Not really a 'Gran' question

It would not be a health issue but encourages limescale build up and tea tastes so much better made with fresh water.

It is a health and safety issue.

Leaving water in a kettle increases the build up of limescale. That can reduce the life of the heating element and means having to take action periodically to get rid of the limescale. That can be done with natural substances e.g. lemon juice but people often resort to faster acting commercial limescale removers which contain other more dangerous acids such as formic and sulfamic acids. Instructions will say to repeatedly refill and reboil the kettle to remove the chemical residue but I would be very wary of that being done properly and safely in a multi-user environment.

Leaving water in kettles allows any micro-organisms such as bacteria and parasites that are naturally present in the water to multiply. Boiling the water should kill most but you'd want a prolonged boil. Most kettles, as a safety measure, auto-switch off once boiling point is reached.

Leaving water in a kettle may tempt people, especially in a multi-user environment, to keep reboiling it. Reboiling leads to an over-concentration of chemicals that are already present in the water such as nitrates, arsenic and fluoride. The more concentrated these chemicals are the more they can negatively impact health especially for those with weaken immuned systems or in pregnancy.

I’d never really thought about problems arising from leaving water in a kettle, but now that I come to think of it, I’m glad we keep a small flask by the kettle to put any excess boiled water into.

We’ve never had a limescale problem though - I guess we must always have lived in soft water areas. We certainly do now, in Yorkshire.

Stagnant water is not healthy, several posters explained it very well

I always rinse the kettle before filling it - for immediate use. Why? Because once, I found a large (boiled) house spider in my coffee!

well its not a hill I would be prepared to die on.....but if it concerns you, have you asked her why?

Apart from anything else, if you keep reboiling the kettle, you are using a lot more energy than you need. We keep a jug which holds 1 pint by the kettle. If we both want a hot drink we almost fill it from the cold tap and pour it into the kettle, and if it’s for one of us, we half fill it. That gives us the right amount of hot water and leaves the kettle empty. No problem

It stems from when water came from header tanks rather than mains drawn water.
The water tanks often were home to dead birds and all manner of things, the kitchen tap was usually the only one that drew water direct from the mains.

I was always told to use fresh water in the morning, therefore I empty the kettle, rinse it out and fill it to the level for 2 cups.
My granny used to say that for a good cup of tea you need freshly drawn water from the well.

We don’t get lime scale here, thank goodness but I still empty and refill the kettle every morning. I’ve found the container for water with the coffee pod machine has discoloured a bit. I was going to put bleach in but thought it might attack the plastic.

I think your 'boss lady' may be concerned about someone inadvertently switching on an empty kettle - I have known this happen. In the old days, it might ruin the element, or cause the lid to fly off (I was once hit by one - no real injury!)
These days, the kettle just switches itself off and beeps or blinks at you.
As greenlady says - I would ask her - you can say that you are aware of different ideas on this issue, is there a workplace policy - what are the specific reasons? Once sorted, you can leave a notice for workers / helpers explaining.
And thank you for volunteering and being so thoughtful!

If the kettle is always unplugged at the wall socket at the end of the day, any water in it can safely be poured out without the risk that a dry kettle will be switched on in the morning, especially if a large notice is put up at the socket stating,
"Please rinse and fill the kettle before you plug it in."

A workplace policy on boiling a kettle?
Oh dear.

Hetty58

I always rinse the kettle before filling it - for immediate use. Why? Because once, I found a large (boiled) house spider in my coffee!

I rinse it out, too, though I can't remember why or if it is just an OCD thing? I'm sure there must have been a really good reason to begin with! But I definitely don't like water left in it as water does stagnate and lord knows what could be in it!
Did your coffee taste alright until you noticed the spider, or had you noticed it straight away?
The man about this house would have said 'more protein'! Ugh!

I don't think water should be left in a kettle, certainly not for an extended period of time.

I have a quooker. Best money ve ever spent, I don’t need to faff around with kettles and thermos flasks and one pint jugs, as described by other posters.
. No nasty tastes in tea or coffee and ye t you’ll tell me that I am using stagnant water. Well, I have to disagree.

I try very hard to only boil the amount of water I need, thus leaving the kettle empty. I don't routinely rinse it out, just occasionally to deal with loose limescale. The reasons for the above are saving electricity and saving water as both are metered. My ex used to overfill the kettle all the time but back then electricity wasn't nearly so expensive so I wasn't as careful either. I do rinse very thoroughly when I descale!

Exactly ,some real jobsworths on here as usual!

Thank you, Caravansera.
Your advice taken on board.

Caravansera

It is a health and safety issue.

Leaving water in a kettle increases the build up of limescale. That can reduce the life of the heating element and means having to take action periodically to get rid of the limescale. That can be done with natural substances e.g. lemon juice but people often resort to faster acting commercial limescale removers which contain other more dangerous acids such as formic and sulfamic acids. Instructions will say to repeatedly refill and reboil the kettle to remove the chemical residue but I would be very wary of that being done properly and safely in a multi-user environment.

Leaving water in kettles allows any micro-organisms such as bacteria and parasites that are naturally present in the water to multiply. Boiling the water should kill most but you'd want a prolonged boil. Most kettles, as a safety measure, auto-switch off once boiling point is reached.

Leaving water in a kettle may tempt people, especially in a multi-user environment, to keep reboiling it. Reboiling leads to an over-concentration of chemicals that are already present in the water such as nitrates, arsenic and fluoride. The more concentrated these chemicals are the more they can negatively impact health especially for those with weaken immuned systems or in pregnancy.

Good post!

I went away for a couple of days this week, leaving water in the tank of my coffee machine in my warm kitchen. It had gone green by the time I came home which I found pretty disgusting!
I use filtered water in this machine and I think it might not have have happened in a cooler place or with chlorinated unfiltered tap water

We have a One-Cup water boiler at home. This is always emptied before holidays. Whenever we go on holiday and trees a kettle in the room I always check that it is empty - really irks me when there's water in from the previous guest - then I fill the kettle, boil it up and discard that water before using the kettle.

I always put fresh water in for each boil. In consequence I only ever boil the amount I need. Saves money…AND I get fresh water cuppa!

MiniMoon

I was always told to use fresh water in the morning, therefore I empty the kettle, rinse it out and fill it to the level for 2 cups.
My granny used to say that for a good cup of tea you need freshly drawn water from the well.

Oh no, we haven’t got a well.