on cleaning stains inside water kettles...

hmmm, last time I didn't know why the insides inside water kettles get dirty. I always thought they cannot be cleaned, till my friend convinced me otherwise.

Today, our big 2-litre water boiler/kettle in office broke down. So we had to use a replacement water kettle instead. When I looked inside the kettle, i was aghast at the blackness of the surface*. So took the kettle to the sink area and spend a good 15 minutes scrubbing the insides...

Before
















After
















Hmm, I went to my *great answer to everything* and Wiki for a reason for this build-up. Apparently it's due to mineral deposits. Surprisingly, I found it under the entry of vinegar

"White vinegar is often used as a natural household cleaning agent. With most such purposes dilution with water is recommended for safety, reduced risk of damaging certain surfaces, and budgetary reasons. It is especially useful for cleaning mineral deposits on glass, inside a coffee maker, or other smooth surfaces. Vinegar is an excellent solvent for cleaning epoxy resin and epoxy hardener. It will even clean epoxy that is starting to harden. Care should be taken not to allow contact with the eyes (if such contact occurs, the eyes should be flushed immediately and persistently with warm water) or skin (the affected skin area should be washed thoroughly after use)."
- Under cleaning uses of Vinegar

Hmm, need to get my hands on some white vinegar soon...

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* Surprisingly, before I knew it can be cleaned off, i was not affected by it. After I found out it can be washed off, I'm pretty put off by the presence of the blackened surface.

Two Morals from this:

1. An analogy to knowledge sin and salvation? :p
2. Knowledge is dangerous to lazy people - what you don't know, won't make you work... Ergo, if you don't want to do, don't learn... bwahahahah!