Safe to drink boiled water from hot tap?

[David P]

I am in the UK. Is it generally safe to drink BOILED water from the hot tap?

My hot water comes from a tank or cistern in the loft and this feeds into a hot water cylinder which is in the house. It doesn't look wonderful inside that tank in the loft but I reckon if I BOILED the water then presumably I will kill the germs.

Is there another reason why I should not drink boiled water from the hot tap? Maybe there are dangerous minerals and some other chemicals found in the hot water system which are unsafe?

Is the caution about this overstated?

BTW - my reasons for wanting to do this is detailed below.

Thanks Dave

[Guy King]

The message from David P contains these words:

Turn up the tank stat a little? Or, if it's a combi, turn down the water flow a bit.

Drinking hot water is less of a problem now than it was, as few houses have lead piping any more. However, until recently most houses had their copper pipes soldered with lead solder, which under certain circumstances may leach out into hot water.

Also, beware of dead pigeons in the cold feed tank if you have one - boiling may kill off the nasties, but it's still pretty distasteful.

[Farooq W]

The germs would do low harm than the rust that might be coming from the tank or the hot water cylinder. Chances of "toxic" mineral are perhaps low since the main water supply is supposed to be quite clean.

[nightjar]

According to the WHO guidelines to disinfection techniques, you need to keep it boiling continuously for about five minutes to be sure of doing that.

Modern cisterns should be insect proof [Water Byelaw 30 (2) or the later Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999], to stop them carrying in disease organisms. The spread of Legionella is one thing linked to insect carriers.

A kettle does not boil water long enough to disinfect it. Why not put less water in the kettle to begin with? If you do this regularly, you should have a fair idea of how much water you will need.

Colin Bignell

[David Hansen]

On Fri, 05 May 2006 07:56:38 +0100 someone who may be David P wrote this:-

Nothing is safe, it is a matter of relative safety.

If the storage tank is made of plastic, properly sized, properly covered, properly protected from intruders, properly insulated and the hot water cylinder is heating the water adequately then there is not a great risk from drinking the water. The main risk would be from legionella if the water has not been heated to a high enough temperature for long enough.

Note that there is nothing to stop poison being delivered to your house via the mains water supply. This has happened but there is little concern about it.

[Dave Fawthrop]

|I am in the UK. Is it generally safe to drink BOILED water from the |hot tap? | |My hot water comes from a tank or cistern in the loft and this feeds |into a hot water cylinder which is in the house. It doesn't look |wonderful inside that tank in the loft but I reckon if I BOILED the |water then presumably I will kill the germs.

Yes, but it is not a good idea, there are other forms of crud in your tank. |Is there another reason why I should not drink boiled water from the |hot tap? Maybe there are dangerous minerals and some other |chemicals found in the hot water system which are unsafe? | |Is the caution about this overstated?

With newer houses the tank has a cover which is an advantage,

|BTW - my reasons for wanting to do this is detailed below.

|Why? I like to hand wash my dishes in very hot water. My hot tap |does not give me water which is quite hot enough. So I fill the |kettle from the hot tap and heat that water up.

|While the dishes soak, I usually think I should make myself a coffee! |But I'm not sure if I can use the boiled water left in the kettle. |Or do I need to ... *groan* throw it away, flush the kettle, fill it |from the cold tap and then boil that.

You are IMO being over cautious. We kill 10 people per day on the roads, I have never heard of anyone dieing from contaminated water in the UK after WWII. The severity of all risks should be judged on past death/illness rates.

In the UK the kitchen tap is fed directly from the rising main and so gets the cleanest water available. It is best to get all drinking and cooking water from the kitchen tap.

The hot water from a *combi* boiler has not been stored and so is good for drinking. It sometimes looks milky, but this is only air and has no effect on portability.

[Dave Fawthrop]

|The message |from David P contains these words: | |> Why? I like to hand wash my dishes in very hot water. My hot tap |> does not give me water which is quite hot enough. | |Turn up the tank stat a little? Or, if it's a combi, turn down the water |flow a bit.

Hot water from Combis is *safe* for drinking, I have that from an EHO.

[Cicero]

"nightjar .uk.com>"

=============================== Just to be clear.....

I assume that you mean a kettle with an automatic switch which switches off after a few seconds of boiling. Other non-automatic kettles can surely boil for the 5 minute period mentioned by another poster.

Cic.

[Dave Fawthrop]

|Note that there is nothing to stop poison being delivered to your |house via the mains water supply. This has happened but there is |little concern about it.

Poison/Toxins are all a matter of dose. In a *very* occasional sad case people have died from drinking fantastic quantities of water, which caused others no problems.

[Ian Stirling]

It does make it a bit lighter per litre.

[|||newspam|||]

If it has been boiled for long enough or at high pressure then it will be made sterile.You should look into a hot or cold water cystern to get an idea why it isn't really recommended to drink water that has been in a header tank unless you really have no other choice.

About 5-10 minutes or the addition of a chemical sterilising solution is generally enough. Water authorities go to great lengths to keep various nasties out of tapwater and some of them will tolerate fairly hot water.

Depending on your pipework it may still not be chemically pure to qualify as potable water. One serious problem in older houses is lead piping where hot slightly acidic water may dissolve some lead. Not good to drink! Less of a problem with copper pipes.

Almost certainly, but do you really want to drink water that has been held nice and warm with a selection of dead spiders, flies, bats, rodents and other loft inhabitants in it?

Since the energy required to sterilise the gunky water from your hot tap is way more than that required to boil the purer water from the cold tap why don't you anticipate your future requirement for a coffee and boil potable cold water in the first place?

Regards, Martin Brown

[unopened]

How does the volume affect the reflection spectrum?

[andyv]

I think that legionnaires disease is a most unlikely outcome. Get the water above 50=BA from your hot water supply and the bacteria will not survive. Even if it did, you'd have to take a shower in it and inhale infected water droplets.

[Owain]

If the water is aerated can the water company be sued or fined for supplying adulterated merchandise, or for the inaccuracy of the water meter reading 1 litre of water when in fact it's less than a litre of water that has been supplied?

Owain

[David Hansen]

On Fri, 05 May 2006 09:24:52 +0100 someone who may be Dave Fawthrop wrote this:-

And the susceptibility of the person who takes it.

[David Hansen]

On 5 May 2006 01:58:26 -0700 someone who may be |||newspam|||@nezumi.demon.co.uk wrote this:-

I did just that a few weeks ago. No dead spiders, flies, bats, rodents or other loft inhabitants in it. There was a little layer of crud, which had come from the mains.

Next contestant please.

[Tom Anderson]

It increases the albedo - so be careful how much you drink, though, or you'll end up with pink eyes and white hair too.

tom

[Pete C]

*Mainly if your hot water pipes are made of lead. .

Maybe a bit...

cheers, Pete.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

FFS, how often do people have to be told the tank should have an approved cover and venting to prevent this?

It's not just drinking the stuff. If you shower or have a bath, there's a good chance you'll get some of that water in your mouth and eyes, etc. So it should be to a decent standard - not from the graveyard of assorted species through your neglect.

[Dave Fawthrop]

|Dave Fawthrop wrote: |> The hot water from a *combi* boiler has not been stored and so is good for |> drinking. It sometimes looks milky, but this is only air and has no effect |> on portability. | |If the water is aerated can the water company be sued or fined for |supplying adulterated merchandise, or for the inaccuracy of the water |meter reading 1 litre of water when in fact it's less than a litre of |water that has been supplied?

Air in water is an *advantage* it improves the taste slightly.