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Teapot De-coke
Posted: Sun Dec 10, 2006 10:18 pm
by Muddypause
I made the mistake of peering into my well used teapot the other day. After 15 or more years use, it has a thick, chunky layer of residue build-up inside it, the colour of strong tea. Very very strong tea. It's clogging the spout holes, and occasionally bits of it come adrift to give me 'tea with extras'.
I left it soaking overnight filled with vinegar, but this did nothing to shift the crud, and made my morning cuppa taste rather, um, challenging.
Anybody know what I might be able to use to shift this stuff?
Posted: Sun Dec 10, 2006 10:20 pm
by Shirley
rub salt onto it...
Actually, I misread your post at first... I didn't see the R in the word... peering!!
Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 1:34 am
by Wombat
Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 6:32 am
by The Chili Monster
Like Nev I think it's tannic acid but mostly an iron compound. I've been racking my brains trying to recall an article in a Chemistry journal about exactly the same thing.
Essentially as the tea cools, the iron compound is precipitated out (at boiling or near boiling point of water tannic chelates iron). A good blast/soaking in caustic soda'll help.
Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 8:18 am
by wulf
Washing powder is what we use from time to time, to good effect. Just make sure to give it a couple of thorough rinses before making tea again. In future, maybe wash the inside of the pot a bit more often!
Wulf
Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 9:45 am
by Chickpea
Can't you just leave it be, Muddy? It hasn't done you any harm so far. When cleaning things off pans etc. I take the view that anything that won't come off with hot water, a scouring pad and plenty of elbow grease won't come off in normal use either, so I leave it alone.
Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 9:53 am
by 2steps
my thoughts too
along with if it doesn't come out in the dishwasher it's probably not coming out!
Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 2:38 pm
by baldowrie
Wulf
maybe wash the inside of the pot a bit more often!
What do you want to do that, that's where all the flavour is
Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2006 5:23 pm
by Muddypause
And the winner is...
Actually, what I did was to fill the teapot with a strong salt solution and leave it overnight. I didn't actually think this would achieve much (I thought, like Shirlz says, you had to rub the salt in, so that it acted like an abrasive - that's what those two on the telly keep going on about). But to my surprise, a good rinse out with fresh water this morning and many years of deposits simply rinsed out with it.
It now pours properly, is clean and shiney inside, and I don't get bits swirling around in me tea.
Job done.
