Economical descaler?

I've been using citric acid for years to de-scale my kettle. It's inexpensive and has caused no problems.

Cheers

I guess a chemist could tell us the relative descaling powers of citric, conc sulphuric, nonbrewed condiment etc. Then it would be easy to calculate the most economical option.

NT

hydrochloric aka brick or patio acid.

On what is essentially a kettle element?

Don't forget formic acid, as in Kilrock-K; also available as a gel that you can paint on taps and kettle spouts.

The gel goes watery after a year or so of sitting in the cupboard under the sink ...

I think that hydro has the best bang for the buck

Formic acid?

I rest my case.

And for use in a stables?

I'd want something that as far as possible fails safe. Perhaps white vinegar on the grounds the smell alone is a good reminder not to drink it - but it's actually fit for human consumption[1]. c.£15 for 20 litres.

The horses might prefer apple cider vinegar but I think that's a lot more expensive.

Hydrochloric acid smells bad, tastes worse and one lick is enough. it BURNS

Of course you wash the area down after its done its job.

Citric acid can be bought for under a fiver for a kilo, less in larger quantities, it all seems to be food grade. For de-scaling a kettle I use about three teaspoons, so it lasts a long, long time. It's a granular powder, so if you spill it you can sweep it up. Just in case you don't rinse it out, it won't hurt you. Hmmm, lemon tea.

For de-scaling - removing Calcium Carbonate - you don't need brick acid.

Cheers

Conc sulphuric is a fraction of that price.

NT

But it's not a good choice for removing lime-scale as the reaction product is insoluble Calcium Sulfate.

Cheers

Whatever acid you buy, buy it whilst you still can.

:o(

Citric acid would be fine, and much safer than using Hydrochloric Acid. You might also wish to consider using a Polyphosphate dosing system on the water supply you use.

This will minimise scale accretion on the boiling element.

Alternatively - and cheapest, is collect rainwater and use that.

You dont need it but it acts in seconds and if you have better things to do, its fast effective and cheap.

The reaction is violent enough to remove the calcium chloride continuously fromn the limescale, and expose fresh scale to fresh acid as convection sets up circulation.

sulphuric is not good stuff to use for descaling.

you end up with insoluble calcium sulfate (gypsum, plaster of paris) which is about as much of a pain as the limescale was.

Or as with drugs find some kids to sell it to you. ;-)

I've used it many times without problem. I don't know what exactly happens with the CaSO4, I presume it comes off as loose powder. But it works just f ine.

NT