Content

• Steps
• What you need

An electric kettle is a convenient boiling device for making tea and other drinks or preparing food. Because the water is boiled many times inside, the kettle can accumulate lime causing scale or "warm scale". These calcifications can start to get into your tea or food, and they also slow down the warming process. To clean electric kettles, try using a solution of vinegar or lemon juice and baking soda to remove any stubborn stains and wipe off the outside.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: Use a white vinegar solution

1. 

   Dissolve the vinegar solution. Vinegar can help remove the electric kettle scale and remove the hard water that has built up. Mix equal amounts of water and white vinegar. Fill the solution about half or three quarters full of warm.

2. 

   
   
   Boil the solution in a kettle. To clean the inside of the kettle and remove the lime scale, warm with this solution inside. Bring to a boil.
   • If there is too much residue in the kettle, you need to increase the amount of vinegar in the mixture. Boil again.

3. 

   Soak the solution in the kettle. When the solution boils, turn off the kettle and unplug it. Let the solution soak in warm for about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, pour out the solution.
   • If the residue is large, let the solution stay warm for longer.

4. 

   
   
   Rub inside. If the warm residue is thick, use a non-metallic cloth or sponge to scrub the inside of the kettle after soaking the vinegar solution in the warm for a long time.
   • Be sure not to scrub the heater on the warm bottom.

5. 

   Rinse to remove vinegar. Rinse the electric kettle with water. You may have to wash it several times to get rid of the vinegar smell. Wipe the inside of the kettle with a cloth. Let the kettle dry on its own.
   • If there is any smell or vinegar in the kettle, boil the water in the kettle again and discard it. This will help remove the vinegar smell. Boil the water several times if the smell or taste of the vinegar does not go away.
   advertisement

Method 2 of 3: Clean with other solutions

1. 

   
   
   Use a lemon solution. If the kettle manufacturer says you shouldn't use vinegar to clean the kettle, you can use a lemon instead. Make a lemon and water solution. Squeeze one lemon into the water, then cut and drop the slices of lemon in the water. Fill with warm lemon solution.
   • Boil water and soak in warm for about an hour.
   • Pour the water away and rinse it warm.
   • You can also use lemons instead of lemons.

2. 

   Make a baking soda solution. Another option for warm cleaning is to mix a baking soda solution with water. Dissolve about a teaspoon of baking soda in the water. Pour this mixture into the electric kettle and boil.
   • Soak the solution in warm for about 20 minutes. Then, pour the solution out and rinse it warm with cold water.
   • This will remove the sediment that builds up inside the kettle.

3. 

   Use a commercial kettle cleaning product. If you want to use commercial detergent, find it online or in a home appliance store or supermarket. You should dilute the cleaning product with water according to the instructions and boil the solution in warm.
   • Soak the solution in the kettle.
   • Rinse warm with cold water.

   

   Kadi Dulude

   Cleaning & Sorting Specialist Kadi Dulude is the owner of Wizard of Homes, a cleaning services company based in New York. Kadi runs a team of more than 70 cleaning specialists, and her cleaning consulting service has been featured in Architectural Digest and New York Magazine.

   

   Kadi Dulude
   Cleaning & Sorting Specialist

   Expert advice: Use coca water as a convenient family option. Fill a kettle with regular coca water, bring to a boil, then let it cool for about 45 minutes. Rinse the coca water and rinse it as warm as usual, the kettle will shine!

   advertisement

Method 3 of 3: Clean the kettle

1. 

   Clean the outside with dish soap. To clean the outside of the kettle, use regular dish soap. Wash the outside with dish soap, then wipe it off with a damp cloth. Try not to let the dish soap get in the warmth.
   • Clean the outside warm about once a week.
   • Because the kettle has a heater, you must not place the electric kettle in the water.

2. 

   Polish with olive oil. If you have a stainless steel electric kettle, you may want to polish it to keep the kettle on. To do this, use olive oil. Pour some oil onto a soft cloth and rub the outside warm. Scrub gently to make sure you don't scratch the outer surface.

3. 

   Clean the kettle regularly. The inside of the kettle can form sediment when you use it regularly, especially if you live in an area with hard water. This can create flakes in tea or coffee, and slow down the activity of the kettle. To keep the kettle working well, clean it up every few months.advertisement

What you need

• White vinegar
• Lemon
• Baking soda
• Dishwashing liquid
• Olive oil
• The sponge