Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

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

Hot Cold or whatever...

  • Hot

    Votes: 28 24.6%

  • Cold

    Votes: 62 54.4%

  • O_o Who cares

    Votes: 24 21.1%
  • Total voters
    114
I would put hot water in just to get the water to boil quicker but it takes so long for the hot water to actually get to my faucet, that cold water is all that ever gets into the pot. I need one of those "on demand" hot water systems instead of the antiquated hot water heater in the garage--but it works and its paid for.
 
Yeah, I know some people that have a "piggy-back system" It's both gas and electric, it pulls from whatever is fastest and most efficient at the time.

I have looked at the water heaters that mount right under the kitchen sink...I've thought about that for the master bathroom, since it is the furthest from the water heater (take so long to draw a hot shower.)
0_o
 
wordmunger said:
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?
Click to expand...

Here is the article from the NY Times. "Hot water from the tap should never be used for cooking or drinking. "

January 29, 2008
Really?
The Claim: Never Drink Hot Water From the Tap
By ANAHAD O’CONNOR
THE FACTS

The claim has the ring of a myth. But environmental scientists say it is real.

The reason is that hot water dissolves contaminants more quickly than cold water, and many pipes in homes contain lead that can leach into water. And lead can damage the brain and nervous system, especially in young children.

Lead is rarely found in source water, but can enter it through corroded plumbing. The Environmental Protection Agency says that older homes are more likely to have lead pipes and fixtures, but that even newer plumbing advertised as “lead-free” can still contain as much as 8 percent lead. A study published in The Journal of Environmental Health in 2002 found that tap water represented 14 to 20 percent of total lead exposure.

Scientists emphasize that the risk is small. But to minimize it, the E.P.A. says cold tap water should always be used for preparing baby formula, cooking and drinking. It also warns that boiling water does not remove lead but can actually increase its concentration. More information is at www.epa.gov/lead or (800) 424-5323 (LEAD).

THE BOTTOM LINE

Hot water from the tap should never be used for cooking or drinking.

scitimes@nytimes.com
 
SamIchi said:
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?
Click to expand...
you have a point there..better use our common sense though..
 
So hot water that runs through a boiler picks up more chemicals? Since we're boiling water does it even matter? I thought boiling purifies water. :confused: Anyway, I always use the hot water thinking it can come to a boil a minute faster. Cooking rice and beans takes some time.
 
Cold. Always cold, and always have for all of the reasons cited in the earlier posts. It's interesting to see the proverbial old wives tales (the original instruction on always using cold to cook, and drink, came from my mother oh, several years ago) somehow vindicated. Cheers.
 
Thread resurrection! :p

KingYaba said:
So hot water that runs through a boiler picks up more chemicals? Since we're boiling water does it even matter? I thought boiling purifies water. :confused: Anyway, I always use the hot water thinking it can come to a boil a minute faster. Cooking rice and beans takes some time.
Click to expand...

Running water through pipes and containers in general causes it to acquire new dissolved contents, yeah, naturally. And no, of course boiling it doesn't purify all of those contents out of it, unless you run it through a distilling device also.

Think about it this way -- suppose you run water through a mile of copper piping. It will pick up trace amounts of copper (which is solid at room temp, obviously). It also has some dissolved substances in it that are gases at room temperature, like fluorine. If you boil it, you might get rid of things that are gaseous at the boiling temperature, but how are you going to get rid of the copper? The boiling temperature is 100C... copper melts at over 1000C. You're not going to turn it into a gas. How is it going to escape from the boiling water?

That's the general idea... it's those solid substances in the water (calling them "chemicals" doesn't really mean anything... the water itself is a "chemical") that you acquire in different conveyances and which can affect the taste of the water.

It's going to depend on your taste sensitivities, though, and also the hardware in your home.

It is funny that this thread came up, because I did start letting the cold water run for a few moments before filling my coffee pot. I honestly don't notice a huge difference, though. :eek:
 
wordmunger said:
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.
Click to expand...
How are you supposed to take a shower with hot water then?:confused:
 
Here in Columbus Ohio the local news ran a story about all the local water towers, took video of the insides of them, if you are worried about "hot" water being dirty or having contaminates, I hate to tell ya, cold has just as much. The news showed dead birds in the tanks, rust, and all kinds of other stuff. Yes that is your cold water. Gross. :eek:
 
KingYaba said:
So hot water that runs through a boiler picks up more chemicals? Since we're boiling water does it even matter? I thought boiling purifies water. :confused:
Click to expand...

boiling water will kill bacteria and such, but it doesn't remove lead, rust or other contaminates from the water
 
ShaunPriest said:
Would a water filter eliminate lead?
Click to expand...

Maybe... but if you really think there's a chance your water has lead in it, call up your utility company and have them come down and analyze it. The analyses are available everywhere (in the US at least), and the cost is zero or nominal. They'll be very happy to tell you more about your drinking water.

It's pretty unlikely you have a lead problem in your system, unless you live in a very old home. But again, if there's a chance that it's there, you need to get professional analysis -- using a Brita pitcher is not really the right technique for dealing with lead in the water.
 
d_and_n5000 said:
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?
Click to expand...
I question whether you are actually saving any energy with this method, since your water heater must then apply heat to compensate for the cold water that replaces the water that you have drawn off, plus you have left however many feet of hot water sitting in the supply line between your water heater and the tap, which will then cool to ambient temperature and waste the heat energy it contained when it left the water heater.

For small withdrawals from the water heater, I would submit that the ratio of hot water used to hot water wasted by allowing it to sit in the pipes does not justify it's use in an effort to save some energy on the stove.
 
mkrishnan said:
It is funny that this thread came up, because I did start letting the cold water run for a few moments before filling my coffee pot. I honestly don't notice a huge difference, though. :eek:
Click to expand...

If you could taste the difference you're either not making the coffee strong enough, or you're not burning your tongue on the first sip. Both of which are unforgivable sins of coffee making, at least in my house....

MacNut said:
How are you supposed to take a shower with hot water then?:confused:
Click to expand...

You don't drink the water in your shower or use it to wash/cook your food in it (that is unless you're Kramer) so you actually ingest very little of the shower water..
 
mactastic said:
I question whether you are actually saving any energy with this method, since your water heater must then apply heat to compensate for the cold water that replaces the water that you have drawn off, plus you have left however many feet of hot water sitting in the supply line between your water heater and the tap, which will then cool to ambient temperature and waste the heat energy it contained when it left the water heater.

For small withdrawals from the water heater, I would submit that the ratio of hot water used to hot water wasted by allowing it to sit in the pipes does not justify it's use in an effort to save some energy on the stove.
Click to expand...

Very interesting point.

I wonder how those instant water-heaters stack in comparison.
 
On a health point of view, if you drink/consume the water, draw it from the cold tap. Your hot water heater, unless its new, contains dirt, rust and other very bad things in the bottom of the tank and do contaminate the water. I dumped a 14 year old one out after a leak, and about 3 lbs of rust poured out. Healthy huh. :(
 
exabytes18 said:
Very interesting point.

I wonder how those instant water-heaters stack in comparison.
Click to expand...
Much better. Because you're only heating water when you need it. You're not paying to keep 120 degree water in a cylinder all day while you are at work and all night while you sleep just so you can have hot water whenever you feel like it.

Everyone I know who has installed one has seen their utility bill drop as a result. Of course, there is a higher initial cost, but most people will recover that within a couple of years.
 
Dad says hot water picks up more metels from the pipes than cold, plus there's the boiler thing, too.

I use cold.
 
iMac-Knight said:
On a health point of view, if you drink/consume the water, draw it from the cold tap. Your hot water heater, unless its new, contains dirt, rust and other very bad things in the bottom of the tank and do contaminate the water. I dumped a 14 year old one out after a leak, and about 3 lbs of rust poured out. Healthy huh. :(
Click to expand...
You know that clean out valve on the bottom of the tank, well it has a purpose. You are supposed to flush the sediment out of the tank every few months to get rid of the rust build up and prolong the life of the tank.
 
I usually put hot water in the kettle.

Since it's winter where I live at the moment, it takes a little longer for the water to get hot, so I'm currently putting cold/luke warm water in the kettle.
 
Prof. said:
Cold water. Don't pick up the metal taste from the heater.

Also, we use filtered PUR water when cooking.:cool:
Click to expand...

Tthe PUR filter isn't really removing any bacteria, it's just removing some things that taste bad. If you're using cold water, you're not really changing much. :)

I just kind of pick one. :) I don't 'use' one in specific.
 
Cold. It'd take about 20 seconds for the boiler to kick in and make us warm water anyroad.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back