# rust in the tea kettle



## siduri

A few years ago i got a beautiful le creuset enamel whistling tea kettle.  I love it, it's dark grey and has a traditional shape and whistles.  But recently i forgot it on the fire and it burned the lime deposits and smelled of smoke so i put baking soda and water in it a couple of days.  Now it's rusty.  I guess the burnt lime deposits may have detached the inner enamel. 

What do you think, is it ok to use, will the tea i make taste metallic?  Is there anything i can do to fix it?

it was on sale but still pretty expensive.  I wouldn;t buy one full price but i really love it. 

thanks


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## michaelga

Get some rust remover - swish it around and rinse well.

Then observe the damage.  Quite often the rust blooms up through cracks in the enamel and seems much worse than it actually is.

One thing you will want to do is get the rust out as the rust feeds more rust and the whole process accelerates. 

CLR - Calcium Lime Rust Remover works good.

Lime Away!  is a weaker version.

Both use enzymes and mild solutions to remove rust.

If you don't want to fuss around for a while go to the hardware store or pool store and get a small bottle of bottle of Hydrochloric Acid - use some on your tea kettle and then use the remainder up cleaning your tub / sink / toilet etc.

It's cheap works great and isn't dangerous if you use a bit of common sense.


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## pjswim

Hi siduri,

I agree with MichaelD, you could try that. Also you can take some cider vinegar & let that set for a few days. When I did some waitress we use cider vinegar or baking soda with small amounts of water & OR ice to clean the pots. 

I would suggest to try Michael's & mine if one did not work for you. Other than that maybe someone else might have even a better solution. LOL.


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## siduri

Thanks pj and michael

Some questions:

Doesn't hydrochloric acid eat metal?  If there are even tiny cracks wouldn't this make them worse? 

I don't find the same brands of products here in italy, but would any rust remover be ok?  is there a difference between rust remover for auto parts or screws, say, and rust remover for objects that will be in contact with food? 

anyway, i take it your advice is remove the rust (and the limescale) and it should be ok.  But won;t it rust up again since i keep water in it usually?


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## pjswim

Hi,

Well i needed to ask the mechanic in the house. Hydraulic fluid is for cars, now hydrochloric is another whole different thing. And I dont even know what that is. So I cant help much there.


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## michaelga

> Doesn't hydrochloric acid eat metal?


It will but very slowly - talking days / weeks.


> If there are even tiny cracks wouldn't this make them worse?


The cracks are in the enamel not the steel - acid won't harm the enamel unless you leave it in contact for days / weeks.


> I don't find the same brands of products here in italy, but would any rust remover be ok?
> 
> is there a difference between rust remover for auto parts or screws, say, and rust remover for objects that will be in contact with food?


Every brand will be different but the label should give you a good indication on how well it cleans off. If you want to be sure just get the straight acid rather than some 'branded formula'. It is quite common, even in Europe.


> anyway, i take it your advice is remove the rust (and the limescale) and it should be ok. But won;t it rust up again since i keep water in it usually?


You will have to stop keeping water in it. Use it then drain the water afterwards - if the kettle is still warm usually it will dry sufficiently to not rust.


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## siduri

Thanks Michael.


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## michaelga

You are most welcome.

The one thing you want to do as soon as possible is get the rust out of the pot.

You see even if you dry the pot the rust that is already formed will attract moisture from the air and continue to rust (actually much faster as it has more oxygen available).

Even worse is the rust that has already formed will 'wick' moisture and oxygen through itself down to the new cast iron and cause it to rust.

It's the self accelerating properties of rust that account for the numerous 'rusted-out' automobiles that you see on the roadways.

For several months there is simply a small spot of rust showing and then all of a sudden it looks like half your car is going to fall off!


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## siduri

Interesting.  I never knew that.  on with the rust remover/acid


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## sandrakaren

I also bought the same tea kettle on sale, antique white with the enamel interior....beautiful. They do specify that you should never store water in the kettle which raised my concern for durability so I was very careful not to leave any water in the kettle at any time. Within a month I had what appeared to be rust patches on the interior bottom of the kettle. I have tried to gently remove the rust but it just returns. I've since found that customer service people at le Creuset are fully aware of this issue, that is why they cover themselves with the warning not to store water in the kettle. I'll be disposing of mine and not buying another enamel kettle ever again.


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