Living in Southampton has lots of positives: good weather, nice parks, two universities and a rich history...
One of the negatives is definitely the hard water that causes calcium deposits to build up in kettles, irons, steam cleaners, etc.
This week, I came across a typical example in the form of a coffee maker. On the surface, it was as clean as a whistle. But internally, it was clogged with so much limescale that the increased pressure had completely destroyed the pump.
Fortunately, the coffee maker was a DeLonghi, whose good design made it easy to disassemble.
To remove the limescale, I stripped the machine down and soaked the parts in a strong solution of citric acid for a few hours. This completely removed the limescale and made the internals looked like they were factory-new.
With the addition of a new pump the machine was back in espresso action.
Citric acid is the acid found in citrus fruit and it’s safe to use with caution. A 1kg bag costs about £6 on eBay and can be a very useful cleaning agent.
I read that it can also be used to make bath bombs, but why you’d want to blow up your bath is anyone’s guess...
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