cleaning ss

[Mark1964]

whats the best and safest way to de scale elements in ss pots. Also what do people use as a general cleaner. :

 

[Aleman]

Wipe them with a nylon pot scourer before the crud has time to bake on

General Cleaner - Washing Soda (In green Bags in the supermarket) Or Oxi type cleansers (Whizz Astonish Or Eco, Fragrance free)

Hard cleaner - Strong Bleach or Caustic Soda, and bloody hot/boiling water

 

[Mark1964]

Thanks AM ill pay a visit to the shops tomorrow :thumb:

 

[timbim]

For the descale, if it is comprehensively stuck, try a common descaler, usually labeled as kettle descaler or the like, that's usually methanoic acid (or formic acid in non IUPAC terms). Failing that, you can usually fairly easily buy spirits of salt, which is reasonably concentrated hydrochloric acid. If you do use that, don't leave it in the boiler for too long or you may find it escaping all over the floor.

With these descalers, you can usually bung it back in a bottle and reuse it next time. I wouldn't return it to the original bottle for fear of contamination, but be sure to use a well labeled bottle of similar construction and a lid with a decent seal, or you may find that the cupboard you keep it in falls apart after a while due to corrosion of the metal fittings by the escaping vapors. Using the wrong bottle could result in a fairly disastrous spillage. If you dispose of it down the sink, dilute it by adding to a reasonable quantity of water (at least 5:1, preferably more), and wash down with plenty of water. It is after all a strong acid. Don't let me scare you off using it though, as a descaler it's a fair bit more powerful than any organic acid will ever be.

 

[darrenwest1]

citric acid is great if you can get hold of it

 

[Vossy1]

I used to use citric for light scale and caustic for heavily scaled.
Caustic is fairly cheap in 20kg sacks, though nasty-ish to handle, and I now use it exclusively for light and heavy.

If you don't use much, or won't use it often, then you can't go far wrong with concentrated citric acid for light scaling. You can buy it in bulk dry as an ingredient for bath bombs, check e-bay or on-line retailers of bath bombs.

If you're prepared to 'soak and leave' soda crystals are o.k, as are preparatory de-scalers, but it can take a day or two. You can speed up the de-scaling by heating the de-scaaler using the elements, just don't breath in the vapours or spill the hot liquid :shock: