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August 19th, 2009

Kettles and the extent to which they dribble water, or not

We had a kettle – it dribbled water.

It seemed hazardous to keep dribbling water, what with the electrics and kettle water being boiling, so we got a new kettle that did not dribble water.

Now the new kettle dribbles water too.

Do all kettles dribble water? I have set up a poll on the left to see whether it is only our kettles, or whether everyones’ kettles dribble water.

Yes, I have descaled.

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15 Responses to “Kettles and the extent to which they dribble water, or not”


  1. Emma says:

    I find it all depends on the angle of tipping…

  2. ginny says:

    For a different point of view, we have a coffee maker that dribbles. I wish my husband would wipe up the counter after he makes coffee on weekend mornings, but then he brings it upstairs to me, so I wipe it up later and say nothing.

    A non-dribbling solution would be progress, though.

  3. tortoise says:

    I find that if I open the lid of the kettle very slightly after boiling and before pouring, it ceases to dribble. Someone Who Knows might be able to offer a robust scientific explanation for this phenomenon involving surface tension, the moon’s gravitational pull, or some such.

  4. Gregory says:

    Mine doesn’t, but then it’s a gas kettle, not an electric one.

  5. Jaded for Jesus says:

    My kettle’s OK at the mo, but my iron dribbles water, just where the electric cable joins the appliance. This didn’t seem like a good idea to me either, so now I dry-iron. Built-in obsolescence is a bummer.

  6. Sarahw says:

    Our kettle doesn’t dribble at the moment but I expect it will in time.
    Also have a problem with a dribbling iron, keeps leaving wet patches all over the clothes.

  7. Rachel says:

    I did exactly the same thing! Why do they do that? The replacement kettle has perfect “eco” credentials but still deposits boiling water on my toes. I now feel a nostalgia for the old kettle….

  8. David Keen says:

    I used to have a child that dribbled. Sorry, let me rephrase that, I have a child that used to dribble. The solutions were
    a) Short term: bib
    b) Long term: just wait for it to grow up, and the dribbling stops. Sadly not an option in the case of a kettle. Or is it?

    Maybe there’s a market for kettle bibs.

  9. ramtopsrac says:

    Oh how we’ve struggled with this very issue… and church urns have the same problem… my husband seems to think soaking the filter of the spouty bit in vinegar improves things, but that’s only for a while.

  10. Sarahw says:

    An odd update.
    Our kettle that didn’t leak, decided to die quite dramatically on Saturday morning. Not only did it decide to go mid-boil, it tripped the electric circuit at the same time, turning off all electrical appliances. My morning cup of tea was delayed as we had to resort to boiling water in a pan.
    After a trip to Truro that afternoon we now have a new kettle, that doesn’t leak. Yet…

  11. Mary says:

    We had a fridge … it leaked … we bought a new one … etc etc (and yes I have defrosted) … such is the life of consumer “durables”

  12. ordinandy says:

    It is my sincere theological belief that kettles dribble as a direct result of the fall of human kind. See http://bit.ly/NWWGb

  13. Margaret says:

    Our solid 25 year old shiny stainless steel kettle started to leak from under the spout, so we bought a cheapish supermarket one. I couldn’t bear to throw out the old one. This summer, after a couple of years of use the new one refused to turn itself off, so I had the spout of the old one rewelded. It doesn’t look great but the problem is solved – until the element gives up!!

  14. adrian says:

    out kettle has never dribbled but it does make loud popping and banging noises when first switched on. this seems a small price to pay for lack of dribbles even though it is somewhat unnerving.

  15. Bronwyn says:

    I had a plastic kettle it started to leak after about 4 years in the area of the clear ball to show how full the kettle is.

    I was sent to the shopfor another one and thought great stainless steal wont have that problem and spent a lot of money…sean said all kettles have a weekness in that part. And toldme off for spending so much on a kettle.