Limescale

[flibbertigibbert]

I live in a VERY hard water area and it's driving me mad. It's not worth us spending hundreds on water softeners as we only plan on staying in the flat for a couple more years.

At the moment, I'm having to de-scale the kettle every few days. Would a Brita filter help at all? Are there any cheap ways of dealing with the effects of hard water?

[nannyl]

white vinegar

cost 36p in asda

put it on and wait... do not boil kettle with white vinegar in... trust me on that, i did (to make the reaction quicker!) and the smell is unbeliavably horrid!!!!

[flibbertigibbert]

I use vinegar at the moment, but 2 days later and my tea is full of bits of scum .

I wondered if there's a more long term solution.

[Sonilaa]

Brita filter helps (and the tea tastes much better as well)

[glacierchick]

Brita filters are very good, and wilkinsons etc often sell the refill filters cheaply.

I use citric acid as an all purpose descaler for everything from the bathroom taps to the kettle.

You buy it in crystalline form in a big bag (very concentrated) and mix it up with water as needed.

Vinegar is also helpful, but I like the smell of citric acid better.

[flibbertigibbert]

Thanks for the tips. I will look into a Brita filter. How long do the filters usually last before they need changing?

[Sonilaa]

on the pack it says 4 weeks but I change mine every 3, as we drink a lot of tea and water.

we have this one which holds a huge amount of water and has a tab.

[Flutterbye]

Yes, use a brita filter and then every so often when limescale builds up squeeze half a lemon into the kettle and boils. Rinse and reboil. Worked for me, and smelt nice too.