每日一词学英语(72): descale

Not only is vinegar good for descaling kettles, cleaning windows and pickling onions, but it seems that it could help you to keep the weight off, too. 醋有很多妙用，可以去除烧水壶里的水垢、清洁窗玻璃、腌制洋葱，而且貌似可以减肥。（From The Times, July 6, 2009: Nutrition Q&A: Can vinegar help people to slim?）

Descale有两个意思（Wiktionary）：
1. To remove scale from the surface of a metal, especially from the inner surfaces of boilers etc. 除垢。
2. To remove the scales from a fish etc. 除鳞。

除垢剂是descaling agent，descaler或anti-scaling agent。

Research suggests that acetic acid could be a useful aid in losing weight. 吃醋有利于减肥，看来是有根据的了。