It’s no big secret… I drink tons of tea {decaf these days!}. So it would stand to reason I spend a good bit of time cleaning my electric tea kettle {it’s the only way to go!}. I never leave any water sitting in the kettle {there’s a tip to help cut down on the ick that builds up!}, but it still needs a thorough cleaning regularly! If you avoid it or don’t do it right, those things can get GROSS and fast. There’s gunky build-up and hard water stains and before you know it, you’ll have unwelcome floaties in your tea. Gag! So here’s the simple way I get mine clean and ready for another pot of goodness!
Soak It: Fill the kettle with equal parts water and vinegar {I usually fill it halfway with water and half with vinegar}. Let the kettle come to a boil before turning it off and letting the vinegar water soak for 20-30 minutes. Drain completely. You may need to repeat this cycle a few times if you have a lot of build up.
Scrub It: Using a clean soft scrubber sponge, give the inside a good scrubbing {the filter, too if it has build-up}.
Rinse It: Rinse your pot with some warm water. I typically run another boiling water cycle through and dump it before calling it good, just to make sure there are no floaty remnants!
And that’s it. It really is simple and doesn’t suck up too much of your time! Now the big question is, how often do you clean your kettle?
Do tell…
~Mavis
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Windy Tamplin says
I just use citric acid 2tablespoons. My hot water heater has a cleaning cycle. Less to use and easier then the vinagear
Lauren says
To the vinegar and water I add a couple of cut lemons. I also boil it a few times and let it soak. Works so well with minimum effort, I might actually do that today.
Ellen in Clackamas says
my folks used to drink instant coffee (talk about gag!). And since they would make coffee all day they kept an aluminum tea kettle on the stove all day just simmering away. And sorry to say I never saw either of them clean it. If you peeked down the spout it would deter you from ever pouring water out of it!!! Didn’t seem to bother them– hardy pioneer stock! Just stir the floaties in. Haha
Mavis Butterfield says
Extra protein! 🙂
Carol says
Once a week, exactly like you do. I do let water sit in the kettle however.
Gay says
Interesting. I fill the kettle up with vinegar and let it sit for an hour. Pour the vinegar back into a container you mark USED and keep it for next time. Also, the coffee maker. Fill with vinegar instead of water and run the cycle. Keep the used. Run clear water through twice to get rid of the taste. Good to go. I do this the first of every month.
Deborah from Texas says
Mavis, have you tried any of the herbal teas? There are some really good ones out there. I usually use my Kurig for my tea. I do have a stainless steel kettle that I use. I need to clean it real well. I don’t have an electric tea kettle, but would love to have one. It’s not on my list of necessaries though. Since I have an propane stove, it heats water pretty fast. I have also used the microwave to heat water.
Tisha says
When I clean my coffee pot with vinegar, I take the hot vinegar to one of the bathroom drains where I have sprinkled baking soda and pour it down the drain to keep them cleaner. I have extremely hard water and I figure this helps to clean up at least some of the deposits in the sink/bathtub drains.
Indio says
My electric kettle never ever has anything stuck in it the way yours does. Do you filter your water? I filter the main house water line and the drinking water to remove sand, lead, chlorine and a few other nasty things you don’t want to drink. My kettle and water pitchers don’t have anything like that build up and get deep cleaning once a month.