4 ms·
Hot water pipes don't have the same potability guarantees as the cold pipes, so this practice would unnecessarily increase your risk of poisoning.
by GrantZvolsky 4y ago
Hot water pipes don't have the same potability guarantees as the cold pipes, so this practice would unnecessarily increase your risk of poisoning.
- analog31 4y agoIn my part of the country, the hot water is softened, so it has an elevated salt content.
- GrantZvolsky 4y agoThis thread has revealed an interesting cultural difference, with me being in the minority that gets hot water from a remote provider, as opposed to having a heating system and heating it myself.
- brutusborn 4y agoI think that depends where you live. Regulations in my location changed so that hot had to have the same configuration as cold (and supposedly the same potability?). Old houses in the area have separate taps for hot / cold whereas newer houses built after the change have combined hot/cold.
- ars 4y agoThe hot water tank has a magnesium or aluminum anode. You should ABSOLUTELY not drink that water!! Find an old tank and open it, and you'll never even consider drinking that water.
- notjtrig 4y agoHot water tanks and heating elements corrode over time.
- rootusrootus 4y agoThe tank is lined with glass, it shouldn't corrode unless that surface gets broken.
- sgerenser 4y agoThe sacrificial anode rod is designed to corrode. Depending on its composition that means higher concentration of aluminum or magnesium in the water.
- mbreese 4y agoI don’t know why I think this, but I have it in my head that hot water heaters can have more mineral build up. This is why I always thought you should use cold water. Even though the hot was still drinkable, it might be harder water. I have no idea if this is accurate.
- jahewson 4y agoCorrect. Water heaters fill with sediment and should be flushed annually. Of course, nobody does this.
- EamonnMR 4y agoAnecdotally, sometimes your hot water heater or holding tank will rust off a piece and turn your water iron-rich.
- bombcar 4y agoSometimes houses with water softeners will run non-softened water to the cold tap on the kitchen sink for cooking purposes, as some people don't want the salted water.
- bpodgursky 4y agoYeah hot water can leach metals from the pipes that you really don't want to be drinking. This could either just taste bad, or add unhealthy amounts of lead and copper. I would not use this plumber.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- rootusrootus 4y agoWe are fast approaching a time when all houses have pex. At this point we've been using it in new construction for decades, and most houses with original galvanized pipes are either already replaced with pex, or getting really close.
- 4y ago
- GrantZvolsky 4y agoIf your water provider says it's potable I'm not going to question it, but I have yet to see a provider that makes such a claim about their hot water. It is difficult to make a statement that would apply worldwide, but where I live, it is easier to keep legionella out of cold water even if the infrastructure for hot and cold is the same.[1] [1]: [Czech language] https://www.moni.cz/aktuality/tepla-voda-jako-pitna https://www.moni.cz/aktuality/tepla-voda-jako-pitna
- brutusborn 4y agoWe are supplied cold water which then goes through a hot water system. My understanding was that the new configuration required the use of check-valves to prevent backflow in such a way as to reduce the risk of cross-contamination between hot/cold. I'm guessing this is now irrelevant because hot water system standards have changed to reduce risk of corrosion / infections occurring, but there is also a chance I was getting mixed up with UK regulations [0]. [0] https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-42948046 https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-42948046
- cyounkins 4y agoHot water heaters frequently have sacrificial anode rods to prevent corrosion. The rods corrode over time and dissolve into the water. Lower cost aluminum rods have health concerns, not as much with magnesium rods. See also Tom Scott's video on Britain's history with separate hot and cold taps and why hot taps sometimes had unsanitary cold water tanks to supply them: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfHgUu_8KgA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfHgUu_8KgA
- IshKebab 4y agoDepends on your heating system surely?
- BrandoElFollito 4y agoRecommendations for Belgium: do not drink the hot water For Geneva: you can drink the hot water For France: you can drink the hot water but it is disgusting All of them talk about the same effects (fisdolved oxygen, piping ,...) and come to different conclusions. My take on that: nobody questions the potability of cold tap water so I will use that one, there is nothing to gain (possibly a shorter time to boil? that trumps the extra cost?)