Not teapots, mind, but teakettles. The enamel on the interior of our teakettle is chipped and, in some places, gone. My wife vaguely remembers hearing that such a kettle is no longer safe to use. Is there any truth to that?
(I have no idea what the underlying metal is.)
dmh
The underlying metal is cast iron.
This probably results in tea that tastes slightly of iron. That's not a safety issue, but it might affect the taste.
What could be a safety issue is possible weakening of the kettle... if the enamel cracks, water will get between the metal and the enamel and when it boils, it will crack it more. Then eventually bad things could happen on the stove. Although, I have used cracked enamel stuff for decades without any trouble.
--scott
If the metal is thick, it's probably cast iron (though could be cast steel). If it's sheet, it's probably rolled steel, which is likely to rust very quickly once the enamel is cracked. As Scott suggests, catastrophic failure (boiling flood) is much less likely than pinhole drips or cracks. But if you're worried, do what steal-train engineers still do for safety: tap the vessel all over. An anomalous clunk or other less resonant sound may indicate impending failure.
-DM
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