best way to descale a kettle?

Tiddlywinks

saro7nmo wrote: »

There's large, powder versions you can get in bulk and use it constantly for fraction of cost price. As limescale dissolves it neutralises descaling products (it's calcium carbonate and slightly alkaline). ANSWER - If you use a descaler, then discard it after a bit (it's neutralised), and THEN add more - descaling starts up again..Might not be cheap method using tablets, but powdered version's are cheap now, and makes it worth it.

Why do you need to buy a special product? Just use vinegar or bicarb or both.... job done.

saro7nmo

Because it's an alternative that's faster, doesn't smell, more effective, and possibly cheaper considering how much you need to compared to vinegar with flavourings. Limescale is alkaline, and so is Bicarb. Dissolving it works by using an acid, which bicarb isn't. I'm happy to be corrected though if I've got it wrong ...? :-)

Tiddlywinks

saro7nmo wrote: »

Because it's an alternative that's faster, doesn't smell, more effective, and possibly cheaper considering how much you need to compared to vinegar with flavourings. Limescale is alkaline, and so is Bicarb. Dissolving it works by using an acid, which bicarb isn't. I'm happy to be corrected though if I've got it wrong ...? :-)

A large bottle of white vinegar is £12.79 for 20 litres on Amazon:

Link

Bicarb can be bought in bulk (5kg for £11 and that's a LOT of bicarb):

Link

Then the above can be used for countless other jobs around the house... no need for 'special' products.

wondercollie

boil vinegar. empty kettle.

boil water. empty kettle.
boil water. empty kettle.

total time? less than 10 minutes. my water never tastes funky

saro7nmo

Citric acid is not a special product, and it's not expensive - it's used in most descaling products - check the ingredients of descalers if in doubt.

It's NOT a special product - it's pure. Vinegar is not pure - maybe 5% acetic acid..

I'll say in once more - bicarb is alkaline - it NEUTRALISES vinegar - meaning vinegar doesn't worked if used at same time.

No need to boil the kettle either with citric acid as it works cold, or risk funky smells in plastic kettles.

This is a cheap and powerful alternative, and in my opinion at superior too - please don't be upset by alternative suggestions.. :-)

Tiddlywinks

This is your first mention of citric acid.... again, this is a multi use product.... a component of many off the shelf cleaners.

You can buy it in bulk to use for many jobs (I use it for laundry sometimes) and so there's no need to buy a specific descaler powder product as you recommended in your opening advice. They are way more expensive than buying the generic ingredients.

As for bicarb - I use it to clean any stubborn scale on the outside of the kettle (amongst many other areas).

This isn't an argument about the 'science'... you started a thread recommending we all buy a ready made powder descaler (not its generic components) - I countered that there are cheaper ways to do it. This board is called 'old style' and the site is for sharing money saving ideas.

Money_maker

What's a 'funky smell'?

Tiddlywinks

Money_maker wrote: »

What's a 'funky smell'?

A smell that gets stronger if you play The Bee Gees or Barry White on your kitchen radio.....

saro7nmo

Citric acid is a descaling powder.

It's very cheap and very powerful.

It dissolves limescale and chelates calcium.

It saves money for people who don't want to use tablets, or use vinegar or products with pungent odours e.g. formic acids. A funky smell means a bad smell - check google or urban dictionary. It can also be used for coffee machines. Makers of coffee machines advise VERY strongly AGAINST using vinegar. Citric acid is 1 one of 2 main options for coffee machines - the other is lactic acid but is bit more expensive. The gold standard descaling ability and limited corrosiveness is sulphamic acid - that can be used for kettles but not ideal for coffee machines as can sometimes cause issues. Again though, a bit more expensive generally. I say this all to convey why I'm suggesting citric acid against others.

I've said vinegar works from the very beginning, but it's weak. I'm not arguing that vinegar doesn't work. It does work - but it's not necessarily the best option, and largely why companies of descaling products, almost universally, don't use it. Readers can decide for themselves. This was a quick suggestion on a forum post for anyone interested in alternatives. Some people come here to get answers and save money. If you are a staunch proponent of using vinegar and don't agree with this post - no probs at all, but I can't comment further. If you think I'm wrong or misleading people, either let it go or let me know you want me to delete it. You can also ask MSE to remove it. No hard feelings.

Anne_Marie_2

Actually agree that citric acid is a great descaler, although I do use vinegar and bicarb for many other things. I use it on stainless steel taps, kettle, coffee machine and water cooler/heater. Was also advised to use it in the dish washer, rather than salt, and been doing this for a good few years now. (A friend was told this by an engineer repairing her dish washer). Saves carrying and storing huge bags of salt which I had been using (which worked out cheaper than dishwasher salt).