element cleaner....vinegar!!! ??

[timbo41]

So plastic boiler is up and running and gets a bloody good rinse out after boil particularly the twin kettle elements. However, both have now scaled up,for want of a better description. Seem to remember my sainted nan washing her kettle with white, not malted vinegar. Came up proper shiny overnight. Bloody stunk though and needed serious rinsing.
So,can I do this in boiler. If so,would boilng it help. And any side effects to silicon run out tube or plastic walls.
Help appreciated,but not a link to good housekeeping magzine, cheers

[masterosouffle]

As acetic acid (vinegar) is a cause of infection, not sure I'd been too keen on using it...

[smuggles]

I thought acetic acid was the result of an infection, rather than the cause of it? There's a couple of mentions of using it in the cleaning section, so it's probably ok, although citric acid seems to be a winner.

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[timbo41]

yeah wasn't keen on stinky acetic..cheers for links guys. Sounds like can overnight soak in citric solution prior to brewday should be incorporated into routine, and hey! Might save on using too much cluster in next APA

[Bribie]

Acetic acid is not the cause of infection, it is often the product of infection. A better acid to use for cleaning and descaling is citric acid, just buy a tub from the supermarket in the baking powder / bicarb / dried yeast etc shelves and use the whole tub in a couple of litres of water from the kettle. Zap.

[orlando]

Did mine yesterday. Covered the elements in water brought to the boil table spoon of citric acid switch off and leave. Leave a minimum of an hour and your good to go. If really bad I would leave over night.

[vacant]

You can clean your elements quickly and easily with a toothbrush or nylon kitchen scourer, but only if you do it immediately after emptying the boiler when the sediment is still soft.