Are plastic kettles safe ?

[MoriaRoseForever]

Looking around for a new kettle and so many, even expensive ones, are plastic or have an inner plastic body.

Is plastic bad in a kettle ?

Yes. Plastics leach plasticisers which can be endocrine (hormone) disrupters. For example bisphenol A is one, but there are many other bisphenols which can be even more dangerous. We searched hard for a kettle that has no plastic in it—many stainless steel ones now have a plastic window—and ended up with a glass one with stainless steel base.

@DrNo007

Yes. Plastics leach plasticisers which can be endocrine (hormone) disrupters. For example bisphenol A is one, but there are many other bisphenols which can be even more dangerous. We searched hard for a kettle that has no plastic in it—many stainless steel ones now have a plastic window—and ended up with a glass one with stainless steel base.

I keep seeing ones that are metal but then have plastic inside.

When I read up on kettles and which are recommended can't see anything much , even on Which, about not using plastic.

I'm not sure of how robust the science behind the fear of plastic kettles, but I must admit they make me nervous too. I searched high and low for a kettle with no plastic inside (as pp says, so many metal ones have a plastic water level viewer) to no avail, so I ended up going for one of the stovetop ones as it was the only one I could find that had no plastic that touched the water.

If anyone has any links to some electric kettles with zero plastic on the inside I would be eternally grateful lol

Doea this mean plastic water filters are bad? Is there research/evidence you can link?

Personally I think there is a problem with the plastic in water filters, though it’s hard to avoid. I don’t know of specific research on kettles or water filters and how much endocrine disrupting stuff they leach but here is a study on bisphenol A and ‘substitutes’ (as many manufacturers now advertise their products as being BPA free), which shows that BPA is dangerous but some of the substitutes are as bad or worse cfpub.epa.gov/si/si_public_record_report.cfm?Lab=NHEERL&dirEntryId=337749

Our dualit kettle is all stainless steel. You can also get hob kettles which are stainless steel.

One of the worst sources of endocrine disrupting plasticisers is plastic bottled water (here you are actually ingesting microplastic particles) so I tend to think plastic filters are better than drinking bottled water.

Water arrives in your home via polyethylene pipes.

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g

Water arrives in your home via polyethylene pipes.

True, but there's not much you can do to avoid that lol. But it's the plastic+heat combo for me with kettles anyway

I doubt they would be sold if they weren’t safe..

@Soubriquet plastic IS unsafe to human health, they are well known endocrine disrupters. Microplastics are accumulating in our bodies at alarming rates, they can cross the blood brain barrier.
More plastic going into the environment every year, means more plastic accumulating in our bodies.
No ones going to do anything about it until it’s too late though.

I have a smallish Swan kettle, the base and lid are plastic but inside is all metal. There is a little polythene mesh limescale filter inside the spout but it unhooks. I bought it because of light weight and no plastic. I have awful neck problems but won't have a plastic kettle.

We buy mineral water in glass bottles occasionally for a treat, but I take my chances with tap water