Nowadays, the electric kettle has already entered thousands of households, young people living in rented houses, old people living alone at home, usually want to make a cup of coffee, a cup of milk, make a cup of tea, the electric kettle is really convenient. But does the water boiled by the electric kettle contain any substances that exceed the standard?
Uncle Zhang, who lives alone at home with his wife, is 64 years old this year, and his body has always been very healthy and there is no serious illness. Before he retired, he drank tea with a teacup every day in the unit, and now he is retired at home and does not leave tea, saying that this is the secret of his own health.
One day, when Uncle Zhang's son came back to visit Uncle Zhang, he saw the water boiling in the electric kettle on Uncle Zhang's table, and couldn't help but worry, and persuaded him: "You can't drink too much water in this electric kettle, drinking too much is not only easy to poison heavy metals, but also easy to cause cancer!" and told his mother to keep an eye on Uncle Zhang, stop boiling water with an electric kettle, buy a water dispenser, and heat it directly.
Uncle Zhang was also worried when he saw his son's resolute attitude, and said: "My electric kettle was issued by the unit, so I don't have to put it for anything, and I have drunk the water boiled by the electric kettle for so long, and I haven't seen any poisoning?"
Out of health considerations, his son also cares about Uncle Zhang's body. Electric kettles are now indeed easy to use and cheap, and with them increasing popularity, there are constant doubts.
Some people believe that the content of some heavy metal elements in the water in the electric kettle must be higher than that of the water boiled by themselves, and drinking it for a long time will greatly increase the risk of cancer; some people believe that the electric kettle that can be sold on the market will be strictly reviewed by the regulatory authorities before leaving the factory, and there will be no danger to human health. Which view is correct?
1. Does the boiling water in the electric kettle really cause cancer?
To find out whether this view is correct, we must first understand which trace element will increase the amount of trace elements in the water boiled by the electric kettle, which view adheres to this view, and whether it will cause cancer if you drink it for a long time.
This group of people believe that the water boiled in the electric kettle has been monitored to contain trace elements, mainly chlorine and manganese, and whether it is chlorine or manganese, long-term drinking will definitely lead to poisoning and carcinogenicity, and there are indeed corresponding reports.
But this is actually the wrong object, not the water boiled in the electric kettle these two trace elements exceed the standard, but the use of high manganese steel materials, the water boiled out of the electric kettle that does not meet the regulations, these two trace elements exceed the standard.
Compared with 304 stainless steel, 316 stainless steel, glass and other materials are cheaper, and the appearance is more like the use of 304 and 316 two kinds of food-grade stainless steel, so some unscrupulous manufacturers will use high-manganese steel to replace these two food-grade stainless steel, reduce the cost of electric kettles, and earn greater profits.
2. How to choose a safe electric kettle
At present, the market for electric kettles is very large, and there are many different brands of electric kettles, and there are various choices. However, if you choose a big brand of goods through formal channels, and buy an electric kettle with qualified quality and guaranteed products, it will generally not produce trace elements that exceed the standard.
If you notice nausea, vomiting, or dizziness after drinking water from an electric kettle, stop using the electric kettle and file a complaint with the manufacturer.
At present, the electric kettles on the market are roughly made of the following materials:
(1) Stainless steel electric kettle: Stainless steel is the material of electric kettle used in most households, but for safety reasons, it is recommended to use 304 and 316, two food-grade stainless steel materials. The electric kettle of the regular manufacturer will be printed on the outer surface of whether it is these two materials.
304 food grade stainless steel electric kettle, which is relatively safe and more common.
306 food-grade stainless steel electric kettle will be safer, but 316 is generally used in high-end fields such as aerospace and food machinery, so the price is relatively higher.
Disadvantages: Stainless steel electric kettle is very easy to accumulate limescale and needs to be cleaned frequently.
(2) Glass electric kettle: The glass used to make the glass electric kettle is not the same as the glass we usually see. In addition, the material is widely used in baby bottles and other products, making it more reliable in terms of safety.
Disadvantages: The thermal insulation effect is not good enough, and it is not resistant to falling.
(3) Ceramic electric kettle: people who make tea will value the relatively more primitive style of ceramic electric kettle, but they should pay more attention to the selection of materials, because if the ceramic material is used as a reference, the heavy metals such as lead contained in the glaze are more likely to fall off, resulting in more serious safety hazards than several other materials. It is more recommended to choose a non-colored glaze, that is, the inner wall of the pot has no color patterns and no color
Disadvantages: slow boiling water, fragile and not resistant to falling.
3. How to boil water more safely and healthily
If you choose the right and safe electric kettle, you can boil water safely and without worries? No, because there is still one last hurdle - the existence of scale.
The most common stainless steel electric kettle is the most common limescale
(1) What is scale: There is a certain amount of calcium ions and magnesium ions in the tap water quoted in ordinary life, and these two particles will combine with CO2 in the air in the process of boiling water, precipitate calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate and other substances that are not easily soluble in water, and sink at the bottom or wall of the kettle. Anyone who has elderly people in the family should have experienced that when boiling water with a coal stove, a layer of white hard lumps will form on the wall and bottom of the kettle, which is calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate.
(2) The impact of scale on the body: The main components of scale, calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate, most of them will precipitate out and settle on the bottom and wall of the kettle, but there will also be some in the water, in the form of ions or suspensions, which are drunk into the abdomen. Almost all of these small amounts of carbonate can be decomposed in our human body, and are absorbed in the form of calcium ions and magnesium ions, and a small part of the non-decomposable parts will also be excreted with feces and will not threaten our human health. However, if you drink a lot of limescale water for a long time, it will increase the formation of calcium oxalate and calcium urate, which are one of the main components of stones.
(3) How to remove scale: scale, that is, calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate, the way to remove it is to divide them into calcium ions and magnesium ions again. You can use half a spoonful of baking soda, mix it with water, and then clean the electric kettle with a rag dipped in baking soda water, you can easily remove limescale without causing any damage to the electric kettle.
epilogue
Decide whether to boil out poisoning and carcinogenic water, does not depend on whether it is an electric kettle, but to see whether the electric kettle is regular.