Picture of the Hamilton Beach 40891 Cordless Electric Kettle, showing it fully assembled.

How to Clean a Cordless Electric Kettle

We’ve heated gallons upon many gallons of both hard and soft water for tea and hot cocoa making, with many cordless electric kettles.  We find that without routine cleaning, these kettles can get stained brown, especially if you brew the tea directly in it after the water boils.  This can be hard to remove if allowed to build up.  So, wanting to preserve that new look , we looked for ways and practices, that would keep our cordless kettle clean and shiny.  The routine and tips to clean a cordless electric kettle discussed next work very well for us.

How to Clean a Cordless Electric Kettle: Keep your Kettle Clean to Start With

With minimal periodic cleaning, stainless steel electric kettles, since they’re stainless steel, are easy to keep tea stain free.  Your first defense against accumulated hard water discolorations and the need for deep cleaning, is to not allow them to build up in the first place.  Wash your kettle immediately after every use, and don’t permit any beverage to dry out inside.  Regular dish detergent (for the sink, not the dishwasher) works well.  But if your teakettle still smells of tea after cleaning (especially if you brew mint teas in it), than you did not clean it thoroughly enough.  Repeat the process again.  It may require several tries, or a stronger soap solution too.

Follow Users Guide to Clean a Cordless Electric Kettle

Most cordless kettles come with an owners guide, with detailed cleaning instructions.  First and most importantly, follow them, as the manufacturer probably knows best how to clean their products effectively. Their cleaning instructions, in all circumstances, supersede any tips offered here.  Many recommend nothing stronger than a squeeze of dish detergent.  Do not worry about this creating an aftertaste, for it will definitely not, if you rinse out the kettle and parts thoroughly, to a squeaky cleanness.

Picture of the Hamilton Beach 40891 electric kettle, disassembled, showing the kettle, strainer, lid, and power stand. Clean a cordless electric kettle.
Hamilton Beach 40891 kettle, disassembled, showing the kettle, strainer, lid, and power stand. Clean a cordless electric kettle.

The picture above displays a typical cordless electric kettle, completely disassembled, showing the lid, strainer, kettle stand with power cord, and the teakettle itself.  Each of these pieces can be best cleaned well with the proper cleaning agents and handling, as discussed below.

Clean Hard Water Stains in Cordless Electric Kettle with White Vinegar

For those stains that dish soap (the preferred kettle cleaning agent) will not remove, deep clean the kettle by running a pot of half water and half white vinegar through the heating cycle.  If your water is hard, use distilled water to help maximize removal of the hard water deposits from the pot.  Cycling through, with all parts attached, cleans it all.

When it does not, remove the lid and spout strainer, and soak them in a sink or bucket filled with hot vinegar water (half and half).  Allow them to marinate for several hours, periodically checking the descaling progress.





Avoid Scouring and Scratching

Stainless steel finishes resist staining as long as you do not scratch or mar them.  So to avoid dulling the surfaces in the pot, strainer, spout, and lid,  and creating lots of binding points on it for stains, avoid scouring with any abrasive cleansers, gritty pot scrubbers, steel wool pads, and bathtub cleaning agents.  Avoid any scrubbing devices made of metal, such as wire brushes or burnishing tools.  Even plastic or Nylon scrubbers should be used sparingly on stainless steel or chrome parts.  Save these for the really tough stains, and rely primarily on your dishcloth for routine cleanup.

Throw Out that Old Tea

Also, keep your tea pot clean by discarding unwanted, unused tea right away.  Best not to let hot drink stand in the electric teakettle for long, as this can “bake in” that pesky yellow-brown color.

Picture of the Chef's Choice 6772 Electric Cordless Kettle, removed from the power stand.
Chef’s Choice 6772 Electric Cordless Kettle, Removed from the Power Stand

Clean a Cordless Electric Kettle by Soaking with Hot Soapy Water and Baking Soda

White vinegar may not completely descale your cordless kettle, depending on the amount of and type of the mineral content in your water.  If so, then a couple tablespoons of baking soda added to a kettle full of hot soapy water (dish soap) may do the trick.

Do not boil with soapy water.  This will quickly create a sudsy mess, erupting like a volcano out of the spout and probably the lid as well.

Many report that automatic dishwasher soap (E.g. Cascade) added to a full pot of boiling water, and then allowed to mellow until the water cools, really lifts those deep brown stains effectively.  Automatic dishwasher soap is designed to be non abrasive and gentle on glassware and china.  So it is safe to use inside your stainless steel kettle.

Picture of the Farberware 104556 water kettle, operating, showing blue LED pilot lamp glowing, and the water gauge adjacent to the handle.
Farberware 104556 kettle, operating, showing blue LED pilot lamp glowing, and the water gauge adjacent to the handle. Clean a cordless electric kettle.

A Cordless Electric Kettle Need Not Be Sparkling Clean

Some brown staining on the interior does not adversely affect the flavor of the tea brews.  So you need not maintain an absolutely spotless teakettle.  As long as you prevent buildup of the loose residues and minerals that accrue after even just a single use, your fresh brewed tea and cocoa will taste just fine. Besides, a brown cast on the water handling parts indicates (to some) a well-seasoned teakettle, that brews better tasting beverages than those brand new, stain-less kettles.





General Cautions and Warnings

Disconnect the power before cleaning.  Even in cordless electric teakettles, water and electricity do not mix.  Otherwise, you could receive an injurious electric shock.

Also, do not immerse any parts of the kettle unless they’re designated by the manufacturer as submersible (lids and strainers may be dunked, but not the kettle itself or the stand). Just fill the kettle pot with the cleaning solution of choice, and let it mellow until clean.  Wipe the stand with a damp soapy cloth, and then again with a clean rinsed cloth.  Soak the spout strainer and lid in the sink if these become too soiled.

Note that procedures that work well for an aluminum vessel may be inappropriate for a stainless steel teakettle.  So, apply the right techniques to your particular kettle. Again, consult its users manual for appropriate cleaning tips and advice.

No harsh chemicals.  Avoid using acids, drain cleaners, and any strong smelling or fumy compounds.  Not only can they damage or even soften any plastic components (handles, knobs, Etc.), but can also discolor the stainless steel finish and dull its shine.

When small amounts of vinegar do not work, heat a full-strength load in their electric kettles.  This typically works better than the half-and-half solution with water when you have voluminous amounts of scale and other hard water deposits.  While this probably will not harm the teakettle, it smells horrific!  If you must boil undiluted vinegar, place your kettle outside, and let it boil where the moving air will carry away that sour vinegar odor.

Related Posts to How to Clean a Cordless Electric Kettle

  1. Cordless Water Kettle Black & Decker® JKC930C Review
  2. How to Clean Stainless Steel Electric Percolators
  3. Chef’s Choice Cordless Electric Kettle 677-2 (6772) Review
  4. How to Clean AR Coated Eyeglasses
  5. Farberware Cordless Electric Kettle 104556 Review

References for How to Clean a Cordless Electric Kettle

  1. What are Kettles? on Wikipedia
  2. What is a Cordless Electric Kettle?   on Google

Revision History

  • 2020-05-30: Optimized the targeting.
  • 2019-05-31: Added key phrase targeting for ‘Clean a Cordless Electric Kettle’, deleted ad scripts, and added more links and tags.
  • 2015-10-18: Added tags.
  • 2015-09-13: Originally published.