Why Does Water From My Kettle Taste Funny?

Have you experienced a situation where the heated water in your kettle had a funny taste that made it undrinkable and unbearable? The problem is not an isolated one; we have seen many people commenting about the funny taste and smell of boiling water from their kettle.

Water from a kettle can taste funny due to chemicals in the water, limescale build up within the kettle and the coatings used on manufacturers on new kettles. While these causes aren’t overly dangerous they should be solved and prevented to prevent any further build up.

But what’s the cause? Could it be the water supply or the kettle manufacturers are not doing a great job or probably because you didn’t rinse the kettle well? What are the methods to prevent this issue? These and more will be discussed in this article. 

What Causes Water From My Kettle To Taste Funny

There are a number of reasons for the funny taste and smell in new kettles. This can happen due to the manufacturer’s chemicals coating at the surface of the kettle reacting with the water, or it could be BPA in the plastic which reacts with water.

Or, chlorine in the water reacting with the plastic of the kettle or the magnesium and calcium in hard water can cause a bad odour and taste. To understand more about why your new kettle has this funny taste and smell, keep reading on.

Manufacturer’s Chemicals Coating

When kettles are manufactured, the inner and outer surface is coated with chemicals or lubricants from the manufacturing plant. These chemicals are used to protect the kettle at certain parts of the production line during the manufacturing process.

They are also used to protect the kettle from rusting while it lies idle in warehouses and shops. So if you buy a new kettle and don’t properly wash it before using it to boil water, you might experience this awkward taste.

Chlorine in Water

The efficacy of chlorine in water treatment cannot be overemphasised. It helps eliminate virtually all slime bacteria, algae, and moulds that commonly grow in water supply areas, on the walls of water mains, and storage tanks.

However, scientists have found that the chlorine in tap water reacts with phenol-based compounds mostly found in the kettle’s plastic and rubber parts.

Though not everyone will have this issue because chlorine levels differ, and folks have different sensitivities to taste and smell. However, we recommend you boil your water in a saucepan and compare it with the one boiled in a kettle to determine if the kettle is the problem.

If the kettle is causing the problem, you can get rid of the chlorine by storing your tap water in a covered container in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Check for Limescaling

Scaling in kettles is caused by hard water, and it builds up over time inside your kettle. It occurs as a result of high concentrations of calcium and magnesium salts in the water used for boiling.

As the water in the kettle boils, insoluble calcium carbonate or magnesium carbonate will form from the water, spreading across the kettle. This is presented as limescale, and when it reacts with the metal coating inside the kettle, the water will taste bad. 

Are the Funny Taste and Bad Odour Dangerous?

Kettles can have different funny tastes and odours like plastic, chlorine, TCP, or simply a nasty smell. Many of these odours and odd tastes are not dangerous or detrimental to your health except for the plastic odour.

The plastic smell in water is caused by BPA, an industrial chemical used to make plastic kettles. This BPA has been known to cause many health problems. These health problems include cancer, infertility, heart disease, diabetes, asthma, and deformations in unborn children.

So, it is important to protect yourself and your family by ensuring that they do not drink water that smells and tastes like plastic.

Though the other funny odours are not really dangerous, we advise that it is best to stay away from that water. 

Ways To Prevent Water In A Kettle From Tasting Funny

Your Kettles are one of the must-have tools in your kitchen. However, if not properly looked after, you probably might not get the best out of them. The following tips will help you prevent bad odours and taste from your kettle. 

Tip 1: Cleaning your Newly Acquired Kettle Thoroughly

For most people, they will not thoroughly clean their newly acquired kettle before using them. They believed new kettles are cleaned and free from any poisonous chemicals.

This is not absolutely true; in fact, most new kettles are coated with some chemicals used during production, which will react with the water in the kettle to produce these unpleasant odours and tastes. 

How to Clean New Kettles?

Your newly acquired kettle should be washed thoroughly with dishwashing soap or liquid while ensuring not to get any water into the appliance’s electrical parts.

Most kettles are covered with a chemical substance, which is used to prevent them from rusting. 

Additionally, when kettles are kept in shops or storage facilities, they gather dust. To dispose of these chemicals and residue, you need to clean the kettle completely before using it.

Fill the Kettle to the Brim with Water and Boil

After cleaning the kettle, then you should fill it with water and boil. Assuming you’re utilizing a stovetop kettle, be cautious when following this step. Despite the fact that it says to fill the kettle, you ought not to fill it up to the brim.

If you do, water will pour out of the kettle’s spout while bubbling. All things being equal, you should top the water off to where the spout begins from inside the kettle. This should be how you use the kettle onward. 

Additionally, while utilizing the kettle on the oven, make certain to keep the kettle’s base straightforwardly over the hot plate or burner if utilizing gas. Try not to permit flares to come out from around the edges of the base of the kettle as it would liquefy the handle or even the spout, or for gas, it might darken it pointlessly. 

Throw out the Water

The boiled water is undrinkable yet in light of the fact that the chemicals utilized in coating the inside of the kettle are currently blended into the water. So the need for discarding it.

At the point of disposing of the boiled water, you may see changes in the colour of the kettle base, particularly in copper kettles. Try not to panic. It’s simply the chemical falling off the base. Simply wipe the base inside with a new clean piece of fabric.

Repeat Boiling and Discarding for 3 or 4 Times

In certain kettles, the terrible taste and smell don’t easily disappear after boiling once. In such cases, you should repeat the process three to four times until your kettle is completely cleaned and liberated from chemicals. After that, you can now start using the kettle to boil water to drink or make a cup of tea.

Tip 2: The Use of Bicarbonate

If you’re still encountering the terrible taste and smell in the wake of completing the previous process, you can then add two tablespoons of bicarbonate into the kettle filled with water and boil.

At that point, leave the kettle to cool for the time being with the bicarbonate blended and mixed water. Please dispose of the water, wash the kettle and fill it with water. Bubble water and dispose of. Boil the water and dispose of it again to get rid of any leftover bicarbonate.

Presently your kettle ought to be free from any foul taste. Rather than bicarbonate, you could utilize lime too.

Trick 3: Descaling with the use of Vinegar

  1. Fill the kettle with water to the brim and boil.
  2. After you’ve switched off your kettle, add Vinegar or a tablespoon of lemon salt into the boiled water.
  3. Keep the solution for a few hours or leave it to cool overnight.
  4. Discard the solution and rinse the inside of your kettle thoroughly.
  5. Refill the kettle with clean water, boil and discard.
  6. Empty the kettle and repeat the process 3 or 4 times.

After that, you can use your kettle in the normal way.