4 ms·

Concentration of bad stuff matters though.

• jessaustin 6y ago
  As the deposits indicate, the concentration of "stuff" decreases as the water flows through the tank.
• refurb 6y ago
  Right, but if it’s sitting as a solid in the bottom of your hot water tank, it’s not in the actual water coming out (or at least less of it).
  • bxparks 6y ago
    The solubility of some minerals, such as lead, increases drastically with higher temperature (https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z4s48mn/revision/2 https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z4s48mn/revision/2). Hot water will have much higher concentrations of those minerals compared to cold water. This is not a closed-system, steady state flow equation, since the hot water can pull in additional chemicals from its environment: metal or plastic pipes, fittings, anode rods (aluminum and zinc). The lining inside the hot water tank is made from many different materials, including synthetic polymers (https://www.bijlibachao.com/water-heaters/coating-storage-water-heater-thermoplastic-stainless-steel-enamel-coating-glasslined.html https://www.bijlibachao.com/water-heaters/coating-storage-wa...), which can degrade over time and leach more chemicals into the hot water. Finally, bacteria (e.g. Legionnaires) can grow in the water tank if the water is not hot enough. This article from the Denver water department says, don't drink the hot water: https://denverwatertap.org/2017/12/13/psa-dont-drink-cook-hot-water-tap/ https://denverwatertap.org/2017/12/13/psa-dont-drink-cook-ho...
    • refurb 6y ago
      Yup. I mentioned the same in another reply.