# Ridgeline Kettle — Descaling Procedure

**This is maintenance, not a repair. Limescale damage is not covered by the 1-year Ridgeline warranty.**

Descaling is the single thing that decides whether this kettle lasts one year or ten.

## When

| Water hardness | Interval |
| --- | --- |
| Hard, above 150 ppm | Every month |
| Moderate | Every 2 months |
| Soft — most of the Pacific Northwest | Every 3 months |

Sooner if you see white flakes in the bottom, the kettle takes noticeably longer to reach temperature, or
the water tastes chalky.

## What you need

- White vinegar, **or** citric acid powder
- Water
- 40 minutes, mostly unattended

## Procedure

1. **Empty and unplug the kettle.** Let it cool completely.
2. **Fill to 500 ml with a 1:1 mix of white vinegar and water.** With citric acid, use 1 tablespoon in
   500 ml of water instead.
3. **Heat to 60 °C** and let it stop. Do not boil — boiling vinegar is unpleasant and no more effective.
4. **Leave it to sit 30 minutes.** This is where the work happens.
5. **Pour it out of the top, not through the spout.** With heavy scale, fragments can lodge in the
   gooseneck.
6. **Rinse three times**, at least 500 ml each time.
7. **Boil a full kettle of clean water and discard it.** This clears the last of the smell.
8. **Wipe the element and the base contacts dry** before plugging it back in. Water on the contacts is the
   most common cause of "it stopped working right after I descaled it".

## Heavy scale

Repeat the cycle rather than increasing the concentration.

**Never use** a wire brush, an abrasive pad, or a bleach-based cleaner. All three damage the element
coating, and that damage is not covered either.

## Never

- **Never submerge the kettle base.** It carries mains power.
- **Never put the kettle or base in a dishwasher.**
- Never descale while plugged in.

## Prevention

- Empty the kettle when you finish rather than leaving water standing overnight.
- Use filtered water. A pitcher filter reduces scale substantially and improves the coffee.
- Target water: 75–175 ppm TDS, 50–100 ppm hardness. Distilled and reverse-osmosis water make flat coffee
  — they prevent scale by having nothing in them to extract with.

## After descaling, if it still misbehaves

| Symptom | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| Still slow to heat | Scale remains — run a second cycle |
| Temperature more than 2 °C off | Sensor fault — this is a warranty claim |
| Dead after descaling | Almost always water on the base contacts. Dry thoroughly and retry |
| Trips out on a full kettle | Element failing |

Warranty claims: email hello@emberlane.coffee with your order number and a photo or short video. We
approve or decline within 2 business days and pay return shipping on approved claims.