Is there a way to remove mineral build up on stainless steel?

Loan my brew kettle to a friend while I was gone and got it back with a layer of "something" on the bottom surface as well as some burn marks from where the kettle was on his stand. Anybody have any suggestions as to if/how these can be removed? I have tried scrubbing with regular dish soap and then a solid rinse but not much came off.

Acid based cleaner should do the trick. At least in the dairy business where I work by day, the overly simplistic rules of thumb are caustics to cut out the protein and fat, acids for the minerals.

Its called beer stone

It's beer stone. I use these scotch brite pads on mine. Gone with about 15 seconds of scrubbing.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0043P0IAK/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

i scrub it out with the scrubby side of a sponge. CLR works too.

Demon said:

It's beer stone. I use these scotch brite pads on mine. Gone with about 15 seconds of scrubbing.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0043P0IAK/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

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I tried that exact sponge and not much came off so I thought I would consult the experts (you guys) for something to use in addition to this abrasive pad and soap to remove this beer stone. [I kind of like that term "beer stone"]

I scrub with steel wool to clean this stuff off. It is handy to have for cleaning anything metal.

a little oxyclean followed by a green scrub pad is what i use

Have you tried Bar Keeper's Friend?

I tried oxyclean and it did nothing. The name beerstone got me thinking about how to dissolve calcium based compounds and I made a solution of Starsan and water, let it soak for 10 minutes and it wiped away clean. I should have remembered this before because if I soak bottles in oxyclean too long there can be a build up of cleanser crud that won't rinse clean or scrub clean easily.

Here is a new picture of the inside. I don't think I want to tell my brew buddy how easily this came off so he can come over and do some bottling for me in payment for all of that elbow grease.

Bar Keepers Friend works great for cleaning stainless kettles...shines em "like new".

Seven said:

Have you tried Bar Keeper's Friend?

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Ditto on this-- BKF is your friend! After washing, leave the kettle wet and add a small sprinkle of BKF. I use a moistened paper towel to scrub; ScotchBrite, especially the green ones, can scratch the snot out of stainless... I'd recommend one compatible with teflon pans to scrub if you insist.

Also, be sure to use BKF on the entire interior of the pot, not just the stains-- it will repassivate the stainless surface.

LeverTime said:

I scrub with steel wool to clean this stuff off. It is handy to have for cleaning anything metal.

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Never use steel wool... The fibers can become embedded in the stainless, and it will rust.

BKF and a green scrubby (or SS scrubby) should do the trick...