Milliard Citric Acid 5 Pound - 100% Pure Food Grade Non-GMO Project Verified (5 Pound)

This product is 100% citric acid. I purchased this to descale my electric hot water kettle and for use as a dishwasher cleaner. It does both jobs very effectively and has several advantages versus the other alternative most people use, which is vinegar. I will detail these below.A citric acid solution, at the same normality, is more acidic than vinegar which makes it a more effective descaler. It can also be stored more compactly than a bottle of vinegar and is readily made into solution when needed. For use as a kettle descaler, I added 4 tsp (about 19 grams, 0.1 mole) to 1 liter of water, boiled it in the kettle and let it sit for 15 minutes. It completely dissolved a year's worth of mineral deposits. I then soaked the aerator of my kitchen faucet (which was partially blocked) in a small quantity of this hot acidic solution. It cleared it up very effectively, something which repeated overnight soakings in vinegar had failed to do. Aside from the effectiveness, another advantage is that, unlike vinegar, it has no odor and the kettle is more easily rinsed free of the acid after descaling. Needless to say, it is much more cost effective than buying a dedicated descaler, which is most likely citric acid, but with some snazzy brand name so they can charge a hefty premium for it.It works very well as a dishwasher cleaner. An advantage it has versus vinegar for this application is that you can simply put a quantity (I use 2 tbsp) in the dispenser and start the wash. It will automatically get used during the main wash cycle which is when the dispenser door opens. Being the longest cycle of the wash, it is the most effective way of using a cleaner. To get the same effect with vinegar, you have to start the dishwasher, wait for the pre-wash cycle to complete, open the door and pour in the vinegar. This works, but is obviously less convenient.This particular product itself is well packaged. I like the fact that it is resealable, which means I do not have to find a separate container for it. The granules flowed freely with minimal clumping. The two pound bag is a good size for my needs and should last me more than a year. Recommended.

I have been searching for a cleaner to get the hard water white scale off our shower doors and shower heads for more years than I care to admit. From CLR, to the green stuff, to Kaboom and vinegar, even barkeepers, I tried everything that promised to remove it. Some worked a little (barkeepers) but most didn't work at all.I saw this citric acid in a review of some other product that the reviewer said did not work. The reviewer said to skip the other product and try this. She called it a "miracle cleaner". OK, I was up for a miracle at this point. I figured it was worth a try. If it didn't work I could always use it to make sourdough bread. It's other name is "sour salt" when used in cooking.I diluted the powder 2 TB per 4 cups warm water as suggested. I poured it into a clean spray bottle. I sprayed the shower door. The white scale melted before my eyes. And I mean MELTED off the door. I rinsed the door with a 2 liter spray bottle (Hudson brand sold on Amazon) and the door was like new! No scrubbing, no nothing. How could this product have escaped my notice all these years?I googled citric acid and saw the many other uses for this product from cleaning the coffee pot, to cleaning tile and windows. The dirty grout in my kitchen...clean! The apple slices got soaked in a light solution before dehydrating.(Cheaper than lemon juice). Anything vinegar or lemon juice can do, this can do better. Enough said.This is exactly the same as "sour salt" in the small container. I bought this because I am never going to get a decent sourdough starter going. I've tried for several years: the hundreds of different techniques on hundreds of bread websites, the "Alaska dehydrated starter" that I ordered all the way from Utah, the "fresh starter" from some folks that said it was over 100 years old and used on the Oregon Trail no less.Well, it was time for plan Z (the cheaters way). Add 1/4 to 1/2 tsp per dough recipe (about 3 cups flour) and add an extra tablespoon of yeast and you've got sourdough bread! The first time I used it, I didn't add extra yeast. I guess this salt inhibits yeast action. (same thing happened when I tried to make sourdough bread by adding vinegar.)The second time I used it to make rye bread, I added the extra yeast and it turned out perfectly. I have also used it for sweet and sour sauce. Vinegar is still my other sour ingredient in the sauce, but this adds a real kick. Lots of my grandma's "old country Russia" recipies use this sour salt. Cabbage and meatball recipe and many soups. Look on line for great "old country" recipies.

Great product it just took forever to get here

Made by toilet bowl white again. Removed all of the stains and lime deposits

In search of a solution to my nasty SCRUD washing machine deposits, I viewed/read about the benefits and abilities of citric acid as a cleaner.[OxiClean + C.A.powder. (“Ben’s Appliances and Junk” on YouTube). Thanks, Ben!]I immediately ordered the 2# bag and began searching Google for the various things that it can clean and the ‘recipes’ to do so.Here’s what I’ve found thus far…Basic cleaning solution: 1 Tbsp. citric acid / 1 Cup of hot water (or)1/4 Cup citric acid / gallon of hot water.Although, that differs from Milliard’s website and THEIR official recipe guide:https://www.milliardbrands.com/pages/citric-acid-user-guide-1DISCLAIMER: I did not look for/find this information until AFTER my test cleanings (described below). I just began culling from a lot of different online sites.<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<—————————>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>When it arrived, I began with the lime scale ring in my toilet’s bowl:I dumped 3 Tbsp. of powder into the bowl, dissolved it using the toilet brush, and waited 30 minutes. Well, as water in toilets finds its own level (due to gravity, traps, vents, etc.), the cleaning solution remained just UNDER the ring I was intending to remove. How is that going to work if the liquid is not even soaking the area I’m trying to clean? I added more water to the bowl until the level was back above the ring and the water line self-leveled again — to below the targeted area. I placed a bottle of water in the bowl, hoping the displacement would raise the cleaning solution enough — for long enough — to penetrate the stubborn ring and loosen the scale. Yet again, the water leveled-out to just under the ring. I give up! [Not knocking the Citric Acid at all…I’m sure it would do a fantastic job on bowl or tank stains that are UNDER the water line.]Ok, we’ll give this stuff another chance on the stubborn toilet ring — in a DRY bowl this time…I prepared the solution (4T/4C), turned off the water supply, flushed, and bailed as much water out of the bowl as possible. (Water level was 4-5” below the disgusting ring). I GENEROUSLY sprayed the bowl with the solution. I waited an hour and then saturated it again. Another hour elapsed andI returned to check the progress. Still a dried, rusty/yellow-colored ring remained. I scrubbed with the toilet brush…no change. I used a magic eraser dampened with the solution…not budging. And, not only does this stuff not work for me, it did NOT make the toilet smell any better, either!(NOPE!! Sticking to my Clorox T.B. cleaner, thanks.)Supposedly, it can de-gunk toilet TANKS as well:(Although mine were clean and I did NOT do this, I’m forwarding the method I’d found...)Turn off water supply. Flush to empty water from tank. Dump in 1 Cup citric acid powder and pour HOT water into the tank— to the stain line. Stir to dissolve. Let sit for at least an hour. Scrub down the insides a bit. Turn water supply back on. Flush. Let tank fill back up. Scrub again and flush again.Moving on…electric water kettle:As I only use fresh, filtered, dispensed refrigerator water in my kettle, I have never cleaned it. Whatever germs are in there are getting boiled and it’s left open to dry thoroughly after use. Plus, due to its electrical contacts, it cannot be submerged in water. Over many years of using it, a white, dotted limescale film has coated the bottom and pour spout. Not a big deal for me but it looks unsightly. I used 1 Tbsp. powder and 4 1/2 C of water in kettle, stirred to dissolve, let it come to a boil and then sit for 30 minutes. The limescale dots were softened and easily wiped off with a bottle brush. Rinsed out the kettle and it looks new inside! Ok…impressed. AND, no nasty vinegar odor in the house!Shower heads and faucet aerators:In a med/lg glass bowl, I dumped 1 TBSP citric acid and 4.5 Cups of boiling water. I stirred to dissolve, then tossed in my bathroom sinks’ aerators and shower head. I secured the shower head — water spray holes down — in the bowl so it would remain standing in the solution and not roll over on its side. I spooned some of the solution from the bowl into the threaded, upright end until it was full. I set my timer for the recommended 15 minutes…The aerators looked great! I rinsed them thoroughly with clean water and set them aside to dry. As for the shower head, I hadn’t cleaned it in awhile and the stubborn crust was still present after 15 minutes. Back into the bowl it went. I reset the timer for ANOTHER 15 and checked again…Well, with no scrubbing, the pinkish yuck was all gone! Some of the crusty white stuff remained, though. I proceeded to scrub the front of the head with a toothbrush and diligently poked a toothpick and/or paper clip into each of the various-sized spray holes as well. I then bobbed the shower head up and down in the bowl a few times before rinsing it out thoroughly with clean water.Reinstalled all — they work LIKE NEW! (Wonderful shower pressure now.)Patch of lime scale build-up on the dish drainer-side of stainless steel sink:I couldn’t get this one to work. I even gloved-up and tried with just a paste of citric acid on a brush and then on a paper towel…hoping both the chemical reaction and grittiness of the crystals would loosen the build-up — it didn’t budge. (More research required.)I tried again with 3 Tbsp. powder in a slurry mixture. I dabbed it on with a sponge, pressed plastic wrap down to cover the surfaces of application, and waited an hour. I then rubbed the sink with a damp, lightly-abrasive sponge and rinsed. This method DID NOT remove the thick patch. Water spots were still visible on the sides of the sink. The bottom of the sink looked a tad better, though the bottom isn’t really the problem.The next day, I sprayed the sink with the citric acid solution (above), let it sit for 20 minutes. Sprayed again and wiped it around with a sponge to eliminate the spotting of the spray. Waited an hour. Rinsed it all out…NOPE…still not satisfied.[I’ll be returning to my tried-and-true methods of Barkeeper’s Friend and Gel Gloss or Weiman’s S.S. cleaner/polish.]That annoying “DESCALE” message popped-up on the Keurig too. Trying that one next. Here’s what’s on the Milliard site:Coffee makerAdd 2 TBSP of Milliard Citric Acid powder to your coffee maker and run it with 32 ounces of hot water for fresher and better-tasting coffee.I did this. Cannot tell if it’s properly descaled or not. Coffee tastes just as good as it did before, though. Certainly cheaper and less time-consuming than the recommended Keurig descale procedure — using their liquid descale solution.Hmmm….it’s been awhile. How do I get the ‘descale’ message to go off?FOUND IT: Make sure the power button is switched ‘OFF’. Press and hold the 8 oz. and 10oz. buttons — simultaneously — for 5+ seconds until the ‘descale’ light switches off.With all of this researching, boiling, measuring, stirring, soaking and scrubbing, I’ve failed to even TASTE this stuff…Taste-test: I stirred a 1/4 tsp. into 8 oz. of chilled water, as I wasn’t quite sure what the proper ratio should be. It DOES have a nice, lemon juice-like flavor. A tad sour with these measurements, though.A 1/4 tsp.+, with 16 oz. of water, might be a better mix if one prefers just a hint of something lemony in their water. If making a lemonade-type drink, and adding a sweetener, the 1/4 t. / 8 oz. + sweetness might just work!As I find more uses for this stuff, I’ll update this review.UPDATE: (kills bugs)Recently, I have absentmindedly left food bowls — that I set out for our neighbor’s visiting cat — outside. One still had food in it, the other was empty. Needless to say, hundreds of little piss-ants found both, and the bowls were COVERED with them!I’ve found that Windex works well to kill the ants instantly and enables me to then carry the bowls inside WITHOUT also bringing in any live 6-leggers. I used that method the first time on the bowl with remaining food (on the concrete). ALL DEAD! The second time (empty bowl on wood deck), I decided to grab my sprayer of citric acid solution to test IT out instead. WOW! It also worked great to kill those little b@$t@rd$ immediately!I’d read that it’s not good to spray this stuff on anything porous so, after I brought the bowls of dead ants in to clean them, I returned back to where I’d sprayed and rinsed the sprayed areas with water.Anyway, it seems to kill ants in a pinch. Who knew?A stink big made its way inside, too. I captured it in an empty PNB jar, sprayed some of the solution in there and capped it…within minutes, six toes up!