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Hi,
New baby in house 😃 and my wife wants to get rid of the (15 year old fully functional) plastic kettle for one with metal insides.
We now can't microwave food in plastic tupperware incase plastic compounds get into food. We are using glass instead.
My questions are
1) Is it likely plastic compounds are getting out of the kettle into water?
2) If chemical compounds are getting into water, are they doing any harm to my family?
I've had a Google and get people with no science background alarmed by the idea of chemicals, proper science stuff behind pay walls, proper science stuff I can't understand and vague statements from government I can't interpret.
I did a biochemistry degree 20 years ago, but I can't work out the statistics and harm threshold. My wife is a phiso, she is suspicious of Chemicals in plastics, chemicals in suncream and chemicals in other stuff
We are buying a metal kettle tomorrow to keep the peace in the house whatever the advice. I just can't work out if plastic leaching is actually doing any harm.
Thanks!
Not sure about the chemicals but our metal kettle is a lot noisier than the plastic one we had. Coffee taste the same though
Definitely, based on what read before getting rid of my plastic kettle. Microplastics leaching into your tea.
Obviously they’re everywhere, but better to reduce it where it’s easy to.
Something else to add to shopping criteria- kettle volume!
There are hundreds of different types of 'plastic', as there are hundreds of different types of metal. Some are not suitable to make kettles out of.
Potassium, for example, would be an inappropriate metal to use to make a kettle.
shopping criteria- kettle volume!
Keep volume as low as possible, kettles use a crazy amount of electricity (2400 - 3000w+ in many cases).
So only boil 3 cups worth of water for 3 cups, or 1 cups worth of water if you only want one cup.
People who fill a kettle up with 2 litres of water to make one cup of coffee should be burned alive.
Yep, I've set fire to my jacket with potassium. I'm a science teacher.
I squashed a lump inside a paper towel, it generated enough hydrogen to fire the lump about a meter. I watched my jacket burn thinking, well probably shouldn't put any more water on that 🙄.
Would/ could plastics that are unsuitable for kettles ( because of microplastic/ plastic leaching) be in my 15 year old kettle? Would they do any harm if they are leaching out?
Yep my previous kettle before I met my wife was very easy to fill accurately for 1 or 2 cups of tea.
Too ugly for my wife when I moved in
Yes, but because plastic kettles are shit rather than any pseudoscience your partner has culled from Mumsnet.
Anyone "alarmed by the idea of chemicals" should probably step away from the Internet, what does they suppose steel is made of?
Sensible answer...
If it's 15 years old, the plasic might have BPA in it.
So just buy a new kettle from a reputable retailer (not wish.com) -20-30 quid should be plenty. Preferably one that matches the rest of the kitchen colour scheme to keep the mrs happy, and if it has a brushed metal appearence, sounds like all the better.
our metal kettle is a lot noisier than the plastic one we had.
Quick boil and quiet boil are different criteria. I've had both, but never in the same product.
Too ugly for my wife when I moved in
You'd think she'd have noticed earli... oh, the kettle, right.
I have no problem using a plastic kettle.
If you kettle has been used for years, any leaching (assuming it actually does happen, which I doubt) would be exponentially less than when it was brand new and boiled for the first time.
Still, if your wife is worried about it, donate it to someone poor and get a nice metal kettle. Shit like that isn't worth getting into a fight about when you're stressed out dealing with a new baby.
Should I bin my plastic kettle for a metal one?
Yes. Heat and plastic? Didn't you study science before? Worst still who manufactured the plastic?
General rule of thumb for me to avoid in my cooking utensils or cookware etc are: Plastic parts and aluminum or some non-stick chemical plastic coating like Teflon whatever.
Go for kettle that is made of glass or stainless steel (304 or 18/10 grade).
For all your cookware etc you should cook with stainless steel (304, 18/10 minimum grade but 18/8 is fine too but may rust), carbon steel (careful of those from certain part of the world as they could be using recycled steel not fit for cookware), cast iron (non-Chinese please as it is difficult to confirm if their purity is good enough without aluminium mixture. Safe bet is Lodge brand Made in USA), clay (certain clay from S.America avoid) or wood (wooden bowl, spoon etc)
With the amount of chemical in our daily life and if you are unlucky, all it needs is a trigger and life will be a roulette.
Don't go cheap and pay with your health. A good quality cookware will last you for generations.
p/s: Where are all those Sheffield steel or iron manufactures when you need them.
pp/s: Recently I saw a youtube clip where the traditional clay chicken is wrapped with plastic and aluminum foil then backed in high temperature. The customers loved them ... yummy and the juice is so tasty. I wonder how much toxic chemical can their body sustain. The real traditional clay chicken is wrapped with layers of lotus leaf and then cover with clay then bake in high temperature. Nowadays, the inner most layer is wrapped in aluminum and the next layer plastic and finally clay. Yummy, yum, yum ...
Hitler used a metal kettle. Stalin did too. Mine is plastic. So is that nice vet’s off the telly. Just pick a side.
Didn’t you study science before?
I'd certainly trust your knowledge of cookware over your knowledge of science.
Hitler used a metal kettle. Stalin did too. Mine is plastic. So is that nice vet’s off the telly. Just pick a side.
If you feel you are lucky then stick with plastic.
Recently I saw a youtube clip where the traditional clay chicken is wrapped with plastic and aluminum foil then backed in high temperature.
A kettle is limited to 100 degrees as that's the boiling point of water. Wrapping food in plastic and baking it in an oven will reach a much higher temperature. I have no problem using a plastic kettle. I would not bake plastic in an oven at high temperature. Two completely different things. Same goes with non-stick frying pans - they get extremely hot if you're not careful and that will damage the non-stick surface.
Depending on whether you think more humans are a good idea or not, it may be a good idea to ditch plastics wherever possible.
We haven't used plastic for any form of cooking for years... my kids aren't old enough for us to know if it's worked yet.
Endocrine disrupting chemicals are everywhere, but why not avoid them where possible?
A kettle is limited to 100 degrees as that’s the boiling point of water.
Yes, limited to boiling point but who manufacture the plastic?
Same goes with non-stick frying pans – they get extremely hot if you’re not careful and that will damage the non-stick surface.
True. No matter how tough the coating is it will wear out.
who manufacture the plastic?
It doesn't really matter who made it, what matters is what the chemical composition is. If you buy an electric kettle from a reputable brand, the plastic will be perfectly fine at 100 degrees.
Stainless steel usually contains nickel and chromium. Nickel can cause health problems, especially if you cook acidic foods. The idea that plastic is bad and metal is good is too simplistic. For a kettle, a suitable plastic will be fine.
Funny Annecdote..
This is an actual conversation I had with a friend who is an armchair scientist..
Your new exterior fibre box is made of plastic? The sun will kill it in 2 years and it will drop to bits.
Hmm.. I'm pretty sure my dustbin is made of plastic and it's a lot older than that.
People don't seem to understand that 'plastic' is a blanket term that covers many different types of material.
If you buy an electric kettle from a reputable brand, the plastic will be perfectly fine at 100 degrees.
True but most are outsource to other manufacturers. I don't trust their quality control because it's basically impossible to test each and every raw materials or the final product.
Stainless steel usually contains nickel and chromium. Nickel can cause health problems, especially if you cook acidic foods.
True, acidic foods is a problem with all metal products hence the higher grade of stainless steel is prefer. Same with carbon steel as the acidic food reacts with the metal.
Aluminium pot/pan/wok with acidic recipe is to be avoided at all cost for me.
People don’t seem to understand that ‘plastic’ is a blanket term that covers many different types of material.
Yes, but I still don't trust the source or the outsource manufacturers.
A kettle is limited to 100 degrees as that’s the boiling point of water. Wrapping food in plastic and baking it in an oven will reach a much higher temperature.<br /><br />
True, but you only bake with plastic in the oven if it’s a ready meal, and the container is used once, you boil a kettle thousands of times and plastic does degrade with age. <br /><br />
you boil a kettle thousands of times and plastic does degrade with age
Any leaching will be highest when the kettle is new and will decrease the more it is boiled.
I’d be more concerned about the microplastics released every time it’s boiled, I read a report a few years back from trinity college Dublin that up to 10m particles of plastic can be released every time you boil a kettle and the older the kettle the more microplastics are released. <br /><br />
Common sense tells me to use stainless steel or glass.
Okay, I'm not a materials scientist, and I don't have a degree in chemistry so I'll say that.
I will hazard to say it really depends on the type of plastic and also it depends on the type of metal.
So if your kettle is 20yo and looking yellow when it used to be white, probably time for a replacement. Otherwise I wouldn't be too concerned as long as it's a new model and conforms to modern EU standards.
Common sense tells me to use stainless steel or glass.
No it doesn't. A half-remembered report of unverifiable robustness from a few years back is what is telling you to do that.
You might well be correct, I have no idea. But be honest, "common sense" has no bearing here, that's just an excuse for an opinion. I read a report from Hols half an hour ago saying exactly the opposite.
Definitely, based on what read before getting rid of my plastic kettle. Microplastics leaching into your tea.
I think you need to research:
What are micro plastics
What is leaching
It will be alot more useful that the nonsense you picked up last time.
Sledge hammer to crack a nut and all that, but an instant boiling water tap? (Can thoroughly recommend the Qettle!)
Once the new kettle is in place, ask her what she thinks they put in the water...
Still, if your wife is worried about it, donate it to someone poor and get a nice metal kettle. Shit like that isn’t worth getting into a fight about when you’re stressed out dealing with a new baby.
Best advice on this thread.
Do what your wife says and buy the new kettle. Although if she's worried about micro-plastics and "forever" chemicals, its already too late for that, if they were in her bloodstream (likely) they're already in baby's
I think they're in everything now already. Thanks DuPont. .
Dr Shanna Swan has researched and written books on this stuff. It makes fairly grim reading.
She's appeared on Joe Rogan though, so Cougar will no doubt be along shortly to screech about her being pseudoscience 🙄
Me, I don't worry about it too much. We're bombarded with chemicals from every angle, avoiding all the bad stuff is just too much to think about. My kettle is plastic.
Yes Cougar, I know the coffeepot I'm about to use is a chemical as is the coffee it produces. I think you know that the chemicals the op s wife is concerned about are a different thing.
Even if it's purely placebo, change the kettle. Low level stressing about forever chemicals every time it's used is ultimately likely to be more damaging to health than the phthalates or whatever may be in the tea produced.
Holiday house I went to this year had a kettle with different boiling temperature control, I'd use the opportunity to get one of those because it'll save money (I'll probably get really angry at the cost of them if I ever found one on the internet)
I’ve had a Google and get people with no science background alarmed by the idea of chemicals
And so you asked here instead… ?
Yes.
I was hoping someone could point me towards an actual answer.
I will be buying a steel one tomorrow anyway, for reasons.
Didn’t you study science before?
But I'm suspecting you didn't 😉
As above - beyond any irrational "science", keep her sweet in a high pressure life point. Just make sure you buy something that's likely to last for environmental reasons. Plastics get a bad rep, based on both the the single use factor disparaging the whole industry in the public's eyes and latterly the micro plastics issue. But the less populist soundbite environmental science is still very pro plastic because the energy and hydro carbon use in their manufacture is much less than steel/aluminium equivalents. So your steel kettle really needs to last. I'm not sure if there is a kettle equivalent to the dualit toaster where every component is available and user replaceable. Even Dulait kettles.
I was hoping someone could point me towards an actual answer.
And you got pointed to multiple answers. Just pick the one that makes you happy and ignore the others.
different boiling temperature control
Wait until you learn how a toaster works.. it will blow you mind!
Just wait until she discovers that most teething toys are made of plastic.
In respect to the OP...
I was hoping someone could point me towards an actual answer.
Buy a kettle from argos/tesco etc, or if you are posh, John Lewis.
They are all the same aside from asthetics.
If you are proper skint, get one from B&M.
DO NOT get one from facebook/wish/eBay/aliexpress.
I hope this has clarified the situation.