Why does my kettle make water taste odd?
Plastic taste in a new kettle, metallic taste in an old one, and the standing water that causes more of it than either.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 20 min
- Read
- 2 min
- Safety
- warning
Short answer
A new kettle needs two or three boil-and-discard cycles to clear the manufacturing taste. A metallic or stale taste in an older one is usually limescale, stagnant water left in overnight, or a metal filter that needs cleaning. Fresh water every time solves most of it.
Water is very good at picking up flavours, and a kettle gives it several opportunities. The cause is nearly always identifiable from whether the kettle is new, and whether the taste is metallic, plastic or simply flat.
Safety
Step by step
- Deal with a new kettle first.Fill it, boil it, discard the water, and repeat two or three times. Manufacturing residues and the plastic taste from a new element or body clear within a few boils.
- Stop reboiling the same water.Water left standing in a kettle overnight tastes flat and stale, and reboiling it concentrates dissolved minerals. Empty and refill each time — this is the commonest cause by a distance.
- Descale it if you are in a hard water area.Scale on the element gives a chalky, metallic edge and makes the kettle slower. Descale with a proprietary descaler or a citric acid solution, following the instructions, then boil and discard twice.
- Clean the spout filter.Most kettles have a small mesh filter in the spout that traps scale flakes. It clogs, holds stale water and can be lifted out and rinsed or brushed. People rarely know it is there.
- Rinse thoroughly after descaling.Descaler residue tastes strongly of chemicals or vinegar. Two or three full boils discarded afterwards, and a rinse of the spout filter, clears it.
- Check what the water tastes like from the tap.Fill a glass straight from the cold tap and taste it. If it already tastes odd, the kettle is not the problem — it may be the plumbing or a supply issue, and running the tap for a minute often clears it.
- Consider the material if the taste persists.Cheap plastic-bodied kettles can retain a taste long-term, particularly if left full. A glass or stainless interior avoids this, though stainless can taste faintly metallic when new.
- Store it empty with the lid open.An empty kettle left to air does not develop the stale, closed smell that a damp sealed one does. It also makes scale easier to see.
Tips
- Only fill the kettle with what you need. Less standing water, less scale, and considerably less electricity.
- Never use a scouring pad inside a kettle — scratching the interior gives scale more to grip and can damage the element coating.
- If coffee or tea tastes off but the water alone is fine, the problem is more likely the brewing equipment than the kettle.
Questions people ask
Why does my new kettle make water taste of plastic?
Manufacturing residues on a new element and body. Boil a full kettle and discard the water two or three times and it clears. If it persists after that, the kettle itself is the problem.
Why does my kettle water taste metallic?
Usually limescale on the element, or water that has stood in the kettle and been reboiled. Descale it, clean the spout filter, and fill with fresh water each time.