Recommend me a kettle?

[TheGreatestAtuin]

God, boring thread I know... sorry!

I actually have a perfectly functional kettle, but since having a galvanic water softener fitted a few months ago, the old limescale is slowly being dissolved and coming off in small bits constantly. I have to pour the water out of the kettle via a tea strainer in order to catch all the bits. And if I forget to do this then the last few mouthfuls of tea/coffee are full of gritty flakes! 😱

I've descaled the kettle repeatedly but it's not helping.

Alas I have decided I would be better off buying a new one as I'm fed up of tolerating gritty bitty hot drinks. Also I'm interested to see if a new kettle develops any limescale buildup now we've supposedly got "well-behaved" water...

So what kettles do you lot recommend please? I'd prefer not to spend more than £50. Stainless steel or colourful options are preferred, but I'm not that picky really. Quiet, quick, and non-drippy are definitely more important.

I'm currently drinking a cup of tea sans bits, but with the strange lingering taste of vinegar and bicarb after my latest (failed) attempt to descale aforementioned kettle. Also my kitchen stinks of vinegar too. Help!

TIA

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For a deeper dive into the top kit for making the perfect brew, don't miss our guide to the best kettles according to Mumsnetters.

However, if you’re short on time, here’s a summary of the kettles Mumsnetters are recommending on this thread:

☕️ Dualit Architect Kettle, £89

☕️ Russell Hobbs Brushed Stainless Steel Electric 1.7L Cordless Kettle, £32

☕️ Russell Hobbs Luna Stainless Steel & Copper 1.7L Cordless Electric Kettle, £55

☕️ KitchenAid Artisan Kettle, £195

☕️ George at ASDA Black Kettle 1.7L, £11

MNHQ

Over budget !
But hear me out it’s the only kettle I e had with no problems had it so far since 2020 !
no leaks nothing
https://www.ecookshop.co.uk/ecookshop/m/product.asp?pid=5KEK1522BPT

I second (or third, or maybe fourth?) the cheapo Asda one, I’ve had mine about 7 years, it’s gone through 3 house moves, has survived being dropped, is quick to boil, doesn’t seem to scale up very much and is easy to descale when it does need it - I just use vinegar and then boil fresh water in it about 3 times afterwards.

I also have a cheapo Asda toastie maker about the same age, it cost around £18 I think. It gets used at least twice a week and I’ve never had a problem with it. It came with alternative plates although I’ve never used them, I think one was a waffle maker and maybe a panini press? Can’t remember, don’t even know where they are, but my point is it was great value!

Thanks again for all the recommendations. I was not expecting a thread about kettles to illicit so many responses I must admit. 😂

I'm no closer to choosing a kettle mind! Almost spoiled for choice now...

I have narrowed it down to wanting a metal one, rather than plastic (which is a shame as I think the scandi-style Asda one looks lovely).

whatever you get I'd suggest a 3kw one. I think those are the fastest now. You don't want to be hanging about waiting for a kettle to boil. (We have a heated tap so I can't recommend a kettle)

Sorry but I thought water softeners have to avoid the freshwater kitchen tap due to them adding salt into the water? So your water to your kettle should be the same? Maybe get a kettle with an inbuilt water filter?

What type of hob do you have OP?

I recently had to replace the kettle and went down a weird internet rabbit hole about kettle energy efficiency. Found a several blog posts about this with various experiments. Conclusion was that it’s apparently more energy efficient to use a stove top kettle with an induction hob so I bought one of the shinys on the link below.

https://www.lecreuset.co.uk/en_GB/p/kone-kettle/EK40101.html?dwvar_EK40101_color=deepTeal&dwvar_EK40101_size=l1-6

The increased level of sodium in softened water is very low, I certainly can't taste it.

A litre of softened water contains approximatly 4% of your daily recommended sodium intake.

However it is often advised for pregnant / high blood pressure / old people to avoid it.
FYI the salt is used to "regenerate" the material inside the softener, and is rinsed away during the regenerate cycle. The sodium elevation is due to any residue left after the rinse.

Persoanlly, I now buy the cheapest stainless steel cordless jug kettle that I can get from Argos or Amazon or similar. They can usually be had for £10-15.

They look decent and in my experience all kettles have a short life these days and will need replacing within 2 years. I’ve found you can pay 3 or 4 or 5 times more and the quality isn’t actually better.

Noooo not SMEG. I adored my kettle but about 18 months in, the plastic colour coating began to bubble and split. The handle is also discoloured. Then I dropped it and the top hinge broke (but that was my fault tbf). I'm now kettle shopping!

It's not a salt water softener though. It's a galvanic water "conditioner".

We're gas hob people. 😂

I have an older version of this and it’s been going for years. They do it in various colours and finishes.
what you really need is to move up north to the land of soft water!
https://www.morphyrichards.co.uk/products/venture-pyramid-kettle-white

I love my stainless steel Dualit kettle but certainly wouldn't have paid the £100 or so that they cost when new (mine was £10 secondhand off fb marketplace with a tiny ding on the top )I also have an old Dualit toaster that was also a secondhand buy and is one of the ones that can be easily repaired.

Another dualit here, bought it with the matching copper toaster when we had a new kitchen so the price was just part of the kitchen cost (ditto coffee maker)😁

www.johnlewis.com/dualit-classic-kettle/p1731363?s_share=jlappdroid

We also have the £20 that @Dbank linked. We've had it about 3 years. It's probably the most long lived kettle we've had.

And it's lasted 9 years so far and still looks great (I got the one with the copper metal) and works perfectly

There are some gorgeous borosilicate glass ones on Temu and Ali Express. You can put them on the hob.Teapot 1 Temu Teapot 2 Personally I would avoid one with a fine glass handle as I would be worried about it weakening over time.

We have a Salter glass one, although the lid has now come off, but I whack it on and it still works.

I prefer glass ones so I can see the water is right for green tea etc.

https://direct.asda.com/george/electricals/kitchen-appliances/kettles-toasters/salter-easy-fill-lid-glass-kettle/051220976,default,pd.html?cmpid=ppc--geor-------_-dskwid-_dc&utm_campaign=pla:Home_BAU-_Performance_Max&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA5fetBhC9ARIsAP1UMgHYghKFTMZNxQSdzEtfdO1KYVe_MSjDzKeBQLss8gPurolGIY2Y2pUaAv1fEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Can't go wrong with Dualit.

Well, I thought I should come back and say that, after procrastinating good and proper, I FINALLY got a new kettle.

Our cheapo plastic one went bang one day so I was somewhat forced to pull my finger out and make a decision.

I've ended up with a Dualit Architect and I love it. I know it's just a kettle. But it's beautiful! And also seems to perform pretty well as a kettle (unlike the burning devil of a Dualit toaster we had).

Thank you again for all the suggestions!

P.S. Yes I did end up spending more than £50!! 🙄