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> Most residential hot water tanks do not produce potable water. As a consumer of residential hot water tanks for 40+ years, this is news to me. How is the wat
by spookthesunset 5y ago
> Most residential hot water tanks do not produce potable water.
As a consumer of residential hot water tanks for 40+ years, this is news to me. How is the water in a residential hot water tank not potable?
- manwe150 5y agoI’ve heard: Higher levels of dissolved minerals, which might be harmful, and a low chance of being a breeding ground for brain-eating microbes, which will be harmful.
- iainmerrick 5y agoI think it’s specifically Legionnaire’s disease / legionella. Hot water tanks should periodically be heated over 50C to kill off the bacteria. See e.g. https://www.hse.gov.uk/legionnaires/hot-and-cold-water-storage.htm https://www.hse.gov.uk/legionnaires/hot-and-cold-water-stora...
- bonestamp2 5y agoIt was a surprise to me when I first read it about 10 years ago too. I'm having trouble finding the source for the (potential) bacteria breeding problem. But, I did find an EPA document warning not to do it for another reason: https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2015-09/documents/2002_5_17_lcrmr_guidance_lcmr_lead_public_education_poster_v1.pdf https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2015-09/documents/20...