Vinegar ‘does nothing’ for kettle limescale but 14p item ‘eats away’ at it in 10 minutes
White vinegar is raved about for tackling limescale on a multitude of surfaces, but it may not be the absolute best option when it comes to kettles.
Limescale is a menace in so many household areas such as shower screens, toilets, taps and even washing machines.
However, one area that is the quickest to build up with that chalky substance is your kettle.
While white vinegar is a go-to natural method for many, some find that they don’t see results with this cleaning agent.
Instead of switching to a store-bought descaler, there is another natural item that many claim gets the job done - citric acid.
Posting a picture of her kettle full of limescale, Sarah Advertizer took to the Mrs Hinch Cleaning Tips and Tricks Facebook page for some advice and eventually found that citric acid worked for her.
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She initially said: “So [I] boiled vinegar in the kettle, left it for 40 minutes hoping to remove the layer of white and medium brown.
“But there was no real change to the kettle. What am I doing wrong? Used white vinegar from the supermarket. Thanks!”
As a result of so many people suggesting Sarah use citric acid, she then gave the product a go on the kettle.
She then updated the post saying: “24-hour soak in water and one tablespoon of citric acid worked on a very long staying layer of white and brown hardened limescale! Clever people thank you.”
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Group members in the comments suggested citric acid over white vinegar, baking soda and lemons.
Danielle Hill wrote: “Citric acid I use. It works incredibly well in 10 minutes normally. I tried the vinegar and baking soda and also tried fresh lemon and it does nothing. I even left it overnight.”
Donna-Marie Moy said: “We use citric acid too in the kettle and to descale the shower heads. They come out sparking.”
Mariam Janjooa commented: “I get mine sparkling just put a tablespoon or so of citric acid, boil it and voila.”
Sophie Taylor said: “Okay so hear me out but citric acid works! Boil the kettle and then put as much citric acid in as you want! I used one tablespoon in mine.
“It’s like a brand new kettle now! You can literally hear the citric acid eating away at limescale in the kettle! Doesn’t leave a nasty taste like vinegar or steriliser does either.”
Savannah Charlton wrote: “Forget any cleaning product and use citric acid. Comes up sparkling every time.”
Kimberly Overington commented: “Try citric acid. I've never looked back after using that to descale everything years ago.”
Citric acid can be picked up from B&Q for £2.25 per 250g which works as 14p per tablespoon. Alternatively, households can pick up citric acid from Natural Collection for £2.29 or from Robert Dyas for £3.59.
