Episode 1: A couple of years ago our kettle broke - as they do. I was quite happy to wait until we had time to look round and buy a decent one we liked, but OH said "oh no - we can't manage without a kettle, we must get one immediately - today". The today in question was bitterly cold and we had to go to a shopping outlet to meet DS1 for something, so OH insisted we could get a kettle there. Well, there were no electrical shops at all, so we walked round and round, freezing to death, until we saw a smallish Tesco with a very limited range on the shelves, ie just the one! So we 'chose' that, and it didn't cost much. OH was delighted!
We got it home and put it on and after about half a minute I thought our house had turned into a launchpad for new Apollo missions. The whole house shook with the noise this bargain kettle made. <sigh>
Anyway it boiled water so we put up with it. Very quickly it developed bad habits - especially when pouring hot water - it would come out in a rush all over the place. We continued to put up with it until about a month ago when the lid started to lift as it boiled and if you weren't there to smack it down (quickly to avoid getting scalded) it would boil dry, filling the kitchen with steam.
Episode 2: We were on a mission to get a new kettle - today, it has to be today! (Does this sound familiar?) But, being older and wiser (?) we would choose more carefully. We live in a hard water area and it's a family joke that I can't leave the house without polishing the kettle because I hate to see a nice shiny kettle splattered with watermarks, so we decided we'd get a non-shiny one, and a better quality than last time. Fortunately Sainsbury's had an own-brand model that was just perfect. There was the double Nectar points then, as well. Win, win! Except they didn't have one in stock, but more would be in the next day - hopefully. So in hope, OH went back the next day. No kettle! So he chose the other non metallic one which had the extra advantage of a Brita filter system built in to it.
You can't imagine how excited we were! Just like a couple of kids at Christmas.
Then reality hit us. You have to fill the filter reservoir up, wait for it to drain, and repeat before you can boil water. And it boils a maximum of 1 litre - not quite enough for 3 mugs of tea. Then you have to put more water in and let it drain before you can boil more water. On the lid there's a handy little indicator to show how much life there's left in the filter. Ah, so you have to replace the filter we realised. A new filter - about £17, and they suggest it lasts one month. Seventeen pounds a month to run a kettle!! And to add insult to injury the little indicator thingy runs on batteries.
But, convinced the water and the tea taste better (well, almost convinced) we plodded on and have got into the habit of filling it after use, ready for the next time.
Yesterday though I thought the tea tasted funny - a bit like drinking the swimming baths. I didn't say anything. Later on OH said "Oh I forgot to tell you, I've found a quick way of filling the kettle - fill it through the spout", thus neatly bypassing the bruddy filter!!! And it still only boils a litre!
We got it home and put it on and after about half a minute I thought our house had turned into a launchpad for new Apollo missions. The whole house shook with the noise this bargain kettle made. <sigh>
Anyway it boiled water so we put up with it. Very quickly it developed bad habits - especially when pouring hot water - it would come out in a rush all over the place. We continued to put up with it until about a month ago when the lid started to lift as it boiled and if you weren't there to smack it down (quickly to avoid getting scalded) it would boil dry, filling the kitchen with steam.
Episode 2: We were on a mission to get a new kettle - today, it has to be today! (Does this sound familiar?) But, being older and wiser (?) we would choose more carefully. We live in a hard water area and it's a family joke that I can't leave the house without polishing the kettle because I hate to see a nice shiny kettle splattered with watermarks, so we decided we'd get a non-shiny one, and a better quality than last time. Fortunately Sainsbury's had an own-brand model that was just perfect. There was the double Nectar points then, as well. Win, win! Except they didn't have one in stock, but more would be in the next day - hopefully. So in hope, OH went back the next day. No kettle! So he chose the other non metallic one which had the extra advantage of a Brita filter system built in to it.
You can't imagine how excited we were! Just like a couple of kids at Christmas.
Then reality hit us. You have to fill the filter reservoir up, wait for it to drain, and repeat before you can boil water. And it boils a maximum of 1 litre - not quite enough for 3 mugs of tea. Then you have to put more water in and let it drain before you can boil more water. On the lid there's a handy little indicator to show how much life there's left in the filter. Ah, so you have to replace the filter we realised. A new filter - about £17, and they suggest it lasts one month. Seventeen pounds a month to run a kettle!! And to add insult to injury the little indicator thingy runs on batteries.
But, convinced the water and the tea taste better (well, almost convinced) we plodded on and have got into the habit of filling it after use, ready for the next time.
Yesterday though I thought the tea tasted funny - a bit like drinking the swimming baths. I didn't say anything. Later on OH said "Oh I forgot to tell you, I've found a quick way of filling the kettle - fill it through the spout", thus neatly bypassing the bruddy filter!!! And it still only boils a litre!
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