New Delhi, Nov. 18 -- People who live in hard water areas often struggle with limescale inside their appliances. Many well-known coffee makers from brands like Breville, De'Longhi, Moccamaster and Keurig include built-in reminders for descaling. These alerts are useful, but they may not match the actual mineral buildup when the water supply contains high levels of calcium. Since the inside of a coffee maker is hidden, it becomes difficult to know the right time to clean it.

A simple trick solves this problem. Users can observe their electric kettle. A kettle shows limescale much earlier, and this makes it a practical guide for planning descaling for both appliances.

Kettles and coffee machines do not collect limescale at the same speed ...