I was chatting with a friend about her high power bill. I asked if maybe her water cylinder was set too high…
Friend: Yes! It’s so hot the kids can just use the hot water straight from the tap to cook their nood—-
Me: Whoa wait, what?! Nooo you gotta stop that.
This is what I told her… Don’t consume the water from the hot tap. Two reasons:
1) Drinking water pipes, fittings, solder, and tapware have lead in them. Hot water pulls the lead from these much better than cold water does, especially since hot water can sit there, absorbing lead, for longer than cold water might.
2) Hot water cylinders may trap lead if sediment from upstream sources deposit it there and undoubtedly the cyclinder components contain lead as well. The bottom of your cylinder might be a sludge of lead and other junk.
Literally the only thing your council is required to do regarding lead in water is publish an ad in your newspaper recommending everyone flush their water before drinking it, to get the stagnant leaded water in your tap out before filling your glass. And they’ll usually mention not to drink the hot water too. But nobody sees this and if they do, they think it’s a temporary notice for something they haven’t heard about.
Avoiding drinking from the hot tap has been a public health recommendation since like forever, even way back to England where their hot water feeder tanks in the attics are made of pure lead. At least we don’t have that, haha. But still, don’t drink or cook from the hot water tap. Definitely don’t use it for making baby formula. Teach your kids! Maybe they will help you remember