Although a kettle does nothing except boiling water, but you must have noticed sometimes that it becomes very difficult to clean it, especially when it is left unattended for a long period of time. The problem with a kettle is the lime scale which gets deposited on its surface. This lime scale is nothing but different type of minerals and salts that are dissolved into the water. Not only this looks terrible, but also it causes loss of electric power as the heat energy takes a longer time to reach the liquid through conduction. Also, if the scale is not removed periodically then it may even render the kettle useless. Therefore, the kettle needs to be cleaned every now and then. Cleaning a kettle is not a tedious job. Read the steps given below to learn how to clean a kettle.
Complexity level: Moderate
Time required: 10-20 minutes
Resources required:
- Tea kettle
- Water
- Tea kettle spout cleaning brush
- White vinegar or lemon juice
- Anti lime disc
Instructions:
1. Fill the kettle with water and vinegar:
- First of all, pour water into the kettle. The amount of water must be such that the kettle is half filled.
- Now pour white vinegar into the kettle containing water until the it becomes full. This means that equal volume of water and vinegar are taken in the kettle.
- Make sure that the mixture is not up to the brim of the kettle while some space must be left, otherwise the boiling water can spill from the kettle and you can get burns.
2. Boil the mixture:
- Now place the kettle containing the mixture of half water and half vinegar on the stove over the flame.
- Allow the temperature of water to rise to the point when it starts boiling. Keep in mind the fact that you need to boil the water, simply heating water is not going to do the trick for you.
3. Set aside the kettle for some time:
- After the mixture has boiled for sufficient amount of time, remove it from the heat and set aside.
- The kettle is kept aside with its contents for few hours.
- It must be better if you can leave the kettle undisturbed over night. This way, vinegar dissolved in water gets an ample opportunity and time to dissolve the lime on the kettle.
4. Pour out the mixture and boil clean water:
- After leaving the kettle idle for few hours, pour out the mixture of water and vinegar.
- Run tap water into the kettle and place it over the stove and boil the water.
- Once water has boiled, pour it out and add tap water followed by putting it over the stove.
- This process is repeated until the smell of the vinegar from the kettle vanishes.
Frequently asked questions:
How to clean a kettle of solid silver?
Find a container which is large enough to accommodate the kettle within itself. Now put a piece of aluminum foil into the container followed by salt and hot water, and then place the kettle into the container. Leave it there for few minutes and you will observe that the kettle will again become white and shining. Take it out of the water and then clean it with lemon juice. Use a soft piece of cloth to polish the kettle.
Quick tips:
- Commercial descalers are also available in the market. You can use them for cleaning the kettle. But make sure that they are specifically for cleaning the kettle.
- Follow the manufacturer’s instructions to clean the kettle while using descalers.
Things to watch out for:
- If the kettle needs mild cleaning then you can also use lemons. Fill the kettle with water and place lemon in it. Boil the water, and this will do the trick.
- You have to be careful while using commercial descalers as they are corrosive in nature.
