The kettle is noisy or hissing, is this normal?
A cup of tea is a great way to start your day. But today, the atmosphere is far from Zen because your kettle whistles and hurts your ears! How can this situation be remedied? Read this troubleshooting guide to figure out what’s responsible for this din.
WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
WARNING
Before you do anything to your appliance, make sure you disconnect it from the power supply.
There is a risk of electric shock.
Boiling could be the cause of the whistling noise
When you heat water in a kettle, it can react like a pressure cooker. Water brought to a boil (100°C) will produce steam that will then escape through the narrow spout, producing a high-pitched sound. Occasionally, the kettle has a setting underneath the base it rests on, which allows you to turn the whistle on or off, so check this setting is off if your kettle is whistling. Also, by heating the water the device produces gas bubbles that burst. Usually, the noise stops as soon as the water has reached the same temperature throughout the cavity, at the top and at the bottom. To avoid this, you can turn off the kettle before boiling. However, most kettles automatically shut off when the water is overheated, preventing this noise.
A crackling sound is normal
A kettle run completely silently, unless you’re only using it to produce lukewarm water, which is obviously not the point! Because the cold water starts to heat up from below, where the coil is located, the first vapor bubbles form at the bottom and rise to the surface. Along the way, they pass through colder water, which generates condensation and water vapor that gives rise to mysterious crackling sounds. Yet this noise will stop when all the water in the kettle has reached 100°C.
You live in a limescale area
Often, a kettle will hiss or take longer to heat the water when the limescale has built up too much. When scale has accumulated on the resistor it has to overheat to heat the water. You can eliminate this issue by doing a good descaling. Pour 1 liter of water + 2 teaspoons of baking soda into the kettle, or better yet, citric acid. Boil this solution and then let it sit for about 30 minutes. Finally, rinse the kettle to remove any traces of product or loose scale. Now, test your kettle to check if the noise has disappeared!