In another thread we are currently discussing if it was safe make a cup
of coffee from water which had been taken from the hot water tap (US:
faucet) and boiled for a brief period in an automatic kitchen kettle.


See "Safe to drink boiled water from hot tap?"
Google groups = http://tinyurl.com/oqdya
direct =


However what about brushing your teeth? Most people would brush their
teeth using water from the cold tap in the bathroom.

Maybe, jus maybe, water from the hot tap in the bathroom is safer than
from the cold? The following post in the original thread started off
my line of thinking:

On 05 May 2006, Dave Plowman wrote in the original thread:

... 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?

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.


My own hot water tank is in the roofspace and it gets a feed from the
rising water main to the house and the tank has a tight fitting cover.

However the cold water tank in my roofspace is much older and had a
damaged top and I can see the base of the tank is full of crud.

It seems that I am nrushing my teeth using water from the worse one !!!

This must be true in millions of households. Many have a heating system
like mine with hot & cold tanks in their roofspace plus a hot water
cylinder. {1}. And maybe they too have their cold water in the bathroom
supplied from their tank in the roofspace.

In an old house the heating system is quite likely to be much newer (say
five to 10 years) that the cold water system (say 30 to 40 years).

In future, should I use the hot water tap (before the water runs too
hot!) to brush my teeth?


Thanks for any feedback
Ravid

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sci.med.nuitrition added
original cross-list = uk.food+drink.misc uk.d-i-y sci.chem


{1} open-vented fully-pumped system fitted with combined feed & vent