Folk and special remedies for limescale

Typically, home appliances break down exactly when they are needed most. The iron at the moment when you need to look perfect, but there is nothing to iron. Washing machine, on the day the "big wash" should be. A coffee machine - when you need to wake up. And this pattern haunts everyone. Why is that? Because they did not follow the equipment on time, did not care about the preventive maintenance of devices and forgot that the scale is to blame for everything here.

Where does the scale come from

Scale is a hard build-up and sludge that appears due to the deposits of chemical elements (magnesium and calcium salts) when exposed to high temperatures (1000). In other words, when water (H2O) boils, salts are split into two elements - the sediment that we see at the bottom of the kettle, and carbon dioxide, which evaporates as a vapor.

The reason for this is the hardness of the water. The higher the level of hardness, the more minerals in the water. There are 4 grades: 1 - water quality is normal, 2 - more or less, 3 - bad example of water, 4 - very hard water. Knowing the level of rigidity at home, you can understand exactly how often you need to carry out preventive work.

Scale has a detrimental effect on everything:

1. Excess limescale on all water heating devices leads to their breakdown.
2. The taste of water changes beyond recognition, has a specific smell.
3. Increases energy consumption. The device needs to work longer, since it cannot heat the water faster due to build-up of plaque.

In order to overcome scale, it is important to know which descaling agents can be used, how to make cleaning more effective and which drugs will 100% cope with the task in this or that case.

How can you get rid of limescale

Knowing already with whom we are dealing, we can safely proceed to cleaning the devices and use various methods for this. There are many options for removing this ailment, both special and folk. But first you need to notice what you can't do:

1. Remove sediment mechanically. You will not achieve a positive result, while spending a lot of time and effort, as well as spoil the device or deform it. The mechanical method is the use of sharp improvised means (knife, metal sponge, various types of scrapers) for cleaning.
2. Do not use aggressive chemicals. All sorts of purchased drugs are similar in composition to "Whiteness". You will see the result, but you will not be able to remove the unpleasant pungent odor, as well as completely wash off the product.
3. Do not use abrasive objects to wipe off plaque. A scratched surface will be further affected by limescale.

Important! It doesn't matter which cleaning method you choose, if this technique is very expensive or requires special care, you should consult a specialist or consult a service center about this.

Folk remedies for cleaning

It is no secret that in the good old days there was not such an abundance of special means for cleaning and removing plaque, and even more so there was not a lot of money to constantly update everything that was spoiled by scale. All the available methods were used, those that are at home, and those that are not very expensive. They experimented, and found a couple of proven ways to keep the devices clean, as they say the methods came out of the people.

Lemon acid

A universal product, it can be used both for a kettle and for a washing machine or dishwasher. And not only. The calculation is made as follows: 2 sachets of citric acid are dissolved in 1 liter. water. Pour the product into the device and bring to a boil. Leave to cool, and then thoroughly wash and run "wasted" (just water, not for use - to eliminate odor and residues).

If after one use you do not like the result, the procedure can be repeated.

Also, you can simply use lemons as a substitute. Cut a small lemon into pieces, pour water over it and do the same manipulations as with citric acid. As a pleasant bonus, a charming citrus aroma will be felt in the apartment.

Vinegar

A fairly aggressive method for descaling. But very effective. 500 ml. dilute half a glass of vinegar (9%) or two tablespoons of vinegar essence (70%) with water, pour into a container where it is supposed to remove plaque. Bring to a boil, hold on fire for a couple of minutes, turn off and leave to cool completely. Control this process for exfoliation of build-ups. After the time has elapsed, wash and dry the device.

Important! When choosing the vinegar method, put on a protective mask and open the window to protect yourself from fumes - the smell will be very pungent and specific.

Soda

The most gentle method is to use baking soda. Pour soda (1 - 2 tbsp. L.) In half a liter of water, mix. Pour into a container or container with scale and boil for half an hour. Let cool, wash thoroughly and wipe dry. For prevention, we start the boiling process with ordinary plain water. Repeat the process if necessary.

Soda

Everyone already knows about the amazing properties of carbonated drinks (Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta). And it really works. We take our favorite drink, release gas from it. Pour into a container and boil. Let cool and rinse.

Important! If the device is light it is best to use a sprite, as Coca-Cola can leave streaks.

Pour in water and add 2 tablespoons of baking soda. We put on gas and bring to a boil. We keep it on the stove for half an hour. Then we drain the solution and immediately pour water again with the addition of citric acid in the amount of one tablespoon. We boil for half an hour. We merge. Pour water for the third time with the addition of half a glass of vinegar and do the same procedures. As a result, we leave it until it cools completely, wash the container and use it.

This method is very harsh in relation to scale, but it is better not to use it often. It is better to keep an eye on the equipment and utensils and not give the scale a chance to multiply to such methods.

Additional Information. When there is a lot of scale and the case, it would seem, is not an easy one. A three-phase cleaning process will help.

Special means

The name speaks for itself - these are products that were invented specifically to remove plaque and scale. There are many of these in household chemicals stores. And there are even more manufacturers. The choice is yours, go buy or use folk methods. When choosing, it is important to understand that a beautiful bottle cover, a high price, a famous brand and advertising do not mean that this is the best descaler.

Universal remedies

Universal products include products that, by their nature, can be cleaned with any appliance (kettle, iron, dishwasher and washing machine, etc.). Among us known, very popular is antiscale. This tool is universal. Release form - powder. Russia is a country of origin.

It can be used for all devices known to us:

1. Washer. Instead of powder, two bags of antiscale are poured into the cell, the temperature is set to 400C, the “dry” wash is started for about 45 minutes.
2. Iron. A wide baking sheet is placed on the stove, two strips are placed on the bottom on which the iron is placed. Pour antiscale into a baking sheet and pour boiling water. The solution should cover half of the sole. Never reach the plastic case. We leave for a couple of hours. For the best effect, you can turn on the hotplate to a low heat setting.
3. Dishwasher. We dilute the antiscale in a container, put it on the wire rack. We start the wash cycle.
4. Coffee machine. We make a descaler according to the instructions. We carry out cleaning in relation to our type of coffee maker.

Interesting fact. The main component of antiscale is diluted vinegar essence (70%).

For washing machines and dishwashers

If you do not believe in the miraculous power of folk methods, then you can use special methods.

When you come to a household chemicals store, the most important thing is the “cold approach”. You know exactly what you need, what kind of situation you have with dishes or appliances, and what budget you are counting on. Do not give in to the temptation to buy the cheapest, because there are discounts, or the most popular, because you saw an advertisement, or a new one - the consultant presents.

Read the instructions carefully, perhaps not at all, but a few definitely need to be read. Highlight what they have in common and how they differ from each other.

For descaling coffee machines

Often factory methods are at the level of folk, but they are used because it is simple. For example, tablets for a coffee machine. I put it down, started it and that's it.

This approach has a right to life. Someone wants to mess around with cleaning, and someone does not. Therefore, coffee machine manufacturers produce tablets, as well as a variety of descaling products and concentrates. Popular solutions for removing plaque and sediment are from Bork, Saeco, Krups, tablets from Bosch Siemens. Buy only original products and read the instructions carefully.

To remove limescale deposits in the iron

A special tool for irons is a pencil. It is intended for descaling the soleplate of the iron. The inside of the iron is cleaned with universal products.

For descaling the kettle

Anti-scale is the best descaler. Just a godsend for appliances and utensils. And an electric kettle or an ordinary kettle is also in those rows.

How to get rid of limescale in a teapot

The kettle probably suffers the most from scale, because this is its immediate task - to boil water. The more you use it, the more often it needs to be cleaned. And if you have very hard water at home, how to descale an electric kettle is a hot topic.

Plaque, scale and sediment in an electric kettle or ordinary kettle react most of all to acidic solutions and preparations.

At home, these are: vinegar, citric acid, soda, soda. Brine, sour milk, sour apple and potato skins also do a good job with sediment.

The methods of application are very primitive. We take any product, combine it with water, pour it into a kettle, put it on the fire, bring it to a boil, set it aside, cool it, wait for the time, wash it and wipe it off.

You can also clean the electric kettle with a universal remedy - antiscale.

There are many methods for removing scale, but a kettle is not a technique, but a dish. Therefore, once every two weeks, cleaning in any convenient way is better than looking for more stringent measures to remove scale after six months.

Descaling coffee machine and coffee maker

If you like coffee, and you have a coffee machine at home, then sooner or later it also needs to be cleaned of scale and sediment. It does not matter what brand it is, it is always necessary to carry out cleaning, whether it is capsule, geyser, pod or carob.

It is recommended to clean the coffee machine once every three months, because in addition to hard water, coffee oils also accumulate in it. How to know when it's time:

• coffee takes a long time to prepare;
• the drink flows out more slowly, the jet has become thinner, scale has formed on the tube;
• the taste of coffee has deteriorated, a taste has appeared;
• the smell of coffee has changed;
• the coffee machine has started to “abuse” energy;
• white, light gray impurities are traced in the drink;
• previously unknown sounds are heard from the operation of the device;

In everyday life, this is descaling with vinegar or citric acid.

Vinegar descaling steps:

1. Make a solution in a ratio of vinegar to water (one to two).
2. Pour this mixture into the water tank.
3. Turn on the coffee maker.
4. Wait until it heats up and reaches the maximum temperature (about 15 minutes) and unplug it.
5. Leave for 10 hours for the agent and scale to interact.
6. Pour the solution into the sink, wash the equipment very thoroughly several times.
7. Prepare a couple of cups of coffee to remove any leftovers from the coffee maker.

Advice! Be generous with water and make ten cups of coffee to kill the smell and taste of the vinegar.

Steps for descaling with citric acid:

1. Combine two packs of citric acid (40 g) with water (1 L) and fill the coffee machine.
2. Turn on, after boiling, turn off from the network.
3. Wash all parts in this solution.
4. Repeat all steps several times.
5. Make a couple of cups of coffee to clean up any residue.

Traditional methods are wonderful, but not everyone trusts them. Each coffee machine manufacturer offers descaling products of one brand or another.

Also, for the procedure for cleaning the coffee maker, you can use a universal remedy - antiscale.

I must also say that many coffee machines have a self-cleaning function. Here you also need to carefully read the instructions. Each model has its own nuances during self-cleaning. Although the scheme is the same for all - we fill the tank with a solution, we press the button "Autocleaning". The coffee machine will do everything by itself.

How to descale a washing machine

Not every housewife can imagine her life without a washing machine, and if it breaks down, then thoughts come to mind - it was necessary to descale it.

If in the teapot we see plaque, sediment and growths visually - we begin to clean it, then the ten is hidden in the washing machine, and we do not think that such a procedure is necessary for it and will extend its useful life.

You can also clean the car with a universal agent - decalcifier.

Important! This product is presented on the market from many manufacturers, so you need to read the instructions before use, since the dosage and methods of use may differ from each other.

Popular methods include:

Citric acid is a good descaler. The procedure is as follows:

• One glass of citric acid, halved. Pour one part into the powder compartment, the other into the drum. Proportions based on a capacity of 5-6 kg. If the machine is an automatic machine for 3-4 kg, the dose must be reduced.
• Choose the "toughest" program, where the temperature is 700 - 900C. And run without underwear for two hours.
• At the end of the wash use the rinse program.

Table vinegar is a very great descaling agent for washing machines. But it cannot be abused, as it badly affects some parts of the machine (rubber bands, gaskets, etc.). This is done like this:

• Pour one glass of vinegar (9%) into the detergent drawer.
• The mode of operation of the machine is switched on at the highest speed and duration of the program, as well as high temperature.
• After 15 minutes, the car is paused.
• After an hour, the wash is resumed and the cycle is expected to complete.
• Then turn on any program to rinse the car well.
• Wipe the drum body and lid inside with a weak vinegar solution.

Important! After any procedure, you need to open the drain filter and discard the remains of debris and plaque.

How to deal with limescale in the dishwasher

In order to eliminate problems with scale in the dishwasher, you can use the advertised products ("Finish", "Somat"), or you can remember the folk methods.

In the first case, start the machine, choosing the program with the maximum water temperature, put a plastic container with a professional tool for removing plaque and scale on the net.

In the second case, vinegar and soda will not be a bad cleaning. We put a glass of vinegar in the car, start it, at the end we take out the glass and sprinkle soda along the bottom. We leave it overnight. In the morning we run for a full cycle for rinsing and cleansing.

Excellent results can be seen after using the borax for cleaning. The procedure starts from the surfaces, they must be covered with a thin layer of the mixture, then left for 20 minutes, after which the program should be started with maximum heating. At the end, rinse the filter and run the machine again in idle mode.

If the above methods did not cope with the task at hand, the best folk remedy for scale will help - a soda bomb. The procedure is as follows:

1. 2 cups of soda ash (you can also baking soda) are mixed with hydrogen peroxide (3%). Add a teaspoon of detergent powder for scent (optional).
2. From the resulting paste, we form balls of any size. And we leave them to dry.
3. When the balls have hardened, place them on the bottom of the dishwasher.
4. We put a container with vinegar (two glasses) on the upper grid.
5. We launch the program and enjoy our achievements.

Important! While the program is running, the machine may emit sounds and hiss, do not be alarmed, this is normal.

Descaling the iron

When scale and plaque appear on the iron, this is noticeable from two sources, firstly, it is visible visually, and secondly, things after ironing are damaged and stained. Then the moment comes to choose whether to buy a new one or clean it.

To remove scale inside the iron, two proven folk remedies will help us: vinegar and citric acid. The procedure is as follows:

1. Dissolve one sachet of citric acid in water and pour it into the iron.
2. The iron is connected to electricity and heated, then the effect of citric acid is enhanced and the plaque leaves.
3. Such manipulations need to be done a couple of times and only then turn on the steam function so that all the liquid evaporates.
4. When the iron cools down, rub the sole with vinegar.
5. Then they pour in clean water, turn on the iron and iron any unnecessary cotton fabric using the steam mode.

Scale inside and plaque outside can be cleaned with professional products. These are universal (cleaning only inside), special designed only for irons (descaling and plaque removal everywhere), as well as pencils for cleaning the surface and holes in the sole.

Everyone knows how to use a universal tool, but how to use a pencil? The procedure is simple, since the pencil is for cleaning the surface, only the sole of the iron is cleaned with it. After turning on the iron and preparing the old unnecessary fabric, rub the underside of the appliance with a pencil. Using the steam function, we iron the fabric, thereby cleaning the nozzles and the sole of the iron.

If your iron has a self-cleaning function, you can use it to descale it. Each model has its own nuances, and in order for everything to be fine, it would not hurt to read the instructions for using the self-cleaning function again.

Important! No matter how many steps there are to turn on and off the iron during self-cleaning, it must be in an upright position and above a container into which water will flow without warning.

What to do to prevent limescale

In order for scale and plaque to appear on your dishes and equipment as rarely as possible, you need to adhere to some recommendations for prevention:

Iron:

• pour filtered and distilled water;
• always leave the device in an upright position;
• after use, the water must be drained from the iron.

Washer:

• use only high-quality powders for washing, marked with an automatic machine;
• try to wash at low temperatures (up to 500C). Pre-soak very dirty things;
• for prophylaxis, descaling should be carried out on an unplanned basis once a year.

Coffee machine:

• use filtered water;
• clean every three months for prophylaxis;
• do not mix special products with folk remedies for decalcification.

Dishwasher:

• thoroughly clean the plates from food, scale is most of all deposited on the residues in the drains;
• always use dishwasher salt, it changes the composition of the water and prevents limescale and limescale deposits.

Electric kettle:

• try to use filtered water;
• constantly pour out the remaining water from the kettle, do not leave a drop;
• fill the kettle with new water every time;
• do not wash the surfaces with abrasive products, harm the kettle and yourself, because a plaque forms on a surface with microcracks faster.

Video: the best and inexpensive descaler