Any kettle, whether electric or not, is subject to lime-scale build up.

This isn’t anything dangerous and limescale isn’t bad for your health, however, it can cost you money in the long run and a good brew in the short run.

Limescale, a build-up of both calcium carbonate and magnesium from hard water, can cause your kettle to underperform. This is because the more limescale there is built-up, the more time it takes for your kettle to boil, and because of this the kettle’s longevity and efficiency can be reduced. Remember; your kettle is having to work longer and harder to boil your water in and amongst the hard, crystalline substance!

When cleaning a lime-scaly kettle, most people believe it takes a lot of time and with the wrong tools this is true. However, the method we’re about to teach you isn’t just great for the environment but it’s great for banishing intense scrubbing that you may sometimes find yourself doing with harsh detergents.

5 simple steps

What you’ll find particularly great about this method of descaling is that the tools you use, you will more than likely already have in your house. What tools, you ask? Either a lemon or white vinegar will do the trick, however, we do prefer the latter as it’s less fuss.

Simply grab the vinegar from the back of the cupboard, fill a jug with water from the tap and have your kettle lid open ready to treat your scaly kettle with the below method.

  1. Fill the kettle a quarter of the way up with white vinegar (or juice from a fresh lemon) in equal part to water. This works best if you have a jug to measure with.
  2. Leave the kettle to stand for around 1 hour – no boiling in this time!
  3. After the resting period is up, simply set the kettle to boil.
  4. Once the kettle has hit boil, pour the entirety of its contents down the sink and take a peek inside to double check for limescale. On the odd occasion that there is some, just give the inside a quick wipe and it should shift easily.
  5. After the above steps have been completed, give your kettle three quick rinses to be sure that your next cup of tea doesn’t end up vinegar infused!

Have you tried this natural method of descaling yet?