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I'd scrub with baking soda paste and a qtip or paper towel covered finger

debunix wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 01, 2020 9:15 pm

The percarbonate might be a good next step.

Sounds good. I'll give it a try.

Update:
after four boiling sessions with baking soda and citric acid (I used lemon juice) alternating them, most of the stains came off! There are faint stains here and there but if you look at my previous picture, this is day and night.
I'm pretty happy with this result and might even call it a day. I did search for sodium percarbonate on Amazon but it seems to be out of stock at the moment.

OhThatNinja wrote: ↑

Sun Aug 02, 2020 6:37 pm

Update:
after four boiling sessions with baking soda and citric acid (I used lemon juice) alternating them, most of the stains came off! There are faint stains here and there but if you look at my previous picture, this is day and night.

I'm pretty happy with this result and might even call it a day. I did search for sodium percarbonate on Amazon but it seems to be out of stock at the moment.

Looks very good! Congrats. Hopefully the lemon juice had all organic particles filtered out, since that could lead to mold. White vinegar works well. In the USA percarbonate is expensive, so baking soda really is a good alternative for less problematic staining and encrusted build up.

Victoria wrote: ↑

Sun Aug 02, 2020 8:29 pm

OhThatNinja wrote: ↑

Sun Aug 02, 2020 6:37 pm

Update:
after four boiling sessions with baking soda and citric acid (I used lemon juice) alternating them, most of the stains came off! There are faint stains here and there but if you look at my previous picture, this is day and night.

I'm pretty happy with this result and might even call it a day. I did search for sodium percarbonate on Amazon but it seems to be out of stock at the moment.

Looks very good! Congrats. Hopefully the lemon juice had all organic particles filtered out, since that could lead to mold. White vinegar works well. In the USA percarbonate is expensive, so baking soda really is a good alternative for less problematic staining and encrusted build up.

Thanks, Victoria!
This spot spent almost entire day on the stovetop today but it was definitely worth it. I followed up with white vinegar after the last baking soda bath (that was suggested in your guide actually) so technically I've tried all three (baking soda, lemon juice and vinegar). That is probably as clean as it will get without percarbonate.

You can bake baking soda to generate washing soda, that might be a bit stronger as a cleaning agent.

pedant wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 22, 2020 7:34 pm

probably insoluble carbonates.

dissolve with acetic acid (white vinegar) or citric acid solution. can use hot solution for faster results.

rinse it out with plenty of water in the sink afterwards.

just like descaling a tea kettle or coffee machine.

I've descaled glass and stainless steel kettles using distilled white vinegar and it works wonders. Now that I have a clay kettle that could use a bit of descaling I took pause before using the same vinegar. I am worried that the scent and taste will get absorbed into the clay. Someone informed me about using sodium carbonate+hydrogen peroxide (though this looks to be what sodium percarbonate is) and hot water to remove scale, then sparking water to neutralize remaining solution.

gregcss wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 27, 2020 8:34 pm

pedant wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 22, 2020 7:34 pm

probably insoluble carbonates.

dissolve with acetic acid (white vinegar) or citric acid solution.
...

I've descaled glass and stainless steel kettles using distilled white vinegar and it works wonders. Now that I have a clay kettle that could use a bit of descaling I took pause before using the same vinegar. I am worried that the scent and taste will get absorbed into the clay. Someone informed me about using sodium carbonate+hydrogen peroxide (though this looks to be what sodium percarbonate is) and hot water to remove scale, then sparking water to neutralize remaining solution.

sorry, i don't understand that advice. i can see no reason why percarbonate would help you remove limescale. sparkling water afterwards makes no sense, either. rinsing it out in the sink would remove percarbonate, so there'd be no need to 'neutralize' anything.

you need to use an acid. acids react with limescale (which is mostly calcium carbonate) to form CO₂ and soluble calcium salts.

as for acetic acid (white vinegar), the smell won't linger for long if you do a good job of rinsing, but it's just smelly and therefore annoying to work with.
just do yourself a favor and treat yourself to some citric acid:



on amazon, it's like $10 for 1lb, $13 for 2lb, $15 for 5lb, or $25 for 10lb.
i say just get a 2lb or 5lb bag of it.
i bought 2lb a couple of years ago, and i still have most of it left. i use it for descaling and occasionally in cooking (sauce and jam making).

OhThatNinja wrote: ↑

Sun Aug 02, 2020 6:37 pm

after four boiling sessions with baking soda and citric acid (I used lemon juice) alternating them, most of the stains came off!

i really do not recommend using lemon or lime. why risk contamination with citrus oils? i know it worked out for you, and i'm not trying to admonish. i'm just saying to future readers that i don't think it's a good idea.

just like using soap is a bad idea.

Citric acid in Chrystal form is absolutely no problem, I’ve used it many times.

I wouldn’t use lemon juice either.

@pedant Thanks for the advice. I will defer to using crystallized citric acid.

pedant wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 27, 2020 10:12 pm

OhThatNinja wrote: ↑

Sun Aug 02, 2020 6:37 pm

after four boiling sessions with baking soda and citric acid (I used lemon juice) alternating them, most of the stains came off!

i really do not recommend using lemon or lime. why risk contamination with citrus oils? i know it worked out for you, and i'm not trying to admonish. i'm just saying to future readers that i don't think it's a good idea.

just like using soap is a bad idea.

@OhThatNinja

I agree with @pedant and @Bok. Why risk contamination and leaving behind a long and nagging smell?... I personally use oxygen based stain removers which are non toxic to our body. Been getting pretty good results and it is completely odourless.

Cheers!!

What is a good way to clean the rim of a yixing teapot? One of mine is getting quiet dirty and using a wet towel to wipe it the stain isn't coming off.

klepto wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 30, 2020 11:04 am

What is a good way to clean the rim of a yixing teapot? One of mine is getting quiet dirty and using a wet towel to wipe it the stain isn't coming off.

Moved your post to Repair & Cleaning forum @klepto. Have you tried rubbing some baking soda, with a tiny amount of water to moisten, onto stained area? Follow with a vinegar rinse, and then boiling water to further rinse.

Hello to all connoisseurs.

I inherited few Yixing teapots (fortunately) which is very mouldy and has ugly stains all over it (unfortunately).

Read a few threads which recommend Sodium Percarbonate as cleaning agent and tried Googling it up too.

Could not find any food grade ones (or are there any actually?), are industrial grade ones safe? Are there any trusted supplier or brand?

Thanks, hope I will be able to revive my “new” teapots and get them safe for brewing once more, making cups of good tea.

Cheers!