{"id":1596,"date":"2020-08-28T09:30:38","date_gmt":"2020-08-28T09:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/?p=1596"},"modified":"2020-09-01T13:44:12","modified_gmt":"2020-09-01T13:44:12","slug":"what-to-do-about-scale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/what-to-do-about-scale\/","title":{"rendered":"What to do about scale"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Some time back I lived near Durham<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_1596_1('footnote_plugin_reference_1596_1_1');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_1596_1('footnote_plugin_reference_1596_1_1');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_1596_1_1\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">1<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1596_1_1\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">For the sake of clarity, that&#8217;s just plain &#8220;Durham&#8221;, the ancient pilgrimage destination, rather than the Durham which always seems to have &#8220;North Carolina&#8221; appended to the name.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1596_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1596_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script> where the water is blissfully soft. Five years of sparkly clean kettle and coffee machine that just don&#8217;t scale up! Since moving to a harder water area, I have often wanted to recapture those halcyon days. And now I think I may have&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ll spare you the long sob story about fruitless googling for simple effective answers to scale and jump to the solution I am now trialing: citric acid.<\/p>\n<p><!--more-->We&#8217;ve been using citric acid as a descaler for a while. But I started wondering whether I could use citric acid to prevent the build-up of scale in the first place. With a bit of experimenting, I have found that even a tiny concentration of citric acid in the water when I fill the kettle completely eliminates scale build-up in the kettle.<\/p>\n<p>Presumably the coffee machine gets the same benefit, but it&#8217;s harder to tell whether there is scale inside the boiler as it is sealed. However, time will tell. If there is still scale build-up then sooner or later the steam valve or the solenoid will become blocked. If that doesn&#8217;t happen for a few months, I&#8217;ll know I&#8217;m home and dry.<\/p>\n<p>So, two questions: 1. How much citric acid is needed? and 2. We are now consuming citric acid in our tea, coffee and anything else that involves boiled water. What does it taste like?<\/p>\n<p>Our water is medium hard. I find the kettle normally develops a visible scale build-up in a period of weeks and we tend to descale every month or two. With this water I have found that as little as 0.1ml per liter keeps the kettle shiny<span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_1596_1('footnote_plugin_reference_1596_1_2');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_1596_1('footnote_plugin_reference_1596_1_2');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_1596_1_2\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">2<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1596_1_2\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">In both the dictionary sense and the <em>Firefly<\/em> sense.<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1596_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1596_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script>. Perhaps a lower concentration would do it, but it&#8217;s difficult to accurately make such lower concentrations without having to prepare far more water than I need to fill the kettle. (Especially considering I try only to boil the water I need rather than boil a whole kettle just for one cup of tea.) So that&#8217;s what I am going with.<\/p>\n<p>How does it taste? We can&#8217;t tell the difference at that concentration in either tea or coffee.<\/p>\n<p>Voila!<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;d be interested to hear others&#8217; experience. Especially if you have very hard water.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled\"><div class=\"robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon-text sd-sharing\"><h3 class=\"sd-title\">Share this:<\/h3><div class=\"sd-content\"><ul><li class=\"share-facebook\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"share-facebook sd-button share-icon\" href=\"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/what-to-do-about-scale\/?share=facebook\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Share on Facebook\" id=\"sharing-facebook-1596\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-twitter\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"share-twitter sd-button share-icon\" href=\"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/what-to-do-about-scale\/?share=twitter\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Twitter\" id=\"sharing-twitter-1596\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-google-plus-1\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"share-google-plus-1 sd-button share-icon\" href=\"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/what-to-do-about-scale\/?share=google-plus-1\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Google+\" id=\"sharing-google-1596\"><span>Google<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-reddit\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"share-reddit sd-button share-icon\" href=\"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/what-to-do-about-scale\/?share=reddit\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Reddit\"><span>Reddit<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-pocket\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"share-pocket sd-button share-icon\" href=\"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/what-to-do-about-scale\/?share=pocket\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Pocket\"><span>Pocket<\/span><\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#\" class=\"sharing-anchor sd-button share-more\"><span>More<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-end\"><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"sharing-hidden\"><div class=\"inner\" style=\"display: none;\"><ul><li class=\"share-tumblr\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"share-tumblr sd-button share-icon\" href=\"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/what-to-do-about-scale\/?share=tumblr\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Tumblr\"><span>Tumblr<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-stumbleupon\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"share-stumbleupon sd-button share-icon\" href=\"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/what-to-do-about-scale\/?share=stumbleupon\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on StumbleUpon\"><span>StumbleUpon<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-end\"><\/li><li class=\"share-pinterest\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"share-pinterest sd-button share-icon\" href=\"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/what-to-do-about-scale\/?share=pinterest\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Pinterest\"><span>Pinterest<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-end\"><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"speaker-mute footnotes_reference_container\"> <div class=\"footnote_container_prepare\"><p><span role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_reference_container_label pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_expand_collapse_reference_container_1596_1();\">&#x202F;<\/span><span role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_reference_container_collapse_button\" style=\"display: none;\" onclick=\"footnote_expand_collapse_reference_container_1596_1();\">[<a id=\"footnote_reference_container_collapse_button_1596_1\">+<\/a>]<\/span><\/p><\/div> <div id=\"footnote_references_container_1596_1\" style=\"\"><table class=\"footnotes_table footnote-reference-container\"><caption class=\"accessibility\">References<\/caption> <tbody> \r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_1596_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_1596_1_1');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_1596_1_1\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>1<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">For the sake of clarity, that&#8217;s just plain &#8220;Durham&#8221;, the ancient pilgrimage destination, rather than the Durham which always seems to have &#8220;North Carolina&#8221; appended to the name.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index_combi pointer\"  onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_1596_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_1596_1_2');\"><a id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_1596_1_2\" class=\"footnote_backlink\"><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>2<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">In both the dictionary sense and the <em>Firefly<\/em> sense.<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n <\/tbody> <\/table> <\/div><\/div><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> function footnote_expand_reference_container_1596_1() { jQuery('#footnote_references_container_1596_1').show(); jQuery('#footnote_reference_container_collapse_button_1596_1').text('\u2212'); } function footnote_collapse_reference_container_1596_1() { jQuery('#footnote_references_container_1596_1').hide(); jQuery('#footnote_reference_container_collapse_button_1596_1').text('+'); } function footnote_expand_collapse_reference_container_1596_1() { if (jQuery('#footnote_references_container_1596_1').is(':hidden')) { footnote_expand_reference_container_1596_1(); 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<a href=\"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/what-to-do-about-scale\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled\"><div class=\"robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon-text sd-sharing\"><h3 class=\"sd-title\">Share this:<\/h3><div class=\"sd-content\"><ul><li class=\"share-facebook\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"share-facebook sd-button share-icon\" href=\"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/what-to-do-about-scale\/?share=facebook\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Share on Facebook\" id=\"sharing-facebook-1596\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-twitter\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"share-twitter sd-button share-icon\" href=\"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/what-to-do-about-scale\/?share=twitter\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Twitter\" id=\"sharing-twitter-1596\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-google-plus-1\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"share-google-plus-1 sd-button share-icon\" href=\"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/what-to-do-about-scale\/?share=google-plus-1\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Google+\" id=\"sharing-google-1596\"><span>Google<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-reddit\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"share-reddit sd-button share-icon\" href=\"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/what-to-do-about-scale\/?share=reddit\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Reddit\"><span>Reddit<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-pocket\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"share-pocket sd-button share-icon\" href=\"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/what-to-do-about-scale\/?share=pocket\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Pocket\"><span>Pocket<\/span><\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#\" class=\"sharing-anchor sd-button share-more\"><span>More<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-end\"><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"sharing-hidden\"><div class=\"inner\" style=\"display: none;\"><ul><li class=\"share-tumblr\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"share-tumblr sd-button share-icon\" href=\"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/what-to-do-about-scale\/?share=tumblr\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Tumblr\"><span>Tumblr<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-stumbleupon\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"share-stumbleupon sd-button share-icon\" href=\"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/what-to-do-about-scale\/?share=stumbleupon\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on StumbleUpon\"><span>StumbleUpon<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-end\"><\/li><li class=\"share-pinterest\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" class=\"share-pinterest sd-button share-icon\" href=\"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/what-to-do-about-scale\/?share=pinterest\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Pinterest\"><span>Pinterest<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-end\"><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1596"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1596"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1596\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1600,"href":"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1596\/revisions\/1600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tomblog.firstsolo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}