nav[aria-label="Primary Navigation"] { padding: 0; & ul { list-style: none; width: 100%; display: flex; flex-direction: row; justify-content: start; align-items: start; gap: 30px; padding: 0; & li { margin: 0; } & ul li { list-style: none; } } }

Child Item

Boiling the kettle

Seve OB

Lad in work always uses hot water to fill the ketle and fills it through the spout. I've never seen anyone else ever fill a kettle with hot water, something I would never do, I'm sure it's grand, but it turns me off making a cup of tea/coffee from the same boil.

Also, why do people fill through the spout? There is a little button at the top of the kettle which pops the lid, fill her up and press the lid down, how hard is that, and you won't spill water all over the outside of the kettle. There is a filter in the spout, so when you pour it catches any little bits of debris that may have come through the water system. So to fill through the spout, you could have the bits of debris on the wrong side of the spout and they end up right in your morning cuppa!

So how do you do it?

Find more posts tagged with

Quick Links

Comments

osarusan

I would always fill through the spout, then pour some back out into the sink, so that the filter does its job. Otherwise the filter just keeps any impurities inside the kettle.

I would never use hot water though.

seamus

I fill through the spout if the sink is full of water, otherwise you end up dipping the kettle in the water.

Never seen anyone use the hot tap to fill it though. Fill from the mains, not from the tank.

Winterlong

Why would he use hot water? Does he now know that water from the cold tap in the kitchen is freshest, direct from mains.
Water from the hot tap has been pumped to a cold water storage tank on premises and then in to the hot tank for heating and only then get to the tap.
God knows what wee things are living in that cold water storage tank.

Dravokivich

Winterlong wrote: »

Why would he use hot water? Does he now know that water from the cold tap in the kitchen is freshest, direct from mains.
Water from the hot tap has been pumped to a cold water storage tank on premises and then in to the hot tank for heating and only then get to the tap.
God knows what wee things are living in that cold water storage tank.

But sure he's boiling it, what's the problem?

Malari

Dravokivich wrote: »

But sure he's boiling it, what's the problem?

You'd want to boil it for at least a minute. Just bringing water to the point of boiling doesn't ensure beasties are killed off!

storker

I fill from the cold tap through the lid. Then I get bored or distracted while waiting for it to boil and wander off. Eventually I come back and boil it again, get bored...etc. I've sometimes boiled the same kettle three or four times just for one cup of boiling water. I get the feeling that my approach needs tweaking, like leaving a book beside the kettle.

Tigger

Dravokivich wrote: »

But sure he's boiling it, what's the problem?

there are compounds that could be in a cold water tank that are not biological toxins and will noy be affected by boiling

Boom_Bap

We have instant boiling water in our canteen. We also have a kettle. I've seen people use this instant boiled water to fill the kettle and then boil the kettle.

Seve OB

Dravokivich wrote: »

But sure he's boiling it, what's the problem?

that's his argument

Malari wrote: »

You'd want to boil it for at least a minute. Just bringing water to the point of boiling doesn't ensure beasties are killed off!

now i don't even want to drink anything from the kettle at all!!!!

vandriver

Have you ever looked into a hot water tank?
I suggest you do before accepting another cup of tea.

AidanadiA

http://www.itoen.com/preparing-tea

Always use freshly drawn, cold water to prepare tea. Purified and spring water are best because they are relatively free from pollutants and other substances that can dramatically alter tea's taste. On the other hand, it is preferable for the water to have some natural minerals content, as they may enhance the tea's flavor. For this reason, distilled water should be avoided since the lack of minerals will leave the tea tasting flat. Similarly, one should never use pre-heated water-as from the faucet, for instance. This kind of water has mostly likely been overheated, thereby losing oxygen content while picking up possibly harmful substances from the water pipes.

Winterlong

I was in an apartment once and the person who lived there had some problem with the water pressure to the washing machine.
I had a look at the cold water storage tank. It had no lid and there was a gel skin type thing that had grown at the top of the tank. It was gross. I would not even shower in that place.

seamus

Dravokivich wrote: »

But sure he's boiling it, what's the problem?

It's "traditionally" known that consuming the water from the tank is not a good idea.
But things have changed in recent decades which mean that this old wisdom may not apply any more.

A house may have an uncovered cold water tank. Which means you end up with dust and animals and other crap floating in it. So drinking may not be a great idea. Modern tanks are covered, though that doesn't mean you won't find a dead rat floating in it if you're unlucky.

The issue with the hot tap specifically comes from old piping systems. Really old systems used lead piping, but even up to the early 1980's, lead solder was used to join copper piping. When you have hot water and lead pipes or lead solder, the amount of lead leaching into the water is increased. Even worse, as you continually reheat the water, the concentration of lead increases as the water evaporates.

So if you leave the immersion on and don't use the hot water much except to make tea, then the lead levels in the tank are constantly building up. Over the course of years then you're going to poison yourself.

This is unlikely to be an issue for the vast majority of people at this stage, but nevertheless the received wisdom still persists.

crossmolinalad

Have a water heater under the sink fed from the mains
I'm always using hot water from tap to cook or fil the kettle
Mom did the same when I was a child it saves money she said

topper75

Malari wrote: »

You'd want to boil it for at least a minute. Just bringing water to the point of boiling doesn't ensure beasties are killed off!

Hmmm. I would be happy that the vast majority would be killed when the water is at 100 celcius for a few seconds.

At the end of the day, if such extremophiles were present, they are going to be all over your skin anyway when you shower and get in your ears/nose/mouth/eyes.

Unless you have a seriously compromised immune sys, this would not really be a reason not to use the hot water tap.

Day Lewin

I've always understood that the reason to use cold freshly-drawn water was because of some theory that it was more oxygenated, and would make a "fresher-tasting" cuppa.
The same (well-known) cookery author goes on to claim that "twice-boiled water is only fit for washing-up"

I am no chemist so I can't contest any of these claims: (though I wonder if a "blind tasting" test would reveal any difference.)

But sure, nobody ever caught a disease from drinking tea made with boiling water, so it isn't really a question of the "beasties"
- and every dog in the street knows that tea must be made with water that is actually boiling. Any other temperature doesn't count as Tea, but merely as eyewash.

Steve F

Day Lewin wrote: »

I've always understood that the reason to use cold freshly-drawn water was because of some theory that it was more oxygenated, and would make a "fresher-tasting" cuppa.
The same (well-known) cookery author goes on to claim that "twice-boiled water is only fit for washing-up"

I am no chemist so I can't contest any of these claims: (though I wonder if a "blind tasting" test would reveal any difference.)

But sure, nobody ever caught a disease from drinking tea made with boiling water, so it isn't really a question of the "beasties"
- and every dog in the street knows that tea must be made with water that is actually boiling. Any other temperature doesn't count as Tea, but merely as eyewash.

Really? See below

Temperature
Temperature is critical in making good tea. The popular conception that boiling water can be used on any kind of tea is actually incorrect. In fact, each variety of tea,
from green to black, needs to prepared at a different range of temperature. Because of its more delicate processing, green tea often needs a cooler temperature to bring out the right flavor. Conversely, black tea, which has been fully oxidized, needs much hotter water to bring out its characteristic baked sweetness

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

In my mother's house, filling the kettle from the hot tap is punishable by death.

BrokenArrows

Seve OB wrote: »

Lad in work always uses hot water to fill the ketle and fills it through the spout. I've never seen anyone else ever fill a kettle with hot water, something I would never do, I'm sure it's grand, but it turns me off making a cup of tea/coffee from the same boil.

Also, why do people fill through the spout? There is a little button at the top of the kettle which pops the lid, fill her up and press the lid down, how hard is that, and you won't spill water all over the outside of the kettle. There is a filter in the spout, so when you pour it catches any little bits of debris that may have come through the water system. So to fill through the spout, you could have the bits of debris on the wrong side of the spout and they end up right in your morning cuppa!

So how do you do it?

I have a combi boiler so the mains water is heated and comes directly out of the hot tap. So the hot is just as fresh as the cold.

I would fill from the hot tap if im in a hurry as it will boil quicker.

Dont see why he would fill through the spout. Maybe his kettle at home is broken and the lid doesnt open so its just a force of habit.

eezipc

Boom_Bap wrote: »

We have instant boiling water in our canteen. We also have a kettle. I've seen people use this instant boiled water to fill the kettle and then boil the kettle.

This.... There are a few people who do this where I work. Apparently the boiled water is not hot enough so they use the kettle to make sure its scalding hot.

Boom_Bap

eezipc wrote: »

This.... There are a few people who do this where I work. Apparently the boiled water is not hot enough so they use the kettle to make sure its scalding hot.

I bet then that they also let their tea/coffee cool before drinking it instead of scalding the face off themselves.

Rubberlegs

I either use water from the cold tap or Brita jug for making tea or coffee. I fill it through the lid and I will only boil it once as I read somewhere that repeated boiling takes the oxygen out of the water and affects the taste. I try to put only what's being used in the kettle otherwise am throwing it out, hate waste

Dravokivich

Boom_Bap wrote: »

I bet then that they also let their tea/coffee cool before drinking it instead of scalding the face off themselves.

Actually, the mad thing is, they probably don't. My Mother's family typically all drink their tea incredibly hot, with very little time for it to cool at all.

sKeith

vandriver wrote: »

Have you ever looked into a hot water tank?
I suggest you do before accepting another cup of tea.

I've drained old one when replacing, its absolutely disgusting.

realdanbreen

Winterlong wrote: »

Why would he use hot water? Does he now know that water from the cold tap in the kitchen is freshest, direct from mains.
Water from the hot tap has been pumped to a cold water storage tank on premises and then in to the hot tank for heating and only then get to the tap.
God knows what wee things are living in that cold water storage tank.

You think the water coming off the mains is fresh?
Have you ever seen the inside of those water storage tanks that the mains comes from? I can tell you that they ain't 'wee things' living in them.:eek:

Meeeee79

Filling the kettle with hot water means less time for the kettle to boil. Don't see what the fuss is about to be honest.

eezipc

Boom_Bap wrote: »

eezipc wrote: »

This.... There are a few people who do this where I work. Apparently the boiled water is not hot enough so they use the kettle to make sure its scalding hot.

I bet then that they also let their tea/coffee cool before drinking it instead of scalding the face off themselves.

You're probably right. Isn't the original reason for putting milk into tea is to cool the water?

realdanbreen

Why is the thread called 'boiling the kettle' ?
It's the water you boil not the kettle!

Day Lewin

Steve F wrote: »

Because of its more delicate processing, green tea often needs a cooler temperature to bring out the right flavor. Conversely, black tea, which has been fully oxidized, needs much hotter water to bring out its characteristic baked sweetness

Green tea should be returned to the lawnmower-box that it came from.

Ragnar Lothbrok

I started using bottled water a few months ago when our water was off. The water came back on after a day but had a disgusting taste so I continued with the bottled stuff for a few weeks until the tap water started to taste normal again.

After reading a few of the comments above, it's back to the bottled water for me for ever and ever :eek: