In some areas, the hardness of tap water can be a real problem in everyday life. When scale gets into our coffee machines or our household appliances, it can do some damage by reducing the longevity of the appliance in question. However, we generally don’t like to see it on a faucet whose shine is then tarnished. However, regular maintenance is the most effective against scale deposits. However, we don’t always know how to go about decalcifying our interior. Fortunately, purchasing a commercial descaling product based on chemicals is not necessary! Here’s how to descale everything in your house.
1) Regular maintenance is a key point for very effective cleaning
Fighting tartar is a daily matter! In fact, you should never wait for traces of limescale to set in before treating them. Otherwise, it becomes too difficult to clean… This requires a few simple steps:
- Skip the raclette after each shower and apply a few tips to limit cleaning on the shower windows
- After all uses, dry the sinks and faucets showing traces of water
- Use a cloth soaked in lemon juice or alcohol vinegar to shine expressly
- Rub the taps with half a lemon (its acid dissolves scale)
- Drag one clean oyster shell in toilet tank or kettle. It will attract tartar and prevent it from depositing on these different surfaces.
2) Descale the toilet
No need to take the easy way out with unfriendly products (bleach which only whitens stains without removing them, hydrochloric acid, etc.)! To save your toilet, empty the water at the bottom of the bowl and leave natural products effective for this task to sit overnight. For example, you can use heated white vinegar to which you add coarse salt. The acetic acid in vinegar dissolves limescale and the salt boosts its effectiveness. Otherwise, dilute 4 tablespoons ofcitric acid or sodium percarbonate heat in a liter of water and leave for about 30 minutes. This should be enough to descale the toilet without too much scrubbing!
3) Descale the washing machine
Scale is very common in machines that require water to operate. In a washing machine with scaling, this can lead to dulling of the laundry over time! Additionally, it may become rougher. To avoid it, you can use vinegar as a softener to prevent the accumulation of scale in the machine. Each quarter, you can also clean your vacuum appliance with half a bottle of vinegar. This will do good for your device and your pipes. As for the dishwasher, that too very affected by scalingwe also have a maintenance solution! First, clean the top drawer of the appliance with a bowl of vinegar. Then run a second wash cycle after sprinkling baking soda all over the inside.
4) Descale the coffee machine
The scale ends up preventing the proper flow of water when preparing coffee and considerably reduces the lifespan of the appliance. To avoid this, you must descale the coffee maker at least once a month. And once again, no need for chemical anti-limescale or very expensive tablets! Mix one part vinegar with four parts water and slide everything into the tank. Let everything drain completely, leaving 10 minutes between each flow. Then do the same thing twice with clean water to rinse.
5) Descaling the kettle or water carafe
The acidity of the vinegar can again lend you a helping hand. To do this, fill your kettle halfway then top up with clean water. Then just do heat this mixture to remove the tartar. Then rinse twice to remove the vinegar smell. For a carafe of water, proceed with the same mixture, this time leaving leave for an hour or more. A full night of installation will be necessary for the most scaled water jugs and kettles. Please note: you can replace the vinegar with sliced lemon in your kettle.
6) And finally descaling the iron
Over time, your iron becomes clogged and steam no longer escapes. For convenience, we tend to put tap or classic bottled water in it, which will then deposit limescale in the tank. And then, it gets stuck everywhere in the device until it becomes unusable. So, first step: we swap our basic water for demineralized water. And against established tartar, we replace the water with vinegar. (Yes, yes… him again!) Then we turn on the device and we go in steam mode. Empty the tank completely, letting out the steam to dislodge any encrusted dirt. Finally, repeat with clean water to rinse.
Related articles: