Last updated: Nov 19, 2022
Do you want to learn how to clean electric kettle?
When you need to take a cup of tea or coffee, warm up some soup or porridge, or even just fill your hot water bottles, the electric kettle is always your go-to appliance.
It is one of the most popular heating devices in the house, and many people will use it several times in just one day. But, the more you use it, the more you will need to clean it.
The continuous heating of various things on the electric kettle causes an accumulation of grime which can not only ruin the taste of your tea or coffee, but it is also bad for your health. And so learning how to clean electric kettles is vital if you want to continue enjoying their services.
Luckily there are many ways of cleaning these handy kettles, and it is also quite easy. But, first, you need to understand just what the grime, limescale or hard water build-up is all about.
Limescale or what many people will refer to as hard water build-up is the milky white deposit that you see inside the electric kettle at places where the water tends to pool.
This build-up is a result of the minerals such as calcium and magnesium in the water that will not evaporate. Instead, they collect at the bottom of the kettle where they harden as they begin to dry.
These mineral deposits or limescale are hard to remove just by scrubbing. The more you try to rub them off the higher the likelihood of also scratching or removing material from the inner part of your kettle.
However, it is still possible to remove the hard water build-up from your device, and you only need to use the right solutions. And for this, a mixture of mild acids like vinegar, lime juice, and citric acid will be helpful.
You cannot just clean your electric kettle with pure vinegar because it can cause more harm than good and you will also end up using a lot of it which can be expensive.
Instead, you should make a vinegar solution which is more efficient in cleaning the kettle. For this, you will need to mix equal parts of water and the vinegar. It’s better to use organic vinegar.
You should then fill your electric kettle halfway or three-quarter full with this solution.
Once you pour the liquid into the kettle and close it, the next step is to boil it for a few minutes. Turning on the electric kettle with the solution inside will help to remove the limescale stains at the bottom. If the build-up is severe and looks very thick and hard, you should add more vinegar to the solution after boiling it for a few minutes.
Once the solution in the kettle comes to a boil, let it continue boiling for a few minutes to ensure the temperature gets to the maximum point.
You should then turn it off and unplug it from the power source. But do not pour out the solution. Instead, you should leave the kettle to soak for up to 20 minutes. If the scaling on your electric kettle is severe, you can let it soak for longer before pouring out the solution.
Step 4. Scrub the inside of the kettleAfter damping the mixture the next step is to scrub the inside of the kettle to remove any remaining limescale.
You can use sponge or cloth to do the scrubbing depending on the amount of deposit. But make sure whatever you use is non-metallic to avoid ruining the inside of the kettle. Also, avoid scrubbing the heating element because you can damage it accidentally.
The last step is rinsing out the kettle to remove all the vinegar. You might need to do this several times to dissipate the strong vinegar smell. If after rinsing with cold water there is still some smell you can boil water in it multiple times and dump it. The hot water should be enough to remove the smell entirely.
Some electric kettles will come with instructions that you should not use vinegar to clean them. If this is the case for yours, there are still many other ways. A lemon solution is one of the best ones, and for this, you should start by mixing 2 cups of water with an ounce of lemon juice or lime. You should then fill your kettle with the mixture.
Once you have the solution inside your electric kettle, the next step is to boil it for at least 20 minutes. You should then leave your lemon solutions to soak it for at least one hour or even more if you are dealing with very bad limescale accumulation.
Your kettle should be able to soak enough in about one hour after which you should then empty the mixture. After dumping, you should take a damp cloth and wipe any remaining hard water build-up in the kettle. You can also use a small amount of baking soda when cleaning it with the wet cloth.
The last step is rinsing your electric kettle with clean water as many times as possible. Rinsing will get rid of any remaining residue and the lemon smell.
The electric kettle is very handy at home as it makes it easy to heat various things. However, limescale buildup is almost inevitable, and so you need to know how to clean it. For this, vinegar and lemon solutions are the best options, but there are still many other options such as baking soda and the commercial kettle cleaning products.
Cleaning the exterior of the kettle at least once every week and descaling the interior at least once every two months will help to keep it in good shape for long.
