If you've noticed white flakes in your cup of tea or coffee, you could have a problem inside your kettle. Kettles laden with limescale can reduce the efficiency of the element and can increase consumption. While it's not harmful to people's health, limescale in your kettle could also be making your hot beverages taste unpleasant.

Rather than resorting to harsh chemicals or , fans of sensation have shared their go-to method that involves using a natural ingredient you probably already have at home. The handy hack came to light after Jade Blackburn posted on the group, 'Mrs Hinch Cleaning Tips', asking for help descaling her kettle.

She asked: "Best way to descale the kettle please? But I don't want a chemical smell and want to minimise the rewashing afterwards to rid the smell please."

The post was inundated with more than 25 suggestions from Mrs Hinch fans, with the most popular solution being to use lemons.

Suzanne Rodgers said: "Lemon juice boiled and left for half an hour. Worked wonders on mine."

Sandra Jeanette commented: "Cut a lemon in half. Chuck it in, then fill with water, boil, empty, rinse. Job done."

Neaks Sumner replied, "Cut a lemon in half, add it after you've boiled water, and leave overnight."

Sammy Freeman agreed and commented on the post: "Lemon juice. Cheap and effective."

Lemons naturally contain , which can dissolve mineral deposits like limescale.

Firstly, slice up a whole lemon and put it in the kettle. Next, fill the kettle up with cold water so it covers all of the areas covered in limescale.

Boil the kettle with the lemons inside. Once boiled, allow the lemons to sit in the hot kettle for half an hour. Boil a second time before rinsing with cold water.

Lemons are a more palatable option than white vinegar. While white vinegar is effective at removing kettle limescale, it can leave behind an unpleasant smell and aftertaste.

Lemons can be bought from most supermarkets. Sainsbury's unwaxed Stamford Street Co. Lemons cost 99p for five, which works out at just under 20p per lemon. Morrisons Savers lemons cost 79p for a pack of four.

Other suggestions from Mrs Hinch fans for descaling kettles included using white vinegar and citric acid. Anu Bayliss said: "Citric acid works amazingly."

Jan Budd replied: "Equal quantities of white vinegar and water. Boil once, then leave till all scale is gone, then empty and boil once with clean water."