People have been left gobsmacked after learning how often you should clean your kettle between boils – with many admitting to leaving it unwashed for years.
Every time you boil your kettle, calcium deposits from the natural minerals in your water are left behind, causing a limescale build-up.
This issue is particularly prevalent in areas with hard water – and it can affect the taste of your hot beverage over time. Commenting on this issue, one Reddit user asked: “How often do you wash your kettle?
“This question is for those who only put water in their kettles. I ask because as the water evaporates, it leaves behind whatever else was in the water (fluorine, magnesium, etc.). Over time, these contaminants build up on the walls of the kettle.”
According to Kitchen Aid, you should be cleaning your kettle at least once a month if you use it on a daily basis to avoid this limescale build-up.
Their website reads: “Descaling is the process of removing limescale build up inside your kettle, which comes from calcium, magnesium and other minerals found in your water. If you have hard water, you may need to descale your electric kettle more often because hard water has a higher mineral content than soft water.”
They suggest cleaning electric kettles with vinegar, adding: “Thanks to its mild acidity, vinegar is a good solution for breaking down mineral build up in your electric tea kettle. It’s the next best thing to using a specialized descaling agent and is an accessible home solution for cleaning and descaling.”
Responding to the original Reddit post, one user admitted: “I have literally never once in my life washed a kettle. I will occasionally wipe down the outside if it gets dusty, but I’ve never washed it. Given that the only thing that’s ever inside of it is plain water, I see no reason to.”
Another user added: “About once every three months. I just boil water with citric acid and it works perfectly.” A third user said: “I rarely do, as the water quality here is quite good and also rather soft, so there isn’t much of a mineral build up either. So soft, in fact, that I sometimes add some salt to it. Not every time, since there’s some leftover from the last salt and it would build up to the point that I can taste it (not pleasant)”
One more user added: “I only use the glacier or primo refill water. I never need to clean my kettle. My other kettle is used for tap water only and I’ve had to clean it once due to hard water mineral build ups on the bottom.” A final user said: “I descale once a month so the build up doesn’t become too severe.”