Limescale becomes a regular hassle in kettles, particularly for those in hard water territories.

One moment your kettle seems fine, the next, your coffee has that unsavoury mix of sliminess and flakes. Fear not, for combating limescale needn’t be a chore.

Lovers of cleaning sensation Mrs Hinch claim it can be blitzed away in mere “seconds” with one natural cleaner - and it’s neither baking soda nor white vinegar.

On the Mrs Hinch Army Cleaning Tips Facebook forum, one lady sought advice on descaling her kettle. Christy Whitton posted: “Morning! My husband says we need a new kettle, I say it just needs a clean!”

She went on to describe their unsuccessful attempts using traditional methods: “However, we have scrubbed, tried baking soda, soaking in white vinegar and it’s barely moved. I refuse to give in! Any tips? We don’t have hard water so never had this issue before.”

To accompany her plea, Christy uploaded two images showcasing the brownish limescale at the bottom of her kettle.

The consensus among group commenters was clear: if baking soda and white vinegar proved futile, then it's time for citric acid’s debut.

Helen Crickmore advised: “Citric acid. Half-fill your kettle and bring to a boil, add two tablespoons of citric acid and leave for a few seconds, empty and rinse. Fill and boil once and empty and you are good to go.”

Echoing the sentiment, Ann Marie added: “Citric acid works really well, so much better than white vinegar and baking soda.”

Dawn Cooper shared her struggles with limescale, saying: “I live in a hard water area and my kettle gets covered in extremely stubborn limescale.”

She voiced her go-to solution: “I use a couple of tablespoons of citric acid about a mug of water and boil it in the kettle. Leave it to cool and keep swishing it around occasionally. You will be amazed.”

Another tipper, Lorraine Andrews, confirmed the effectiveness of this method: “Citric acid makes it vanish after 30 seconds and no scrubbing is required.”

Christy, after considering these suggestions, decided to give the citric acid method a whirl on her kettle, with notable success.

Sharing an image of her gleaming, descaled kettle, Christy expressed her gratitude: “Thank you guys! The citric acid worked a treat. My kettle is like new.”

Express.co.uk also put the citric acid cleaning hack through its paces, confirming its immediate impact.

Citric acid isn't just effective; it's also incredibly versatile, acting as a potent cleaner that battles bacteria, mould, and mildew, and excels in disinfection and general cleaning tasks.