5 ms·

The efficiency of some of the better systems is about 4:1, so if you drink 50 gallons of water a day that could be nearly 200 gallons of water wasted.

Scoundreller 5y ago
Thats why you just r/o your drinking water, not your toilet/dish/clothes machine. Shower is kinda iffy, but you’ll want to filter your hot water unless you drink from a separate tap.
- joshstrange 5y ago
  People drink their heated water? I always thought that was a bad idea. Something about mineral build ups in the hot water heater or something? I only consume cold tap water and use my electric kettle to heat it up if needed. I only use hot water for bathing/showering, washing the dishes, and jump-starting the sous vide.
  - Scoundreller 5y ago
    My kitchen has one of those “pullable” taps on a flexible line. If you drink what first comes out, your cup is being filled with whatever it was set to during the last use. Then there’s whatever residue is left from washing/rinsing with warm water. TBH, if I’m making a pot of pasta, I fill the pot with hot water to jump-start too, but I know my system is mostly pex. Maybe that’s still risky due to the plastic, but there shouldn’t be any lead deposited in the heating process. I’m in the Great Lakes area, so cold taps can be 5C in winter. If you’re making OJ from concentrate (or Tang), it could take a while to dissolve at that temperature.
    - joshstrange 5y ago
      Interesting, yeah I always run the sink for 10-20 seconds after using hot water to clear the line. My house isn’t pex (I want to update it at some point) but I also thought it was more the water heater than my pipes that I was combatting but it’s very possible that it’s an old wives tale that I fell for decades ago. For pasta I have a convoluted system of putting a small amount of cold water into the pot and then doing 3-4 rounds of the electric kettle (with occasional additions of cold water when the water in the pot reaches a boil but I still need more water).
      - Scoundreller 5y ago
        If your water system has been doing corrosion control, you’re fairly well (but not 100% protected) against lead exposure from your old copper pipeworks. The big risk is new lead-soldered piping and leaded (largely pre-2014 USA brass plumbing but [1]) fixtures, because even with corrosion control, it takes a while (months to years) to build up that protective layer. What people get wrong with pasta is they think they need a strong boil. While the steam is hotter than the liquid, most pasta is in contact with the water and your energy is going into evaporating more water off. Just use a spoon to stir occasionally and use a pot cover to condense the steam back in. [1] http://blogs.edf.org/health/2018/11/06/nsf-61-lead-from-a-new-lead-free-brass-faucet/ http://blogs.edf.org/health/2018/11/06/nsf-61-lead-from-a-ne...
    - omnimus 5y ago
      I must say i am often surprised by practices in other countries. I've never heard of any of this stuff. I am probably completely uninformed or situation here must be very different. Like it seems you have to know so much stuff and have so many systems in place to have water... For example i live in appartent building with central water heater. I absolutely use hot water from it for pasta. Am is it wrong? And letting water to flow for 20s? Why?
      - Scoundreller 5y ago
        If you have copper pipes with lead solder, or fixtures with brass (which will have varying amounts of lead), or lead supply lines from your city, the longer that water sits in contact with those joints/fixtures, the more lead it gets a chance to absorb. So flushing the line gets you 'fresher' water from the municipal line that hasn't dwelled against your smaller diameter dirtier pipe. Can be a big issue in schools for the first kids that drink from the fountains for the day. The water heaters, well, hotter water has higher solubility, so while it sits in pipes, could absorb more from the pipes.

Scoundreller 5y ago

Thats why you just r/o your drinking water, not your toilet/dish/clothes machine. Shower is kinda iffy, but you’ll want to filter your hot water unless you drink from a separate tap.

joshstrange 5y ago
People drink their heated water? I always thought that was a bad idea. Something about mineral build ups in the hot water heater or something? I only consume cold tap water and use my electric kettle to heat it up if needed. I only use hot water for bathing/showering, washing the dishes, and jump-starting the sous vide.
- Scoundreller 5y ago
  My kitchen has one of those “pullable” taps on a flexible line. If you drink what first comes out, your cup is being filled with whatever it was set to during the last use. Then there’s whatever residue is left from washing/rinsing with warm water. TBH, if I’m making a pot of pasta, I fill the pot with hot water to jump-start too, but I know my system is mostly pex. Maybe that’s still risky due to the plastic, but there shouldn’t be any lead deposited in the heating process. I’m in the Great Lakes area, so cold taps can be 5C in winter. If you’re making OJ from concentrate (or Tang), it could take a while to dissolve at that temperature.
  - joshstrange 5y ago
    Interesting, yeah I always run the sink for 10-20 seconds after using hot water to clear the line. My house isn’t pex (I want to update it at some point) but I also thought it was more the water heater than my pipes that I was combatting but it’s very possible that it’s an old wives tale that I fell for decades ago. For pasta I have a convoluted system of putting a small amount of cold water into the pot and then doing 3-4 rounds of the electric kettle (with occasional additions of cold water when the water in the pot reaches a boil but I still need more water).
    - Scoundreller 5y ago
      If your water system has been doing corrosion control, you’re fairly well (but not 100% protected) against lead exposure from your old copper pipeworks. The big risk is new lead-soldered piping and leaded (largely pre-2014 USA brass plumbing but [1]) fixtures, because even with corrosion control, it takes a while (months to years) to build up that protective layer. What people get wrong with pasta is they think they need a strong boil. While the steam is hotter than the liquid, most pasta is in contact with the water and your energy is going into evaporating more water off. Just use a spoon to stir occasionally and use a pot cover to condense the steam back in. [1] http://blogs.edf.org/health/2018/11/06/nsf-61-lead-from-a-new-lead-free-brass-faucet/ http://blogs.edf.org/health/2018/11/06/nsf-61-lead-from-a-ne...
  - omnimus 5y ago
    I must say i am often surprised by practices in other countries. I've never heard of any of this stuff. I am probably completely uninformed or situation here must be very different. Like it seems you have to know so much stuff and have so many systems in place to have water... For example i live in appartent building with central water heater. I absolutely use hot water from it for pasta. Am is it wrong? And letting water to flow for 20s? Why?
    - Scoundreller 5y ago
      If you have copper pipes with lead solder, or fixtures with brass (which will have varying amounts of lead), or lead supply lines from your city, the longer that water sits in contact with those joints/fixtures, the more lead it gets a chance to absorb. So flushing the line gets you 'fresher' water from the municipal line that hasn't dwelled against your smaller diameter dirtier pipe. Can be a big issue in schools for the first kids that drink from the fountains for the day. The water heaters, well, hotter water has higher solubility, so while it sits in pipes, could absorb more from the pipes.