When you boil water, do you put hot or cold tap water in the kettle?

[SamIchi]

I've always put cold, but then I got thinking, why not just put hot water in the kettle it will boil faster. It's almost boiling if I leave the tap on hot.

I always thought that the hot water had contaminants or somethin', but that wouldn't make much sense since it's hot it would kill off some of the bad stuff right? Am I thinking too much again?

 

[techlover828]

I've always put cold, but then I got thinking, why not just put hot water in the kettle it will boil faster. It's almost boiling if I leave the tap on hot.

I always thought that the hot water had contaminants or somethin', but that wouldn't make much sense since it's hot it would kill off some of the bad stuff right? Am I thinking too much again?

the cold water is somehow more pure I know, maybe because it hasn't been run through the boiler or whatever.

 

[gauchogolfer]

Hot water tends to pick up more chemicals from the hot water boiler than cold water does, which can give it a funny taste. Hot water would indeed kill off more bacteria, but what you're really tasting are things like copper/lead/whatever is in your pipes.

Having said that, I usually just go straight for hot water, unless it's for making something like tea. For boiling pasta/vegetables, I go the quick route

 

[AliensAreFuzzy]

I don't really care, I just flip the faucet on and fill 'er up.

 

[ravenvii]

I don't really care, I just flip the faucet on and fill 'er up.

^ What he said.

 

[Prof.]

Cold water. Don't pick up the metal taste from the heater.

Also, we use filtered PUR water when cooking.

 

[twoodcc]

I don't really care, I just flip the faucet on and fill 'er up.

that's pretty much what i do as well

 

[MaciMac]

I also go for the cold water.

Can't wait until the water is fully warmed up

 

[ucfgrad93]

I use cold water.

 

[mkrishnan]

Hot water tends to pick up more chemicals from the hot water boiler than cold water does, which can give it a funny taste. Hot water would indeed kill off more bacteria, but what you're really tasting are things like copper/lead/whatever is in your pipes.

So is this why directions for making coffee (e.g. the 1 Tbsp / cup instructions on the side of the bag) specifically say to use cold water?

 

[brn2ski00]

Cold, why waste the $$$$ ?!

 

[Hawkeye411]

I always use cold for boiling water and cooking and I always let the tap run for a bit before using the water.

 

[QuarterSwede]

I generally use cold water because our stove heats water up very fast and I don't want to wait for the hot water to get hot.

 

[techlover828]

actually at my dads I have an insta-hot, so handy

 

[brn2ski00]

I've always put cold, but then I got thinking, why not just put hot water in the kettle it will boil faster. It's almost boiling if I leave the tap on hot.

I always thought that the hot water had contaminants or somethin', but that wouldn't make much sense since it's hot it would kill off some of the bad stuff right? Am I thinking too much again?

In older hot water heaters, the heating coils are totally exposed to the water allowing a more "dirtier" final product. I don't think that this is the case with newer furnaces/hot water heaters.

 

[d_and_n5000]

I always figured that I had a hot water heater running to give me hot water. Why should I use cold water to boil with and use more energy to get it to boiling when I already have hot water at the ready and can save energy on the cooktop because the water is already hot?

 

[~Shard~]

Cold water from our RO system - nicely filtered, no crap to worry about.

 

[Nicolecat]

These might help...

How To Boil Water:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2295_boil-water.html

How To Boil Water Faster:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2223522_boil-water-faster.html

 

[wordmunger]

I can't remember where I saw it, but I recently read in a reputable source -- either the NY Times or Scientific American -- that hot water picks up lead and other heavy metals in the pipes. These can potentially cause serious health problems. So you should boil cold water.

 

[Nicolecat]

Yup that's in the links that I posted...
But, this is only really something to worry about if you live in an older home.

 

[ChrisA]

I can't remember where I saw it, but I recently read in a reputable source -- either the NY Times or Scientific American -- that hot water picks up lead and other heavy metals in the pipes. These can potentially cause serious health problems. So you should boil cold water.

At least here where I live in California lead and so on has been banned from use in domestic plumbing for years. However houses can be 100 years old (yes even here in Redondo Beach, CA we have 100 year old houses) but the pipes and fixtures in my house are lead free. My water heater is lined with glass andheated with natural gas.

I do use cold water unless by chance the all the cool water is already flushed from the line and hot water is availavle without waiting then I use hot water.

 

[Zwhaler]

Hot water tends to pick up more chemicals from the hot water boiler than cold water does, which can give it a funny taste. Hot water would indeed kill off more bacteria, but what you're really tasting are things like copper/lead/whatever is in your pipes.

Having said that, I usually just go straight for hot water, unless it's for making something like tea. For boiling pasta/vegetables, I go the quick route

I always use hot water when cooking hot beverages or cupnoodles, and I have never noticed any taste difference. But maybe thats because after I burn myself trying to eat it I can't taste anything anyway

 

[Antares]

I use filtered tap water which I keep in the fridge. Otherwise, I would just use cold water out of the faucet.

 

[wordmunger]

At least here where I live in California lead and so on has been banned from use in domestic plumbing for years. However houses can be 100 years old (yes even here in Redondo Beach, CA we have 100 year old houses) but the pipes and fixtures in my house are lead free. My water heater is lined with glass andheated with natural gas.

I do use cold water unless by chance the all the cool water is already flushed from the line and hot water is availavle without waiting then I use hot water.

Dang, I wish I could find that article. The claim was that even with modern plumbing systems it's still a problem. Maybe because of the connection from the water heater?

 

[Nicolecat]

Man...I just don't have the first clue where to find that article.
Not the first clue.

Link again...I'm pretty sure this is what you're talking about.
http://www.ehow.com/how_2223522_boil-water-faster.html
..."And finally, the big question, DOES cold water boil faster than hot water? The answer is no, regardless of the common household urban myth. Occasionally, common sense does prevail. If you think about it, cold water has to BECOME hot water before it becomes boiling water. The thing is, for sink water to become hot water, it has to pass through the water heater, which is less sanitary than your regular plumbing, and if your house is old enough to have lead pipes, running hot water through them will actually extract more poisonous lead than cold. You could always run hot tap water through a Britta filter but... why would you?"

No hard feelings.