what are these floating on the surface

acquiescent@lemmy.world to No Stupid Questions@lemmy.world – 119 points –

These were from water we just boiled

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Could you explain how fats would end up in kettles? Since tap water should be the only thing going in

Kitchens can be very greasy places. Do you ever cook food in a pan near your kettle? It could also be from whatever container you poured the hot water in.

It's a rented apartment, so very likely the previous tenants have cooked near the kettle

What container is the water in? If it is a mixing cup or glass cup, there will likely be residual fats that linger after washing. There are also various grease,s fats, and other lipids in you water pipes, faucets, and the kitchen air since particles linger around. Everything in a kitchen will start to develop a small film of grease if it isn't cleaned constantly. It's not harmful and you have been consuming it for literally your entire life

Looks like a glass jar to contain water. Previous tenants could have used them to store literally anything so yeah, residual fats doesn't sound that surprising now that I think about it.

Maybe I should be paying more attention to the stuff around me instead of only while I'm overseas 🙃

Something else I've noticed about my own kettle that might be contributing. I store my kettle very near or sometimes just on my stovetop. If you fry anything nearby, even with a wipe down/cleaning you can still get small amounts of fat splatter on enough of the kettle that some of it may be making it's way into the spout or underside of the lid that then gets mixed in by the steam inside when you boil water next.

Yeah I forgot about oil particles (?) being ever present in kitchens

Should be, but did someone boil milk at some point?

I wouldn't rule that out, no idea how many tenants came before us. They could have boiled orange juice in them for all I know

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