Even though this hard-water kettle only has a 2.2 Kw element, it’s a flat, stainless-steel one which helps it to work very efficiently and in all honesty think very few people are going to notice the difference in speed compared to the higher-powered kettles. The flat element does, however, make this hard-water kettle very easy to clean. Similarly, we think the 1.5-litre capacity will be fine for most households, on that note, even though the printing is in white; the water indicator is nicely legible against the glass body.

You need to know that not all kettle descaler balls being marketed as such are good for your kettle. According to New Scientist, you have to avoid using those cheap wire wools that you can buy in hardware stores. These wire wools are prone to corrosion and rusting. And the rust will affect the color and taste of your tea or coffee. People may be hesitant to use kettle descaler balls because of a few concerns. Here are some of the things people want to know about these products. Will a Kettle Descaler Ball Give Your Water, Tea, or Coffee a Metallic Taste? Using a filter to reduce the mineral load in your tap water before boiling can help slow down the build-up of limescale in your kettle. So can installing a water softener. But what if it’s too late for that? And the limescale has already coated the element, the walls, and the base? If you’re cleaning an electric kettle, make sure it's unplugged before pouring in the water and vinegar. Long-time descaler users recommend that you regularly rinse your descaler ball under cold running water and squeeze it. Doing this washes off loose limescale and mineral sediments from the ball. It also helps ensure that your descaler ball continues to effectively protect your kettle by collecting most of the limescale deposits.

Descaler & Limescale Remover

Some also suggest using Coke to descale your kettle, however, again, we do not recommend this. While it may shift some limescale, this can potentially damage your kettle and void its warranty. Tips to reduce limescale in your kettle Some sources try to claim that drinking hard water causes health problems such as kidney stones, but this is untrue. In fact, the main minerals found in hard water (calcium and magnesium) are usually found in the bottled water sold at your local supermarket. The frequency of descaling an electric kettle depends on the hardness of the water in your area and how often you use the kettle. Descaling is the process of removing mineral deposits (primarily calcium and magnesium) that build up over time from the water you boil. These deposits can affect the efficiency of the kettle and the taste of the water. Moreover, a descaler ball works more as a kettle protector or protection against limescale buildup than as a descaler. This means that while the ball can prevent mineral deposits from building up inside your kettle, it can no longer clean or get rid of the deposit that has already settled and hardened inside your kettle. Some recommend boiling a solution of lemon juice or baking/bicarbonate of soda to remove limescale. We tried this and it resulted in foam erupting from the spout on both occasions! Not only could it have damaged the kettle, but it wasn’t nearly as effective as vinegar so we don’t recommend these methods.

That said, you should still get into the habit of throwing out stale water. Only boil as much water as you need – you’ll save money by not running the kettle for longer than is necessary, and will minimise limescale build-up by not exposing the element to large quantities of water-based minerals – and avoid reboiling water whenever possible. Leave the solution to soak for an hour or ideally overnight. Remember to put a sign out so no one drinks from it! As kettles are such an important part of everyday life in the UK, we’d recommend investing in a good kettle for hard water areas even if you have already fitted a water softener. This will allow you to make the most of even basic brews and is arguably a must if you really enjoy hot drinks such as specialty teas and coffees. Best hard-water kettleAccording to the manufacturer, this has a “double-action filter”. We’ve absolutely no idea how this works in practice, but we can confirm that this anti-lime-scale kettle really does seem to do a great job of filtering the water.

Fill the kettle with a solution made up of equal parts water and vinegar, and let it soak for an hour. Once that’s done, boil it, unplug the kettle, and leave it sitting there for around 20 minutes. Pour it all out, rinse the kettle thoroughly, and you should be good to go. For more kettle cleaning advice, see our tips on how to clean an electric kettle. What can I put in my kettle to prevent limescale? Using a kettle descaler ball is effortless and faster to use compared to other kettle descaling methods. You just place the ball inside your kettle and forget about it as you boil your water. You don’t even have to clean it after every use. Just make sure to clean it regularly, and that’s about it.The Chef Aid Stainless Steel Doughnut Kettle Descaler effectively prevents furring in kettles of any kind. How often you need to descale an electric kettle depends on what kind of water you put into it, and how often you use it. For more information on how limescale can damage your kettle, see our advice guide on how to descale a kettle First and foremost, a good hard-water kettle has to be a good kettle. In other words, it has to be safe and comfortable to use, reasonably quiet and ideally both fast and efficient in operation. We were actually quite surprised how many anti-lime-scale kettles actually fell down on this point. They had decent filtration, but they all had weak points as basic kettles, such as difficulty seeing the water gauge. Once we had discounted these hard-water kettles, we were left with a shortlist of just five which we are happy to recommend. Aside from being fuss-free, this ball is reusable. You can use it for as long as you can. So while you can still squeeze the ball while cleaning it and no limescale deposits have hardened within the mesh, it’s still good to go.