11 Simple Ways To Get The Most Out Of Your Electric Kettle

Electric kettles are versatile appliances that can make your life easier in a variety of different ways. There are many different methods to boil water, but none do it more quickly and safely than an electric kettle. In countries such as the U.K., the electric kettle can be seen in almost every home and their versatility is well-known. It seems as though in recent years, an increasing number of Americans have caught on to how convenient this affordable appliance is, even compared to a stove-top kettle.

While they may be perfect for creating a perfect cup of coffee or tea, their usefulness goes way beyond their primary function. Not only can they make your daily routines easier, but they can often be an eco-friendly option. Whether you've got a new electric kettle and want to make the most out of it, or are thinking about getting one, here we look at the simple ways you can use it to its full potential.

Let's say you've just got home, and your kids need their lunch as soon as possible, so you decide to make them some pasta. The standard method for doing this is to put some water into a pan, bring it to a boil, and then throw in your pasta after adding a little salt. Depending on the water and heat, the initial process of boiling the water can take up to around 10 minutes. It will feel even longer as you keep watching the water, waiting for those first signs of bubbles. An electric kettle makes this much easier. Instead, you can just add the pasta to the pan and flick on your electric kettle.

After a couple of minutes, you'll hear it flick off and you can pour the water straight onto the pasta. Turn on the heat to the pan to keep it at a boil, and you're all set. What's even more convenient is that if you've didn't add enough water to the pan, you can easily top it off with your electric kettle. The example used here was for pasta, but the same applies to anything that needs to be cooked in hot water or where a boiling base is crucial. The added bonus is that you'll be using less energy. Electric kettles use less energy than stovetops, and as you can fill the kettle with exactly how much you need, there'll be no waste of water either.

There are many methods to kill bacteria, with hot water being one that doesn't require any potent chemicals. Most bacteria will start to die at 149 degrees Fahrenheit (65 degrees Celsius), but some will survive up to temperatures of 176 degrees Fahrenheit (80 degrees Celsius). After boiling, the water in your electric kettle will stay above those temperatures for a while, giving you ample time to use it to kill bacteria. Again, the time saved here can be extremely useful. This is great in those situations where you want to clean and sanitize a spot as soon as possible, such as when someone has vomited. After scooping up any solid material, you can pour boiling directly on the area.

This is particularly useful for the likes of carpets and treated wood where the temperature of the water won't ruin the surface. The precision of the kettle allows you to target the exact area you need. You can also use the boiled water to sterilize items you've used, such as sponges or cloths. Taking quick action with a kettle reduces the risk of bacteria or viruses spreading. It's important to do this as safely as possible. Pouring from too far away risks the water splashing. Added to this, you also want to be mindful of double-checking the surface you're applying the water to so that it won't be damaged by the temperature.

All the other tips in this list are ways to use the water inside the kettle, but this one is about keeping your kettle running for as long as possible. There are plenty of minerals in tap water and these minerals can build up over time, often causing limescale. These deposits will reduce the efficiency of the kettle, and it will take it longer to boil water. Thankfully, getting rid of this limescale is an easy task. All you'll need is white vinegar, there are many different types of vinegars, but this variety is a great product to have for both cooking and cleaning purposes.

Fill your kettle around halfway with an equal part mixture of water and white vinegar. Bring the kettle to a boil and then let it cool down for about 20 minutes. In this time, the limescale will start to loosen up. After this, you can then empty the contents of the kettle through the lid hole and the limescale should come out with the solution. Vinegar is great for this, but a variety of acidic products can be used including baking soda, lemon juice, and citric acid. Avoid anything that may leave behind a residue, such as acidic sodas. Once completed, make sure to rinse the kettle and boil it with 100% water a couple of times to get rid of any taste. How often you do this will depend on usage, but once every couple of months should be fine.

A cold can come with a wide range of different symptoms with one of the most unpleasant being blocked and irritated sinuses. They can make your head feel heavy and your brain a little disorientated. One of the simplest methods of dealing with this congestion is steam therapy. This involves allowing steam to rise up through your airways and the warm air will help to soothe irritation and loosen your mucus. One way of doing this is heating water up into a pan and then transferring it to a flat surface. You then sit in front of the bowl with your head over the steam and a towel over your head to trap in the warm air.

There are many ways an electric kettle makes this safer and easier. Instead of using a pan, you can place a bowl down on a flat surface in preparation. Once the kettle water is boiled — much quicker than would have been done in a pan — you can then pour the kettle water into the bowl. This prevents you from needing to carry a heavy bowl of boiling water through your house. It also prevents the possibility of accidentally touching the hot pan and burning yourself. The quick boiling of the kettle also allows you to repeat the process as many times as you see fit. For a more intense treatment, adding essential oils can also give an even greater therapeutic effect.

When it comes to warming up baby food, the electric kettle can once again be a lifesaver. The two most important factors here are safety and convenience. Many times, you need to make baby food after they've started crying and time is of the essence. After a couple of minutes, you'll have your jar of baby food sitting in a bowl of hot water, ready to be used. A microwave can also be used for this, but you can risk uneven heating and handling a hot bowl. With an electric kettle, you can easily heat up the food to a safe temperature. A quick temperature check on your wrist, and you'll be ready to put a smile on your baby's face once again.

Not only that, but this gentler method of heating will help to retain the food's nutrients compared to high-temperature cooking methods. The same method applies to ready-to-use bottles of formula or stored breast milk. Babies usually want these bottles at body temperature, and this can easily and quickly be achieved by using a kettle. For parents with babies, time can seemingly go incredibly slowly if you're waiting for milk or food to get to the right temperature. An electric kettle can make those middle-of-the-night feeds a little easier to bear.

We mentioned before how boiling water with vinegar is a great way to descale your kettle. For the same reason, this combination is a fantastic eco-friendly cleaner. After descaling your kettle, you can pour this mixture into a bowl and you're ready to go. However, there is also another way. If you don't want the white vinegar inside your kettle, you can just pour it into a bowl and mix it in with boiled water. You can even pour the mixture into a spray bottle. This is a chemical-free solution that can be used for a wide range of household tasks. With that descaling ability, it does a wonderful job of removing water stains from faucets and glass surfaces.

One of the benefits of this solution is that it's naturally antibacterial due to the vinegar and the water added will be sterile. Along with removing mineral deposits, it can also help cut through grime and grease. It makes it ideal for use on any hard surfaces in either the bathroom or kitchen. For stubborn stains, you can allow the solution to sit for a few minutes. A word of warning is to check if the surface you intend to clean will be damaged by mild acid. While the likes of stainless steel and glass will be fine, other materials such as wood and marble can be damaged. If it can be used, a quick boil of a kettle will help you create a quick and easy cleaning solution.

There are several tough stains that can be removed by the use of hot water. This works best with grease or oil stains that can be hard to remove. Grass stains can also be removed with direct contact with hot water. There are plenty of other stains that you need to soak with cold water before cleaning them with hot water, such as mud, red wine, tomato-based stains, and coffee. A lot of these stains can happen on fabrics that can't simply be thrown into a washing machine. Examples can include someone with greasy fingers touching a fabric chair, red wine being spilled on the sofa, or someone standing on a carpet with muddy feet.

In all of these situations, the ease and spout of an electric kettle allow you to pour the exact amount you need without getting the area too wet. A little splash of detergent will be all you need to lift stains away. This is a better solution as the water will be hotter than the tap can produce, and the electric kettle is safer than other methods. To compare it with a stovetop kettle, the base on an electric model stays cool so you can place it down beside you in case you need some more, without worrying about burning any surfaces. The electric kettle can turn what may have been a big deal into a minor inconvenience.

As we've discussed, boiling water from an electric kettle is a great way to quickly kill bacteria and viruses in emergency situations when someone is ill. However, by the same token, it can also be used as a brilliant sterilization tool to stop others from catching illnesses. Keeping baby bottles germ-free is the highest priority as a parent, as young babies are only just developing their immune systems. Each bottle needs to be sanitized after it's been washed, and this cleaning schedule can be hard to keep on top of. A quick pour over the bottles and teats either in a container or on your drain is a quick and easy way.

Again, this is where the speed of the kettle can feel like a lifesaver, especially if you don't have any bottles already sanitized. The same method can be used for anything else you need to sterilize, such as utensils, cotton buds, plastic syringes, needles, and tweezers. Another great sterilization use is if you are worried about water quality. Boiling water and then letting it cool will give you peace of mind that your drinking water is bacteria-free. You can then store it away from when it's needed. The controlled pouring out of the spout makes it much safer to use than other methods. If you're worried about germs on any service, the electric kettle will quickly put your mind at ease.

Another fantastic use for a kettle is rehydrating dried foods. You can rapidly bring foods back to life such as fruits and vegetables. The rehydration process is easy as all you need to do is boil water in your kettle and pour it straight over the food while in a heatproof bowl. Cover the bowl in a lid or a plate and let it work its magic. The rehydration time will change depending on the food you're making, but it can be done in as little as 5 minutes.

If you want to do this for dried fruits such as raisins or apricots, it will quickly restore their plumpness and natural sweetness. You can have them for snacks, bake with them, or add these fruits to salads. The method also works with dehydrated vegetables, such as onions. Of course, this is the same reason why the electric kettle is perfect for the likes of noodles and ramen pots. While safety and speed are benefits we've talked about a lot here, this tip also highlights the energy saving, as this method uses less power than other rehydration measures such as using the stove.

Melting chocolate is a fun experience but it can quickly turn into a disappointment if you start making some key mistakes. Chocolate can burn if it's not heated gently and if you get it wrong, it will taste bitter and can become lumpy. All you need here is a small pan and your chocolate container. Warming water on the stove is possible, but it can be harder to control the temperature, and there is a chance you'll damage the bowl you're using for the chocolate.

Instead of placing the bowl directly in the water, you can place it above and let the steam gently warm the bowl. This allows you to melt the chocolate evenly as you stir it occasionally with a spatula. This method can be used for other foods, too, such as butter, which can also burn. This is also a good way to warm cream or milk, as well as liquefy honey and syrups that have crystallized. The control you have with the kettle gives you a simple and easy way to handle these delicate ingredients.

Weeds are a constant battle for any gardener. Not only are they hard to get rid of, but most of the solutions available are harmful to the environment while having long-term consequences. For eco-conscious gardeners, this can pose a big issue. While weeds can be manually removed from garden beds, that's not possible for weeds growing through cracks where access to the soil below isn't plausible. The spout of an electric kettle makes this simple as it allows you to pour boiled water directly onto the weed you want to target, avoiding anything else you may want to keep. This precision ensures the weed gets the full force of the water.

The hot water will scald the plants and burst their cell structure, ultimately killing them. For young and shallow-rooted weeds, this is extremely effective. For more established weeds, a few doses may be required. That's also why the electric kettle can be fantastic. Its rapid boiling time allows you to do this with minimal downtime. And if carrying multiple liters of water is a struggle, you can just do smaller amounts at a time. In addition to being a time-saver, this will also save money. Weed killers can be extremely expensive and don't compare to the minimal cost of the water and electricity used. Of course, you also have the added satisfaction of knowing you didn't add harmful chemicals to your garden.