plaque on the walls of the kettle turns into stone, which cannot be simply washed.
What is harmful scale
It would seem that nothing terrible is happening. Well, a raid, and what's wrong? Why think about how to descale an electric kettle? Simple observations make it possible to find out that:
- firstly, in the water poured from such a teapot, turbidity is constantly present;
- secondly, the taste of the liquid deteriorates;
- thirdly, the kettle heats the water much more slowly, since the scale is not thermally conductive;
- fourthly, and most importantly, the heating coil very quickly fails, that is, it simply burns out;
- fifthly, if you constantly drink water with an admixture of cloudy scale, it is possible that these particles will settle in the kidneys, which leads to the formation of urolithiasis.
Where do foreign substances come from in clean water
Drinking water, no matter how transparent it may seem, has in its composition a huge amount of various substances. These are dissolved minerals, and metals, and various salts. Thanks to such impurities, when boiling water, a uniform coating forms on the inner surface of the vessel. Moreover, even the passage of the liquid through the cleaning filters does not completely release these substances, and you need to think how to clean the kettle from scale.
The content of calcium-magnesium impurities affects the softness of drinking tap water. In addition, this indicator also depends on the amount of disinfectants. There are several levels and types of stiffness:
- sulfate;
- carbonate;
- silicate.
The water is carbonate type of hardness and usually flows from water taps. How to clear scale in a teapot to drink tasty drinks? First of all, consider some information about hard and soft water.
Which water is healthier: filtered or plain
It is believed that water with a high content of salts and minerals (hard) is undesirable for drinking. However, according to the studies of specialists, it is in dissolved form that the amount of calcium and magnesium necessary for health enters the human body. Without calcium, the walls of capillaries and bones loosen, and cell permeability increases. The result of this is an increase in blood pressure.
Water with too high hardness (10 mEq / liter or more) is harmful to the human digestive system. Too softened life-giving moisture (1.5 mEq / liter or less) is the cause of the imbalance of minerals in the body, and increases the risk of heart and vascular diseases. It is extremely harmful to constantly drink softened and purified water for drinking. This affects bone depletion and depletion and blood coagulation.
Everything is good in moderation, so soft water can be used for boiling.
How to restore the novelty of the "innards" of the kettle
And aluminum, and enameled, and electric kettles can be freed from harmful deposits in the same ways. There are several of them:
1. How to descale if the whitish layer is still thin and soft? It can easily be washed off, with effort conducting along the surface of the heating element and the walls with an ordinary sponge. Or you can pour a large amount of washed potato and apple peels inside, add 2 tbsp. tablespoons of soda and boil for about half an hour. Then rinse repeatedly with fresh water.
2. Sometimes housewives use special chemicals to remove scale. Here you must act exactly according to the attached instructions.
3. How to clean the kettle from scale, which has turned into a denser structure? An ordinary metal vessel for boiling water is released in the following ways:
- Wearing rubber gloves and picking up a washcloth made of metal shavings, you must, by applying physical effort, tear the inside of the kettle. For those who are looking for a way to descale an electric kettle, this barbaric but effective method will not work.
- If you pour in the usual cucumber pickle and leave it in the vessel for the whole night, then the scale will dissolve with virtually no residue. After this purification, it is necessary to boil clean water a couple of times, otherwise the taste of cucumbers may remain.
- Almost everyone knows how to clean limescale with citric acid. A couple of spoons of “lemons” are poured into an electric kettle with water, boiled for 10-12 minutes, then cooled naturally. After rinsing thoroughly.
- Another way to descale an electric kettle is with a pop of vinegar and soda. Pour vinegar into a teapot with water and pour 1 tbsp. a spoonful of soda. After the effervescent reaction ceases, the liquid must be boiled, then rinsed thoroughly.
4. When thinking about how to descale an electric kettle, you need to keep in mind that plastic teapots cannot be cleaned with vinegar, but you can use Phantom for this procedure. Just pour it in and leave it overnight, then thoroughly wash the leftovers.
How to get rid of petrified scale
Sometimes you need to put in order a kettle with a "seasoned" layer of petrified scale. Remove this "trouble" in several stages:
- First you need to boil half an hour dissolved in water 2 tbsp. tablespoons of soda. Cool and pour out the liquid.
- Boil water with 1 tbsp. spoon “lemon”, cool and drain.
- Add 100 ml of acetic acid and boil again for about 30 minutes.
- Remove loose scale and rinse the kettle several times. You can boil fresh water in it to completely get rid of the pungent odor.
Campaign way
Another of the methods tested under field conditions is the “roasting” of an aluminum vessel on fire. A kettle without water is heated over high heat until the scale begins to crack and shoot inside. She repents and may even start to smoke.
After some time (about 15 minutes) you need to remove the red-hot metal vessel from the fire. After removing the cover, you need to quickly pour in a liter of water and immediately close it again. Under the influence of temperature differences and sudden steam, the scale falls off from the walls of the kettle. It remains to simply pour the contents along with the hardened pieces.
When using this method, it is important to take special care, otherwise you can burn yourself with hot steam. If there are plastic parts on the kettle, it is better not to use this method, since these parts will necessarily melt.
To avoid extreme procedures with cleaning the kettle, they usually do this 2 times a month or more often.