Why ever would you clean a teakettle? It has only had water in it and that water was boiled and boiled.....no germs in that teakettle!
but if you have minerals in your water, you couldg et some mineral buildup in the bottom....but that sure won't hurt anything!
Gunk in your teakettle?? What are you putting in there?
Linda C

Well I don't have them anymore, but am considering getting another. I only used water and I didn't clean them. When I found the gunk, I was surprised because I couldn't understand where it came from. Also, when you Google cleaning kettles there are several sites that say how they do it. They just don't say how often they do it.

So you don't clean it at all? I wonder why mine got nasty just like the poster's did in the link above.

I don't have a tea kettle but I would assume that if you had a tea kettle with just a little bit of water sitting on the stove when not in use, bacteria, dust and other items present in the air will fall in the kettle and can create a slime factory over time if not cleaned. I personally use an electric tea kettle (British upbringing) and now graduated to a Japanese Airpot. I love my airpot. When I used an electric kettle, I never left water in it and washed it out weekly. I have filtered water and never had a problem with the tea kettles. I clean my airpot out weekly when I have no water left in it.

Good luck!

I use an electric teakettle because there's nothing quite like it. I rinse it out after each use, and once or twice a week I demineralize it with a solution of white vinegar and water (we have hard water). Another reason I clean it well is because the water for tea should be 'cold and clear'.

Thank you! :)

I put mine in the dishwasher about once a month. Not for cleaning the inside...it's for cleaning the outside. I leave mine sitting on the stove burner even when not in use. When I cook or fry, splatters occur and get on the outside of the kettle. I've never had any of mine mildew or have gunk inside. NancyLouise

This is a great question! I had to pour hot water into a cup (I was out of oil and needed hot water) and saw the water was a brownish color! I didn’t notice prior bc I was pouring over a tea bag in dark colored mugs. I looked inside and there was slim! When I wiped with a paper towel it was dark brown! I was disgusted!! I figured (like one of the recent ppl that had posted) it’s only water that’s being boiled, I don’t have to clean it out. Wrong! I threw that tea kettle away and bought a new one!