A water boiler or any stainless-steel appliance can develop rust or green mold-like stuff after continuous use. When this happens, you need to descale it to avoid the negative effects that come with consuming water that is contaminated with rust and limescale.
So, how do you go about cleaning your water boiler? There are 3 main ways to effectively remove hard water build-up from your water boiler. You may use vinegar or lemon solution, but if this isn’t readily available, you can use a special solution created by manufacturers or baking soda.
How to clean a water boiler using Vinegar
You need a bottle of vinegar that’s designed for cleaning and some water for this method. If you can’t find vinegar, you can use the lemon solution. Once you have these requirements in place, follow the steps below to clean your water boiler:
- Mix water and vinegar in equal parts
- Pour the mixture into your stainless-steel water boiler to around the halfway mark. If the buildup reaches higher than that, you can add more of the solution to the ¾ mark.
- Connect your boiler to a source of power and switch it on.
- Switch it off when the solution has come to boil. Let it settle for about 15-20 minutes before you pour out the solution.
- Using a scrub, wash the inside of the kettle. If the scaling doesn’t come off, add the solution and let it boil again.
- Rinse the water boiler thoroughly to get rid of the build-up and vinegar smell.
Descaling a water boiler using a citric acid solution
This method involves using a special citric acid descaling solution that is sold by top water boiling manufacturers including Zojirushi.
Here’s a guide for cleaning your water boiler using a descaling agent to get rid of rust or black residues:
- Open your water boiler lid and check if the if it is empty and the filter is attached.
- Dissolve one packet of the descaling agent in a cup of warm water
- Pour the dissolved citric acid into the boiler then fill it with water to the maximum level indicator.
- Close the lid and switch on the boiler
- Hold the reboil button for 3 seconds until lights start flashing on the LCD screen. Your boiler will have switched to the cleaning mode.
- Wait for about 1 hour for the cleaning mode to finish then switch off the power and remove the lid
- Pour out the dissolved citric solution and add cold water to the maximum level in the water boiler and put it to boil.
- Press the dispense button to pour out some water from the spout
- Rinse the boiler and it should now be ready for use.
Whether you are cleaning rust, hard water build-up or the green stuff (like mold) in the kettle, you can clean it with household vinegar, bicarbonate of soda, or lemon. The guide above will help you to descale your electric water boiler and keep it clean.