# So it's time to buy citric acid **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 23, 2015, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-its-time-to-buy-citric-acid/741219 "2015-12-23T21:52:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CT\_Damsel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CT\_Damsel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CT_Damsel)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-its-time-to-buy-citric-acid/741219/1 "2015-12-23T21:52:47Z")
I have VERY hard water so I use citric acid to clean the electric kettle. I noticed I needed more so I went to my order history in Amazon. When I purchased the 5lb jar on 6/23/2011 it was $26.49. Today the very same product is $73.77. WTF? I wish I had invested in citric acid futures 4 years ago.😃 Fortunately a different brand was only $21.99 for 5lb. The only difference the new one arrives in a bag. The jug must be a collectors item since it cost $51.78. Who buys the wildly over priced stuff? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-its-time-to-buy-citric-acid/741219/2 "2015-12-23T22:03:21Z")
Damn! Already? I thought citric acid day came in March. [Looks like you can do better than $4.50 a pound.](http://www.brambleberry.com/Citric-Acid-P3753.aspx) ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-its-time-to-buy-citric-acid/741219/3 "2015-12-23T22:05:20Z")
Does this work on rust stains? I have to use toilet bowl cleaner on my shower it’s so bad. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-its-time-to-buy-citric-acid/741219/4 "2015-12-23T22:19:40Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Does this work on rust stains? I have to use toilet bowl cleaner on my shower it’s so bad. [CLR](http://www.thecarycompany.com/containers/facility/clr-multisurface.html)works well for that. ---
**Author:** ![CT\_Damsel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CT\_Damsel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CT_Damsel)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-its-time-to-buy-citric-acid/741219/5 "2015-12-23T23:24:31Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Damn! Already? I thought citric acid day came in March. > > [Looks like you can do better than $4.50 a pound.](http://www.brambleberry.com/Citric-Acid-P3753.aspx) Wow! Even with shipping it is cheaper. I can cancel my Amazon order. Have you ordered from them? Are they reliable? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-its-time-to-buy-citric-acid/741219/6 "2015-12-23T23:31:18Z")
> [@CT\_Damsel](#): > > Wow! Even with shipping it is cheaper. I can cancel my Amazon order. > Have you ordered from them? Are they reliable? Nope, don’t know anything about them. They probably don’t have any free shipping deal, so if you’re going to get the 50 pounder it may not be as a good a deal when all is said and done. ---
**Author:** ![CT\_Damsel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CT\_Damsel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CT_Damsel)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-its-time-to-buy-citric-acid/741219/7 "2015-12-23T23:35:45Z")
No they do not have any deal on shipping; but when I did the calculation on their site the shipping plus the citric was much less than Amazon with prime shipping. OMG! I do not have the room to store 50 lbs! I will give them a try. I would love to make my own soap too. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-its-time-to-buy-citric-acid/741219/8 "2015-12-23T23:47:44Z")
I wouldn’t bother with citric acid. Sodium hydrosulfite is much better for the job(though it does stink more) products like Rust out or Iron out use it as their active ingredient. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2015, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-its-time-to-buy-citric-acid/741219/9 "2015-12-23T23:48:01Z")
[How about this from Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/Citric-Acid-Non-GMO-Organic-Chemicals/dp/B006STCVL8/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1450914531&sr=8-5&keywords=citric+acid)? It’s on Prime, too. 5 lbs for $17.99. StG ---
**Author:** ![CT\_Damsel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CT\_Damsel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CT_Damsel)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-its-time-to-buy-citric-acid/741219/10 "2015-12-24T00:18:09Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > [How about this from Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/Citric-Acid-Non-GMO-Organic-Chemicals/dp/B006STCVL8/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1450914531&sr=8-5&keywords=citric+acid)? It’s on Prime, too. 5 lbs for $17.99. > > StG I love SDMB it makes up my premature ordering 🙂 I canceled and ordered the less expensive one. Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-its-time-to-buy-citric-acid/741219/11 "2015-12-24T00:22:32Z")
Learning a new thing today. So citric acid is the next go-to on stuff when white vinegar doesn’t work? ---
**Author:** ![CT\_Damsel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CT\_Damsel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CT_Damsel)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-its-time-to-buy-citric-acid/741219/12 "2015-12-24T01:29:09Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > Learning a new thing today. So citric acid is the next go-to on stuff when white vinegar doesn’t work? The directions that came with my electric kettle recommended citric acid powder for cleaning out the hard water; that is why I use it. I do use white vinegar in place of softener and windex and for many cleaning applications. ---
**Author:** ![Whatever4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@Whatever4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whatever4)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-its-time-to-buy-citric-acid/741219/13 "2015-12-24T04:06:15Z")
Isn’t citric acid vitamin C? Vague memory of reading that when I did a lot of canning and pickling; vit. C tablets being cheaper to use.😕 ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-its-time-to-buy-citric-acid/741219/14 "2015-12-24T04:15:15Z")
Ascorbic acid is vitamin C. Citric acid is the tangy/sour flavor added to many foods and beverages and can be used for certain kidney/urinary stone treatment, so it’s beneficial in a flavor/pH way, but not nutritionally like ascorbic acid/vitamin C. People conflate the two because of their commonality with citrus fruits. ---
**Author:** ![CT\_Damsel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CT\_Damsel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CT_Damsel)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-its-time-to-buy-citric-acid/741219/15 "2015-12-24T05:52:11Z")
Hmm. I did the math. The cost per treatment for citric acid is .20, using white vinegar is .18; however using a vitamin c supplement pill is the winner at **$.06** if a 1000mg pill does the job. (Will it take long if it is time-release C?:D) I usually do this once a month; but in the interest of saving money I am testing this now since the kettle is thick with the calcium. One website suggests dropping the pill in and adding water and boiling for a while; but that is not an option since the kettle has an automatic shut off. It just stopped boiling so I peeked. One spot on the bottom where the pill must have been is completely clean. I will let it sit for 20 and report back. I’ll hum the theme to Jeopardy 40 times. All prices are based on what I buy normally and have in the house now. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-its-time-to-buy-citric-acid/741219/16 "2015-12-24T06:15:54Z")
In my limited experience cleaning (big) pots that do nothing at all but boil water all day long (in a kitchen environment), soaking them in vinegar overnight does a really good job of cleaning them. Also, what we did is filled them dumped a gallon or two of vinegar in them and then filled the vinegar bottles with water and dropped the bottles in the pots to raise the level of the vinegar since it only had to be touching the sides. This was it was a lot less elbow grease and a whole lot cheaper than any other method. Theo only draw back was that it smelled absolutely rancid. Not because of of the vinegar, whatever reaction was going on smelled terrible. ---
**Author:** ![CT\_Damsel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CT\_Damsel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CT_Damsel)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2015, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-its-time-to-buy-citric-acid/741219/17 "2015-12-24T06:24:58Z")
OK we have results. Or the no result result. After coming to a boil with the vitamin and sitting for 20 minutes, except for one small spot where the pill must have been, the kettle was still completely coated inside with build up. This kettle is a Bodum BPA free plastic with an auto shut off. I have had excellent results with soaking a glass jar with half vinegar half water to remove the hard water build up\*; but I am concerned that allowing this kettle to sit for longer than the recommended 20 minutes will hurt the insides. \*it always takes an hour or so. ---
**Author:** ![Whatever4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@Whatever4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whatever4)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2015, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-its-time-to-buy-citric-acid/741219/18 "2015-12-25T05:27:23Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > Ascorbic acid is vitamin C. Citric acid is the tangy/sour flavor added to many foods and beverages and can be used for certain kidney/urinary stone treatment, so it’s beneficial in a flavor/pH way, but not nutritionally like ascorbic acid/vitamin C. People conflate the two because of their commonality with citrus fruits. So that’s why nobody’d eat my homemade pickles.:eek: