This is the state of my 1 month old kettle after using for 1 week. Im pretty sure its going to break soon at this pace, but how do you deal with hard water?
Vinegar is dirt cheap and the smell does not persist. I use it regularly to descale my kettle. Just add the vinegar, some water and let it boil. Easy peasy, it removes 99% in one go.
I’ve bought a big 5kg bucket of citric acid for just this job - thanks Amazon. Put 1 or two teaspoons in the kettle & boil a bit to speed it up. Don’t boil completely it may boil over! Then throw the citric water down the toilet to shift that too. Great if you can leave overnight.
Yea when I switched from straight tap water to filtered jug water in the kettle, it made a world of difference. It now would take 2 weeks to build up same amount of gunk as one day without the filter
Just think of what it's doing to your dishwasher and washing machine! I recommend a water softener for your water supply. It's expensive to install but could save you in the long term...
Don’t worry, you can wash with vinegar in the prewash setting too, it gives very soft cotton, fixates colours so they don’t bleed, decalcifies your machine and doesnt make your laundry smell. You can do a maintenance wash with vinegar too to clean the machine.
Hey, I'll share my story as I had equally bad hard water and felt it also in my skin / headaches, etc.
I have started using a Brita to filter water and I only boil filtered water. Since then, I no longer have to descale every week. I literally have not needed to descale my kettle in... 5 months!!!
Brita has specialized filters for hard water. BRITA Waterfilterpatroon MAXTRA PRO Kalk Expert 6 pack - Originele navulling voor alle... | bol I have bought a glass Brita because I'm reducing plastic, but that's a simple extra.
I also have a shower head filter. I splurged on a UK brand I kept seeing online called Hello Klean and I'm happy with it, but maybe a simple shower filter from Hema would have same results, I have no clue. Anyway, if this is the state of the kettle in one month, think of how your showers might be actually doing the same to yourself... :) I'd recommend at least going for filter, no matter the brand.
the taste of water is better and long-term I use the water for cooking, drinking and even to give fresh water for my cats, so I think I'm fine with the cost of 30 euro a month. We were spending much more in bottled water, so for us this is big savings :)
Reverse osmosis filter solves everything. If coffee or tee does not tase after this as good as was - just add tap water 25% to 50%. But.. if you stop care you would not remeber the previous taste after a month.
anticalcaire bouilloire aka Kettle limescale remover. It's a ball of steel wool that sits in your kettle and attracts the lime and calcium buildup. Available on Amazon.be and other places for a few euros.
It's like 6 euro and then I don't have to waste any time scrubbing out the kettle because it literally absorbs all the calcium and lime and I just take it out about once a month rinse it in the sink and put it back in. Time is money. It also doesn't wear out. I've had the same one in there for 4 years
Reverse osmosis for your cooking and appliances is the only way to get rid of all the hardness without the awful, slimy taste of a water softener. My espresso machine would be ruined in a month without RO. You can also use cheap lemon juice to clean the kettle. It's more effective than vinegar.
Put some vinegar with water for a ratio like 1/4 vinegar, 3/4 water. Make it boil and it will remove all of the calcified part. So this once or twice a month.
Clean it with some vinegar.
Citric acid! Doesn't smell and works better than vinegar. You can buy it in bulk online.
This might be the answer, i hate the smell of vinegar
Vinegar is dirt cheap and the smell does not persist. I use it regularly to descale my kettle. Just add the vinegar, some water and let it boil. Easy peasy, it removes 99% in one go.
Citric acid can ve bought in 5kg packages for a very good price, food grade, you can even make some candy with it.
I’ve bought a big 5kg bucket of citric acid for just this job - thanks Amazon. Put 1 or two teaspoons in the kettle & boil a bit to speed it up. Don’t boil completely it may boil over! Then throw the citric water down the toilet to shift that too. Great if you can leave overnight.
Also use a Brita!
Where can you buy it for cheap?
You can find it in Turkish and in Moroccan supermarkets
I got some in my local Intermarche
Yes absolutely this
buy a water softener (one with salt not electromagnetic)
Electromagnetic not effective?
no; I've tested some and it's a waste of money
A scam is what it is.
Thanks, u/domnuradu & to those who downvote a simple question, please go calm down somewhere.
Get a water filter in your house, if that's not possible filter your water with a Brita and descale your appliances weekly with vinegar.
Also add a filter in your shower/bath AND make vinegar your best friend. I descale appliances and sinks with it.
I don't think those real time showerhead filters work that well? Or if some do they wouldn't last very long I'd imagine.
When living in Brussels I kept having problems with exploding/ clogged showerheads. Took me a while to figure out this was the only solution. ⬆️
Which showerhead filter do you use?
Something cheap. Like this.
https://preview.redd.it/43v8pur0a2dg1.jpeg?width=400&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bfa7690408129285eb943e13a23735d30a87cf5a
Brita is useless, it's perfectly fine to drink hard water.
The question is not drinking. It’s cleaning or preventing scale in the kettle or pots. I use only Brita water in my kettle, it’s perfect.
Yea when I switched from straight tap water to filtered jug water in the kettle, it made a world of difference. It now would take 2 weeks to build up same amount of gunk as one day without the filter
this is the only answer. welcome to Bxl
Get a Brita and use only filtered water in your appliances.
Vinegar ♥️
Just think of what it's doing to your dishwasher and washing machine! I recommend a water softener for your water supply. It's expensive to install but could save you in the long term...
Im only 21 yo and have no idea how long am i staying in Brussels
Don’t worry, you can wash with vinegar in the prewash setting too, it gives very soft cotton, fixates colours so they don’t bleed, decalcifies your machine and doesnt make your laundry smell. You can do a maintenance wash with vinegar too to clean the machine.
well then you'll just have to live with hard water! It's not bad for you...
Hey, I'll share my story as I had equally bad hard water and felt it also in my skin / headaches, etc.
I have started using a Brita to filter water and I only boil filtered water. Since then, I no longer have to descale every week. I literally have not needed to descale my kettle in... 5 months!!!
Brita has specialized filters for hard water. BRITA Waterfilterpatroon MAXTRA PRO Kalk Expert 6 pack - Originele navulling voor alle... | bol I have bought a glass Brita because I'm reducing plastic, but that's a simple extra.
I also have a shower head filter. I splurged on a UK brand I kept seeing online called Hello Klean and I'm happy with it, but maybe a simple shower filter from Hema would have same results, I have no clue. Anyway, if this is the state of the kettle in one month, think of how your showers might be actually doing the same to yourself... :) I'd recommend at least going for filter, no matter the brand.
This works. I suggest you check the cost of Brita filters for months, instead of a few tablespoons of vinegar for the same period...
the taste of water is better and long-term I use the water for cooking, drinking and even to give fresh water for my cats, so I think I'm fine with the cost of 30 euro a month. We were spending much more in bottled water, so for us this is big savings :)
In that case it makes sense.
Bottled water is such a waste if our resources.
Reverse osmosis filter solves everything. If coffee or tee does not tase after this as good as was - just add tap water 25% to 50%. But.. if you stop care you would not remeber the previous taste after a month.
This is the cheapest solution that really works. You do lose 60% of your water in the progress though.
anticalcaire bouilloire aka Kettle limescale remover. It's a ball of steel wool that sits in your kettle and attracts the lime and calcium buildup. Available on Amazon.be and other places for a few euros.
Way to waste your money. That's literally the place were it's the most harmless. Compared to a dishwasher, washing machine, or just the plumbing.
It's like 6 euro and then I don't have to waste any time scrubbing out the kettle because it literally absorbs all the calcium and lime and I just take it out about once a month rinse it in the sink and put it back in. Time is money. It also doesn't wear out. I've had the same one in there for 4 years
Reverse osmosis for your cooking and appliances is the only way to get rid of all the hardness without the awful, slimy taste of a water softener. My espresso machine would be ruined in a month without RO. You can also use cheap lemon juice to clean the kettle. It's more effective than vinegar.
I just wash my guitars with it and they are ready for some nice Death/Grindcore. Lots of heavy metals in it, so it's ideal for that purpose.
If I need one for a jazz session, I just wash them with some water from my Brita (usually Maxtra Pro from Amazon.be when I find a good deal).
Just wipe it out with a sponge, your kettle is not going to break from a bit of calcium.
I drink it and pray for the kidneys
It doesn’t work that way. You don’t get kidney stones from hard water.
Oh that’s a relief! I always believed the myth!
Many people do. It has nothing to do with the hardness of the water you drink but rather with genetics and the food you consume.
Water softener.
I fill my kettle from Brita water jug.
I tried many filters, and at the end the TappWater on (EcoPro) worked for me
Put some vinegar with water for a ratio like 1/4 vinegar, 3/4 water. Make it boil and it will remove all of the calcified part. So this once or twice a month.
You can get citric acid in many supermarkets, no need to buy it from Amazon.
Azijn en baking soda. That's pretty much cleaning 101 tho. Add water.
Azijn Kokende azijn Azijn met bicarbonaat Kokende azijn met bicarbonaat.
(Alle vier scenario's afhankelijk van de situatie complexiteit)
White vinegar in with the dishwasher pods or calcium tablets you can buy from colruyt/okay-go
Only fill your kettle with water from a Brita filter.
Brita
Waistband method
Culligan water in appliances and for soups and water we consume.
Vinegar vinegar vinegar vinegar and vinegar
reverse osmosis filter is probably the top of the line option but I have seen great results
Move out of Brussels