No kitchen feels complete without a kettle. The unassuming appliance that gives us boiling hot water in just a few minutes is a modern-day marvel.
Sure, it’s not launching rockets into space or plummeting submarines into the Mariana Trench (yet) but if you’re looking for a show of everyday human ingenuity, it’s a fine example.
Aside from making our much-loved tea and can’t-function-without coffee, a kettle speeds up the cooking process in myriad ways, from helping you parboil potatoes quicker to saving a precious few minutes on the pasta dish you’re making for dinner.
If you happen to live in a hard water area like London though, it can lead to heinous limescale build-up in your kettle, which can affect the machine’s function as well as the taste of the water it boils. Continued build-up without cleaning or treatment will corrode the heating element - which means you can bid RIP to your hot water-making machine.
Luckily manufacturers have come up with ways to reduce the effects of limescale on your kettle with removeable filters and concealed elements.
We’ve spotlighted some of the best kettles to battle hard water and make every brew taste as delicious as it should.
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The Sage Smart Kettle
Most smart kettles appeal to tea drinkers, but the Sage Smart Kettle has a big following amongst coffee drinkers.
This is thanks to the temperature control settings and the fact that the buttons show the different temperatures you can set the kettle to boil at and what that temperature of water is best used for. There’s a button for black tea, green tea, oolang tea, white tea, and of course, coffee.
The kettle also has a boil dry protection feature, which means your kettle won’t boil if there isn’t enough water in the jug. There’s also a filter to keep your boiled water looking and tasting fresh.
Buy now £99.95, Sage
PHILIPS Eco Conscious Collection HD9365/11 Jug Kettle - White
Whether it’s a cup of Joe to start the day, or a warming mug of cocoa before bed, make all your hot beverages in Philips’ sleek kettle, available in cream with a charming speckle effect.
The body has been made with 100 per cent bio-based plastics, so in its own way, you could say it’s a planet-saving design. Running on 2200W, it boils up to 1.7L of water impressively quickly and there is an anti-limescale filter to help it taste better for longer.
Buy now £49.99, Currys
Russell Hobbs Purity Glass Brita Kettle
Only marginally more exciting than watching paint dry, few would linger in the kitchen waiting for the kettle to boil - unless they’ve got this baby on the countertop. Offering a window into the boiling process Russell Hobbs’ see-through kettle not only gives the theatre of watching your H2O reach boiling point, but it’s fitted with a Brita filter, which removes copper and lead particles from the water.
The built-in MAXTRA+ advanced filtration technology also reduces limescale and chlorine as well as other impurities, ensuring you’re sipping nothing but pure water every time. An alert in the kettle will tell you when the cartridge needs replacing.
Buy now £29.89, Amazon
Smeg KLF03 Kettle, Black
There’s nothing like a Smeg appliance to elevate your kitchen style. This glossy black retro-style kettle from the home electricals brand is perfect for adding a little polish to your counter.
As well as being blessed with bountiful good looks, it’s full of top-tier features too: think a swivel base to make it comfortable to hold for both lefties and righties, anti-slip feet and a water-level indicator, so you can boil the right measurement. A stainless steel filter sends limescale packing. Comes with a two year guarantee.
Buy now £149.00, John Lewis
Salter EK5078IR Glass Electric Kettle with Iridescent Finish
A colour-changing kettle won’t fail to bring a bit of Las Vegas-zhush to your humble kitchen. This electric glass one from Salter talks the talk too, with an anti-limescale filter to keep impurities out of your next drink or pasta dish. The 1.7L design features a swivel base that goes right the way around and a boil-dry sensor which automatically shuts off the heating element when there’s no water left inside.
Buy now £34.99, Amazon
Bodrum electric water kettle
Some teas require different temperatures to bring out their best flavours. Bodrum’s innovative double-wall borosilicate glass design boasts five temperature settings so you can reach the optimum heat, every time. The spout is home to a removable filter, which catches traces of limescale before the water hits your cup. In order to remove hard water buildup from the rest of the kettle though, you’ll need to clean the filter regularly with a descaling product.
Buy now £98.99, Robert Dyas
Tower T10037G Scandi 3kW Boil Dry Potected 1.7L Kettle Grey
Offered in an elegant grey and wooden design, this jug-style kettle from Tower makes a serious case for joining your kitchen line up. The 1.7L capacity can make up to seven cuppas, all fresh tasting thanks to the detachable limescale filter which can be removed for cleaning. Furthermore, the heating element has been designed to be concealed, which prevents that dreaded limescale ‘fur’ inside the machine.
Buy now £29.99, Robert Dyas
BREVILLE Hot Cup VKT124 8-cup Hot Water Dispenser - Black
A kettle by another name, this hot water dispenser from Breville runs on 3000W and offers 1.7L in one go, plenty to make a cuppa for the whole family in one go (up to eight cups). The super-fast heating and simple operation of just one button means you’ll only ever boil what you need, and there’s a safety aspect too in that you don’t need to lift the machine to pour. This too is fitted with a filter to vanquish limescale from your drinks.
Buy now £49.97, Currys
ASCOT Glass Electric Tea Kettle
This industrial look adds new echelons of style to the humble kettle, taking it from a kitchen essential to a coveted must-have. Sandwiched between copper-coloured hardware is BPA-free borosilicate glass where all the action happens, boiling water in minutes.
It’s a cordless design so you’re not hindered by wires when you’ve got a thirst on. The heating element is concealed, meaning less chance of limescale corroding it, and there’s auto shut-off and boil-dry protection to help from a safety viewpoint too.
Buy now £59.99, Amazon
Cookworks Variable Temperature Glass Kettle - S/Steel
Keep water hot for longer with Cookworks 1.7L cordless kettle, which comes with a ‘keep warm’ function to prolong tea-making time. The glass design sits on a stainless steel holder which offers a range of boil temperatures so you’re always at the right degree for the brew, whether that’s herbal tea, hot chocolate or strong coffee.
Other features include rapid boil with a blue illumination turning on when the water is boiled, and a washable and removable limescale filter to curb build-up. A safety cut-out means the kettle won’t boil on empty, so no worries about accidentally overburdening the heating element.
Buy now £40.00, Argos
