Cleaning Rust Inside Cast Iron Tea Kettle

There are many different types of tea kettles, each one answering to your specific tastes and preferences. Some prefer stainless steel because of its durability. Others prefer glass because it is easily cleaned and lightweight as well. Still, others prefer the other types of tea kettles for their own reasons.

Cast iron tea kettles are among the oldest types of kettles around. The material, cast iron, is preferred by many manufacturers of cookware for many reasons. First, cast iron is non-toxic. Second, it has excellent heat retention and diffusion properties. And lastly, cast iron can be easily molded into different shapes. Why, by its properties alone, it’s practically made for the production of tea kettles.

But just as there are advantages to using cast iron tea kettles, there are also downsides. One of the most common things that users of cast iron tea kettles complain about is the difficulty of cleaning it.

See, because it is iron, it does have the tendency to rust. But cleaning rust inside cast iron tea kettles is actually not that difficult. In this article, we will give you some tips on how to go about cleaning rust inside cast iron tea kettles.

A Kettle is for Boiling Water

Before we proceed on cleaning rust inside cast iron tea kettles, let us first highlight one important note about tea kettles, and that is that they are not for boiling tea, pasta, or anything else in it.

A tea kettle is only for boiling water, the water which you will use for making tea. For boiling tea leaves, you need a teapot for that. It is advised that you use a different kettle for boiling pasta and other foods.

The reason for this is simple: cast iron tea kettles have the tendency to absorb seasonings and flavors of foods, which can affect the taste of your tea. So if you want to keep that “all-natural” tea flavor in your favorite beverage, take our advice and get at least two kettles for use in your home – one for boiling water and one for boiling miscellaneous food items.

Use Dish Soap

It is often a misconception among users of cast iron tea kettles that they should never use dish soap when cleaning rust inside cast iron tea kettles. But the truth of the matter is there is no better cleaning agent to use than dish soap for cleaning rust inside cast iron tea kettles. Just make sure that the dish soap is diluted with water though, especially if you are using a particularly strong agent.

Add a Bit of Salt and Olive Oil

After washing away the last of the soap suds from your kettle, take a small piece of old cotton cloth and wet it. Then, add a tablespoon of coarse salt into the bottom of the kettle and a small amount of olive oil before rubbing the rusted areas with the wet cloth.