If you’re getting yucky white buildup at the bottom of your kettle and are wondering how to descale a kettle then keep reading on because today I’m sharing with you my go to method when I want to clean and descale my kettle.

If you frequent this blog or my Facebook page you may already know that I’m an Australian living abroad in Belgium as an expat. Though life if fabulous here for us right now and I can’t really complain much, the one thing that does get under my skin is the hard water in this country. I struggle with it so much because I have never had to deal with it before.

When we moved over I found that everything was getting disgusting white stuff all over it. All of my cookware, glasses, our dishwasher and even our kettle. I had no clue what it was and after a lot of unsuccessful scrubbing and some research I realized that what I was dealing with was limescale buildup and a lot of it.

I didn’t want to drink my tea or coffee knowing that the water I was drinking was boiled among the thick white layer of limescale sitting at the bottom of my kettle. Though through my research I found no evidence that consuming limescale is bad for you, I personally don’t feel comfortable drinking it.

Something had to be done.

Today I am sharing with you my favorite method on how to descale a kettle. I give my kettle a good clean every couple of weeks now and find I have very minimal limescale buildup. You can do this more frequently or less depending on how hard the water where you live is.

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How To Descale A Kettle

What you’ll need

Kettle (the one you are trying to clean)
White vinegar
Water
Let me start by showing you the bottom of my kettle. It really is not a pretty picture.

Now lets get a little bit more up close and personal. This thing looked like it needed to be thrown out. But in actual fact it didn’t, as it is a relatively new kettle.

So how did I get rid of this nasty mess?

1 . Start by emptying your kettle of any water that has been sitting in it.

2 . Fill the kettle up more than half way with a mix of 1/2 water and 1/2 vinegar.

3 . Bring kettle to the boil and allow the vinegar water mix to sit for up to an hour. You will see all of the limescale slowly lift from the base of the kettle. Follow by emptying the kettle.

4 . If your kettle has a very thick limescale coating like mine did, then I suggest you repeat step 2-3 times. You won’t need to do this every time, but for the first time you try this, it may be necessary.

5 . Once you are satisfied that the inside of your kettle is cleaned and completely descaled then empty the water. Run fresh water through the kettle a couple of times to try and remove as much of the vinegar out of the kettle.

6 . Finally fill the kettle with fresh water and bring to the boil. Repeat this until you feel the smell and taste of vinegar has disappeared.

7 . Remove all water from kettle, dry thoroughly and allow to sit for half hour after.

And that is it! You should have a beautiful, clean and descaled kettle that is ready to use anytime. Have a look at the difference after I cleaned my kettle! I was so impressed the first time I tried this out.

Remember this is something you do have to do frequently. I would go no longer than a month or two between cleans. I personally keep and eye on my kettle and as soon as the buildup starts to appear I give it a good clean.

Now you can head off and have a lovely cup of tea or coffee without nasty white stuff hanging at the bottom of your kettle!

What do you think of my tip on how to descale a kettle? Have you tried this before?

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Want More Home Tips? Check out the other great posts! 

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How To Clean A Dishwasher

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