You Shouldn’t Drink Hot Water From Your Tap
December 10, 2009 at 1:34 am Chad Upton 3 comments
Household tap water is usually heated in a hot water tank or by an inline water heater. Water tanks particularly, collect sediments overtime and are breeding grounds for bacteria. You might be thinking that bacteria cannot survive in hot water, but you need water above 165 degrees Fahrenheit to kill most bacteria. That’s why your meat thermometer recommends you cook chicken until that internal temperature is reached.
Hot water also dissolves contaminants such as lead that may be found in the solder of your hot water pipe. Newer copper tubing and fittings or PEX (plastic) pipes would be safer in this respect.
If you’ve ever read the manual for your coffee maker, it clearly states that you should make coffee using cold water. This is not because the temperature of the water makes better coffee, it’s because you should only consume tap water from the cold side of the tap.
If you need water that is always hot, there are food grade water heaters that you can use. For example, you may have a water cooler/heater or an installation under your kitchen sink for dispensing water that is always hot. Otherwise, always use cold water and then heat it in a kettle, microwave, pot…etc.
BrokenSecrets.com
Sources: MIT, Everything2.com, CooksRecipes.com
Photo: Malla Mi (Creative Commons)
Entry filed under: Around The House, Food and Drink, ProTips. Tags: cold, cooking, drinking, faucet, hot, lead, potable, safety, tap, water.
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How to Sterilize Your Toothbrush « Broken Secrets | March 30, 2010 at 12:20 am
[...] Heat is probably the most misunderstood method of sterilization. It is a popular practice to boil baby products in water and if the duration is long enough, it may disinfect them but it does not sterilize them. The boiling method is really good at removing particles, which can be a source of bacteria, but is not great at killing the bacteria itself. If you do use this method, be sure to start with cold water since hot water from your tap is already a bacteria risk (see: why you shouldn’t drink hot water from your tap). [...]
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Demand | April 7, 2011 at 3:59 am
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3.
Dishwasher Detergent Has Bleach In It « Broken Secrets | July 29, 2011 at 8:43 pm
[...] In an earlier post, I talked about hot water from your water heater. It’s great for loosening dirt in clothes and it makes your showers comfortable, but it is a breading ground for bacteria. [...]