I don't think I've ever hated a kitchen appliance as much as I hate my Breville Brita Filter kettle. Despite this, I've had it for over a year because I've paid for it and feel I need to get my use out of it before I trade it in for something better!

So, how can a mere kettle cause such a strong feeling of hatred - the likes of which I normally reserve for Russell Brand? Basically it's the fact that it holds such a paltry amount of water (1 litre). Worse still, the filter section only holds 0.5 litres - so if you want to fill the kettle to capacity, you have to stand and wait for the first 0.5 litres to filter through. And it takes an age. Honestly, it's painful to watch. Finally, I've decided that does anyone REALLY need to filter water that's going to be boiled? It claims that it removes things like chlorine, heavy metals such as lead and copper, and other organic impurities from your water to improve its taste, smell and appearance. I've never had a cup of tea out of it that tastes any better than tea made from water that's come out of a regular kettle. In fact, the sour taste left in my mouth (caused by my dislike of the kettle) has made every cup of tea for the past year taste terrible.

For what it's worth, if you're that worried about the quality of your tap water, you've probably already got a standard water filter - so my advice would be to fill the kettle from that. In fact, sometimes my husband, if he's in a particularly indulgent mood, does use the water from our regular filter; and, hey presto, 'twice-filtered' water.