Weird stuff in electric kettle - poisonous?

[andrestorrubia]

Hello,

I have an electric kettle what I use daily for tea brewing.

I've noticed that the bottom of the kettle (ie the heating base) has developed grey bits of stuff:

As you can see the base has an internal circle; the grey rust has developed at the exterior of that inner circle.

I can clean it with a metallic brush, but I am worried nonetheless.

I use tap water (water is hard where I live).

Any ideas?

Thanks!

[pep.]

That looks like simple calcium deposits (which build up fast with "hard" water). You can vinegar or citric acid to clean the kettle (or some commercial product).

[Richard Kilgore]

Looks like calcium to me , too. I get it in my electric kettle and have used vinegar or a product for cleaning coffee pots and such.

[Will]

It's just scale; won't cause a problem. However, you might want to invest in a filter to dechlorinate the water, even if the tap water in your area tastes good.

[Wholemeal Crank]

I ignore the scale in my kettles until I start getting lots of white flakes left in the bottom of my teacups. Then I treat with vinegar, rinse a bunch of times to get the vinegar out, and brew on. It's aesthetically unpleasing but harmless.

[threestars]

I ignore the scale in my kettles until I start getting lots of white flakes left in the bottom of my teacups. Then I treat with vinegar, rinse a bunch of times to get the vinegar out, and brew on. It's aesthetically unpleasing but harmless.

I experienced that too. And yes, a simple vinegar cleaning will be good. I think it is normal for kettles to have that kind of flakes.

[andrestorrubia]

Thanks - I feel a bit more relieved now. The kettle is a cheapo Chinese one, but works very nice, boils water super-fast and has a safety turn-off feature. If this is just scale, I think I may want to get rid of all the water every time I use (as opposed to letting leftover water sit there).

[annabelle]

If you decide to make your tea with distilled water, you'll never have this problem again. Tap water builds up deposits in appliances like steam irons and the makers recommend using distilled water only.

[Will]

If you decide to make your tea with distilled water, you'll never have this problem again. Tap water builds up deposits in appliances like steam irons and the makers recommend using distilled water only.

One difference is that you don't drink the water from your steam iron.

I do not recommend making tea with distilled water, or reverse-osmosis processed water. Tea generally prefers a water with some mineral content, but not too much (certain types of tea may be better with softer or harder waters). Water is known as the "mother of tea" for a reason - it's most of what you're drinking when you drink tea. Tea made with water that's too devoid of mineral content will be flat and lifeless.

[chefhenry]

Pouring out the leftover water and boiling fresh water every time is a good idea anyways but the scale will build up regardless, the interaction between the hot metal and the hard water is what draws the calcium and/or magnesium out of the water and it adheres to the metal during the heating phase. Our water is so hard here that we have to scrub the deposits off everything constantly, really plays havoc with all of the plumbing too!