Limescale, or calcium carbonate or hard water deposits, is a white chalky mineral buildup in your kettle when water is heated or left standing.

Over time, limescale in your kettle can reduce the water flow, affect the efficiency of heating, and cause corrosion, so it’s essential to regularly clean and remove kettle limescale to improve its performance and longevity.

There are many techniques you can use to remove limescale from your kettle, both chemical and natural.

Many households prefer the latter. There are four main natural options – white vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice and citric acid.

Taking to her TikTok account @sifaveli, Sifa Veli has shared her incredible results after using citric acid to melt away the limescale in her kettle in a video.

In the caption, Sifa wrote: “Living in hard water central I worry about making my girl’s food with limescale in there.

“I always use a limescale strainer when pouring water but I love this quick and natural way to descale.”

She started by pouting around one to two tablespoons of citric acid in the kettle before filling it up only halfway with water, making the solution “potent.”

Sifa then boiled the kettle and showed the “results after just one boil.” No traces of limescale were left behind.

Households can then rinse the kettle before putting it on for a second boil with just water. However, a second boil isn’t essential.

Taking to the comments, fellow TikTok users shared their thoughts on this. @mermaid26x noted that she uses a lemon which works similarly, but citric acid is stronger.

She explained: “Get a lemon cut in half and squeeze the lemon into the empty kettle. Cut the lemon into small slices and put it into the kettle. Fill the kettle halfway up and leave it to settle for half an hour then boil.”

Some users prefer citric acid over lemon and even white vinegar. @happyfam794 wrote: “Citric acid is superior to vinegar and anything else I’ve used on my kettle. It also doesn’t leave a nasty smell.”

Once the kettle is limescale-free there are two things to do to prevent it from returning – empty the kettle after every use as standing water is one of the leading contributors to limescale buildup in your kettle and regularly wipe down the interior.