Hot tap water?

Question

Is drinking the water from the hot tap dangerous?

Answer 1

yes,there are lots of harmful bacteria

Answer 2

Low pressure at a tap, or more than one tap could be caused by the following: 1. Lime scale 'fur' in the pipes accumulated over years of use. 2. By coincidence, two separate washers deterioratng at just about the same time, causing a restriction in each tap. Try changing the tap washers, and testing the tap with the new washer to see if there is an immediate improvement.. 3. More than one tap turned on at once. This can cause lowering of the hot water pressure in all hot taps. 4. Separate feeds to the higher and lower pressure hot taps - very unllikely, though. 5. Finally, is there an isolator valve in the hot supply pipe under the sink that has been left partially closed during previous work? Unlikely, but have a look anyway. Consider especially if you live in a hard water area, maybe lime scale 'fur' in the pipes is the problem. Has the pressure in each tap been like this for a long time or has it changed recently? If it suddenly changed not long ago, has any work been done on the plumbing system recently? This can cause loose scale to move down the pipes to a restriction where it partially blocks the pipe. So, there you have it. There could be various causes, and you just have to methodically look for it until you find out what it is. You can't fix a problem until you first find the cause! I would try looking at the tap washers first and fitting a new one to each hot tap that has low pressure on it. You will see what the old tap wsher is like when you take it out, and a new washer is a good idea anyway. Would like to know just what the problem is when you find it! Good Luck! Brian O

Answer 3

It can sometimes be becausespiders etc can get into the suppiy feed tank You will have to check to see if the header tank for the hot water feed is fully covered in. They are supposed to be these days but there are still alot of old ones where the spiders and flies can get in. I won't drink from a hot tap because there is a chance it is not fully enclosed. Get up there and have a look t yours. Good luck!

Answer 4

No. Hot water from the tap is not any different from drinking cold tap water. The only difference is that it's been warmed up through the water heater (boiler).

Answer 5

Yes if the water is VERY hot!

The real problem, if any, COULD be related to how the water is heated.

If its 'instant hot water' then probably little difference from your cold water as it just passes theough a heating system and doesn't hang around.

In older systems where the hot water is held in an immersion heating tank then arguably some of the water could have been standing in the tank and on the metal element for a while. This might make it tainted with metallic taste.

If your hot water tank is part of an old system where it is fed from a header tank, typically up in a loft, then sometime water in the header tank may have been standing for ages...and SOMETIMES it has been known for dead birds to be found in such tanks (maybe got into loft and flew into tank and drowned) SO such water could be rather bacterially loaded...

This is why the 'old wives' still say 'drinking from the hot tap is bad for you'!

You also wouldn't want to drink hot water from taps in commercial buildings/offices/hotels as sometimes they use non-potable water as a cost saving measure (usually warnings about this are posted in wash rooms)

Answer 6

It depends on what type of hot water system you have. If you have a tank in the loft which isn't covered there is a possibility if you don't check it every now and again that something can slip in to it and drown. Working for a water company I have heard of this happening with a bat, a rat, a cat and various birds.
Sorry don't mean to worry you but it's rather interesting to be aware of it.

Answer 7

If you have a combi boiler the only risk is a scalded mouth.

With a conventional system, even if you have a modern cold water cistern with a sealed lid and a bylaw 30 kit, I would not recommend it as there will still be some airborne bacteria that gets into the tank.
If you have an old tank without a proper lid, there may be dead rats, mice, birds and their excrement in the cold water tank so you could be taking your life in your hands.

Answer 8

it depends on where it comes from. in my house, the hot water tank is different to the cold water tap and has usually been sitting in the tank for a while so i would probably not drink hot water from the tap.

Answer 9

Not normally. Some really old houses still have lead plumbing, and the lead in the hot pipes leaches out more than in the cold. And there may be a slightly higher bacterial count, but that's unlikely to be a practical problem.

Answer 10

I would not recommend it as hot water sits in a tank, cold water is fresh running water and safe to drink!

Answer 11

yes hot tap water has a certain type of lead in it {lead like in a pencil}