
The best descaling solution; made with citric acid it cleans your machine thoroughly, quickly and easily!
A universal descaler for coffee and espresso machines, kettles and dispensers. For the cafe, office or home!
Instructions are included with each order. Free shipping and your satisfaction guaranteed!
The Best Descaling Solution?
Halefresh descaling solution is simply a cleaning product made with citric acid (in our case) for breaking down mineral deposits on or inside appliances or equipment in contact with water. Calcium and other minerals in your water precipitate out of the water and typically form a white film, which builds up over time, on everything from coffee and espresso machines to hot water kettles to dishes.
This can clog up your coffee machine leaving coffee lukewarm and the machine slooooow, fill up your water kettle, leave your dishwasher full of white deposits, etc. Vinegar sort of works, but citric acid is a much more potent solution that won’t introduce more harsh chemicals into your life.
Our descaling solution uses citric acid to break down these deposits so they can be flushed and/or removed from your appliances and/or dishes. There are many companies who design proprietary formulas to try and grab a larger share of the market, and we’ve also tried that, but citric acid provides a cost effective and relatively environmentally friendly descaling solution, pun intended.
Citric acid can be produced from corn, sugar cane, sugar beets, etc and breaks down quickly. It doesn’t leave behind caustic chemicals. However, this is a potent mix and even though it’s food safe, it will cause you harm if you decide to drink it or play around with it. Just have to say that for those who think they have to try anything once. It’s like yeast, food coloring, baking soda, cinnamon anyone?, bleach, etc. Use your common sense.
Limescale Buildup In a Water Kettle.
If you see anything like this in your hot water kettle or hot water dispenser, your coffee machine likely has the same type of buildup. This affects the coffee taste and machine operation. This can mean a slow machine, lukewarm coffee, and taste that leaves you wondering what happened.
Descaling solution made with citric acid effectively removes these limescale deposits, restoring lost performance and restoring the shine to the inside of your kettle or dispenser.
Descaling Solution Kit.
Select “Descaling Solution Kit” under product options dropdown above.
For the adventurous and/or DIY folks, we offer a descaling solution kit. We’ll send you two UNLABELED bottles with lids, and a 3lb bag of citric acid. It’s enough to make 6 bottles of solution with a little bit of citric acid left over. Six bottles of solution is a lot so it’s not recommended unless you use a lot…or maybe you want to give it to your family, friends, in-laws? Obviously you can do whatever you want with the bottles and citric acid. Some people use the bottles to measure drinks, make some other concoction, replace a worn out bottle, or whatever suits your fancy.
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Brand | Halefresh |
Ingredients | Water, Citric Acid with No Fillers or Additives |
Form | Liquid Solution |
Packaging | HDPE Bottle, Recyclable |
Weight | 1.3 lb |
Dimensions | 8 x 5 x 2 in. |
Country of Manufacture | USA, (Citric Acid – USA, Austria, Columbia) |
Remove the lid and seal from the small 1oz chamber of the bottle (do not remove the other lid), squeeze the bottle to fill the chamber to the 1oz line, and pour the contents into your coffee maker, espresso machine, hot water dispenser, hot water kettle, etc.
Machine reservoir <= 8 cup: add 2 oz. of descaling solution.
Machine reservoir > 8 cup: add 4 oz. of descaling solution.
Good coffee comes from great beans, well balanced water and an able machine. We can’t provide you with the beans or water, but we can help make sure your coffee machine is clean and functioning as it should.
If you’re more of a DIY person and/or use a lot of descaling solution, or just want to save some money, you can certainly make your own descaling solution. We offer a kit that includes 2 bottles and 3lb of citric acid. The bottles include lids and are NOT LABELED. This is a potent formula so obviously you cannot drink it or splash it anywhere.
This descaling solution kit will provide 2 bottles with lids and NO LABELS, and 3lb of citric acid, which is enough for about 6 bottles of descaling solution with some extra. You can also purchase citric acid.
Create an account and you’ll automatically receive a coupon for $9.99 OFF two bottles of Halefresh descaling solution!
Great for descaling espresso, coffee machines and kettles.
Limescale, the white buildup resulting from water, can build up over time and clog the lines in your coffee machine. This slows it down and can result in lukewarm coffee and a generally under-performing machine. The taste is often just because the water didn’t get hot enough to fully extract the flavors from your coffee beans. Other times the taste is from the limescale buildup adding it’s own special flavor.
Often times, if the coffee maker was inexpensive, folks will just throw the machine away, clogging up land fills and causing more pollution. The Halefresh descaling solution is an effective and inexpensive solution that can help restore the performance of your coffee machine to the way it should be.
Hard water has higher concentrations of iron, calcium, magnesium, etc, and leaves behind a trail of ugliness when appliances, surfaces and dishes aren’t thoroughly and quickly cleaned and dried. It is also much harder on everything because the mineral deposits are abrasive and very hard, and can ruin everything from your coffee machine to your car’s paint job to your dishes. Hard water actually feels abrasive on your skin and when you drink it. Despite what some water treatment companies claim in their marketing literature that’s designed to rev your engines, hard water is mainly a giant nuisance and not a health hazard. Big difference between those two, and a hazard is a pretty serious thing to watch out for.
Soft water lacks higher concentrations of these minerals and feels “squishy” and perhaps “slippery” on your skin. This is obviously a very simplified description. I grew up with hard water and thought that’s just how water is. When using soft water the first time I was shocked at how it seemed the soap couldn’t be scrubbed off. I quickly realized skin that wasn’t dried out was a nice bonus, and dishes weren’t cloudy, and water spots on the car were greatly reduced. This did not translate to my coffee machine because I like the taste of coffee made with more mineralized water, and I do NOT use soft water because I think the coffee tastes gross. Sooooo, I found citric acid is a fabulous cleaning/descaling agent and far superior to vinegar in every way.
The best descaling solution is the one that works for you! Obviously we think ours is the best; it’s certainly one of the most potent on the market. We have found you shouldn’t always do what the rest of the herd is doing, and introduced the only descaler with its own measuring chamber built into the bottle. The highly concentrated formula goes hand-in-hand with this built-in 1 oz. chamber and ensures you won’t use too much solution. The instruction card included with every order gives you clear and concise instructions on how much solution to use the first time, and wait for it, we actually recommend you use LESS after the first time descaling your machine.
For example, one of our commercial wholesalers that manufacturers machines recommends ½ oz. per cleaning/descaling for their specific machine. For a fully automatic De’Longhi machine in the break room we use 4 oz. per descaling cycle. The descaling reminder typically comes on every 3 – 4 weeks. To give you an idea of our specific situation, our water is exceedingly hard (calcium, magnesium, etc) and white film starts to build up on our hot water dispenser within 3 days of cleaning/descaling it. That dispenser is 1 gallon and we use 2 oz. of solution to clean it. For a Ninja coffee bar at home we use 2 oz. of descaler, but that machine uses RO (reverse osmosis) water and it only needs to be descaled very 3 – 4 months.
So, we do use our own product and it works very well, but every situation is different and I recommend you DO experiment with the amount of Halefresh descaling solution you use. Chances are the 16 oz. bottle will go much longer than you thought. We think we’re the best and that we offer the best value for your money. If you need any product support or have any questions, please reach out.
So, I don’t think there’s any comparison between vinegar and descaling solution when it comes to down to pure performance and limescale busting ability in appliances, especially coffee makers, espresso machines, etc. This is actually mostly due to the lower concentration of acetic acid in vinegar, which is anywhere from 5% – 10%+ based on what I’ve seen. High concentrations would render vinegar a health hazard instead of a relatively safe household product.
Citric acid is slightly more acidic than acetic acid but is a solid at room temperature whereas acetic acid is a liquid. Citric acid has no smell as compared to vinegar (acetic acid). Concentrated acetic acid has a health hazard rating of 3 and citric acid a health rating of 1 on a scale of 1 – 4. Based on personal experience, a 45% citric acid solution will start to sting a bit after a few minutes on the skin, but at this concentration you obviously want to avoid contact. Higher concentrations of acetic acid can lead to toxic fumes considered hazardous.
Citric acid seems to be more readily available and inexpensive and you can mix a solution with a higher concentration than vinegar for less cost per oz. It will work wonders on any stubborn calcium/limescale deposits without being a health hazard to you. It breaks down quickly and isn’t bioaccumulative like many caustic chemicals found in common household cleaners.
You do need to thoroughly rinse your appliances if using any acid for descaling because it you leave it in or on metal too long passivation can occur, leading to discoloring and corrosion. We recommend rinsing coffee machines at least twice when you’re finished with descaling.
This is less potent version of our descaling solution. If you’re not interested in purchasing pre-made descaling solution, you can very easily stir up your own concoction using citric acid and water. It’s better than vinegar in every way, in my opinion. You don’t need to use special DI (deionized), RO (reverse osmosis) or distilled water, and can simply use warm tap water. Halefresh citric acid is 14 grams or 0.52 oz.* per tablespoon. A U.S. fluid oz. of water weighs about 1.04 oz. so you can easily calculate the concentration of the solution if you so desire.
Steps as follows:
1. Use a Pyrex measuring pitcher with oz or ml markings. They’re glass, easy to use, easy to clean, and you can mix to your heart’s delight without dissolving the container. :)
2. Add 4 level tablespoons citric acid. According to our scale Halefresh citric acid is 14 grams or 0.52 oz. per tablespoon. This may vary the tiniest bit based on the citric acid provider.
3. Gently add warm water, so you don’t splash, up to the 8oz line, or 237ml. You should be able to hold your hand under the tap. To be technical, it should be about 100F or 38C.
4. Gently stir until all the citric acid is dissolved and presto you have about a 26% solution. I prefer to let this mixture cool before using it in my coffee maker or kettle.
5. This is a potent solution so don’t go splashing yourself in the eyes. If it gets on your skin it will begin to sting a bit after a minute or so. Be sure to rinse it off.
Obviously we would appreciate you using our citric acid and if you’re so inclined you can purchase it here. If you desire a strong formula just add more citric acid to the water.
* Various online calculators put 14 grams at 0.49 oz., but when we turn the scale from grams to oz. 14 grams is converted to 0.52 oz.
Descaling solution for coffee, or rather for coffee machines is typically one of a few different solutions used to remove limescale from coffee makers, espresso machines, hot water kettles or hot water dispensers. Vinegar (acetic acid) is pretty well known but it does smell strong and can sometimes leave an aftertaste, typically because not all the limescale has been removed and may have soaked up some vinegar.
A not so well known descaling solution is made with citric acid, which doesn’t smell, and since it’s a solid at room temperature doesn’t release toxic vapors. It is much easier to handle in higher concentrations. There are many different variations of citric acid based cleaners and descalers and obviously if you’re going to descale your coffee maker, you may want to double check the citric acid is food grade, ours obviously is, and that any other ingredients are at least food safe.
There are other descaling solutions with sulfamic acid, glutamic acid and lactic acid in various formulations based on the manufacturer. These require more care, for example, sulfamic acid can severely corrode metals even at a relatively low concentration.
Descaling solution for coffee, or rather for coffee machines is typically one of a few different solutions used to remove limescale from coffee makers, espresso machines, hot water kettles or hot water dispensers. Vinegar (acetic acid) is pretty well known but it does smell strong and can sometimes leave an aftertaste, typically because not all the limescale has been removed and may have soaked up some vinegar.
A not so well known descaling solution is made with citric acid, which doesn’t smell, and since it’s a solid at room temperature doesn’t release toxic vapors. It is much easier to handle in higher concentrations. There are many different variations of citric acid based cleaners and descalers and obviously if you’re going to descale your coffee maker, you may want to double check the citric acid is food grade, ours obviously is, and that any other ingredients are at least food safe.
There are other descaling solutions with sulfamic acid, glutamic acid and lactic acid in various formulations based on the manufacturer. These require more care, for example, sulfamic acid can severely corrode metals even at a relatively low concentration.
This was the best coffee maker cleaner I have used. Very simple to mix and after letting it stand in the Stainless Steel pot for a short time before pouring in the coffee maker it nearly totally cleaned it as well.
It really seems to work well, but my Ninja and Keurig coffee machine must be programmed for for 6 – 8 week descaling which comes up almost exactly to the day. We have a osmosis water system which makes the water pretty pure so the water isn’t a problem.
This product works well and does as advertised. The convenient built in measuring device is great and it really did a great job cleaning my very hard mineral deposited commercial Keurig coffee brewer. However, because it works well I suggest cycling the water through immediately because if left for 15-20 min. it could plug up the brewer (it did mine) but I have a clean out so it wasn’t a problem.
My shopping experience was very smooth & easy. I found the product that I needed & checked out pretty fast without any problems. Received the product in a short amount of time & happy with it.
Vinegar and water lasted a week or less. This goes 3-4 weeks before needing cleaning/turn off light.
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If you’re so inclined you can grab the descaling solution kit from the product options dropdown.
Are you interested in saving $9.99 on two bottles of descaling solution? We’ll send you a coupon code and your order also ships free.
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