Remove Scale from Stainless Steel Ice Machine

Q. We have an Ice and Water machine that has lime and calcium build on stainless steel. Very hard to remove, would like to know how to clean and how often to clean.

A. Thanks for your question about removing lime and calcium scale from a stainless steel ice machine. To remove calcium and lime scale I recommend using a 2% Citranox solution (2.5 oz per gallon). Ideally use warm or hot water, although it will still work somewhat more slowly with room temperature water.

Turn off the ice maker and disconnect any electrical power before cleaning. You can make up a bucket of solution (5 oz of Citranox in a typical household bucket) and use a brush and/or sponge to clean the scale off the ice maker. Really bad spots may need some brushing, but often the scale will just wipe or dissolve off pretty easily. You can pour the solution through any tubes and fill any reservoirs to soak that need cleaning. Drain the solution and rinse thoroughly with water.

Citranox is suitable for food contact suface cleaning as long as you rinse thoroughly with drinking water. Citranox will not attack stainless steel.

To learn more about How to Clean your food prep equipment, Cleaning Principles and other information, visit http://alconoxfoodservice.com. To receive a free sample of Alconox, Inc. detergent, like Citranox, please complete the form here at Get A Sample. Or ask our cleaning experts a technical cleaning question at Ask Alconox.