Do you use hot tap water when cooking?- Lead exposure?

medola

Wed, Feb 01 2012, 8:32 pm

DH thinks I should be careful to always fill the pot with cold water from the tap when I need to boil the water for pasta or something. I've always filled it with hot tap water because I feel it cuts the boiling time significantly. DH is convinced that I'm lead poisoning the whole family, b/c he claims there's lead in most water pipes and a higher % in hot water.
Have you ever heard of this? I did a google search and found the CDC website , but it doesn't look like it's a huge health threat...
Does anyone else only use cold water when they need to boil a pot? I always thought the hot tap water was a brilliant shortcut! What should I do? I really can't stand waiting for water to boil from ice cold, I feel like it takes f....o....r.....e....v....e.....r....!

chanahlady

Wed, Feb 01 2012, 9:01 pm

It's not a good idea to use hot tap water for cooking. Hot water is more likely to carry unwanted things such as lead. What I do is put about 1 inch of cold water in the pot, then put that on to boil. Meanwhile, I fill my electric teapot and once that's boiling, I pour that into the pot. It cuts down the time, and saves us from whatever nasties lurk in the hot water.

This is what the EPA says:
http://water.epa.gov/drink/inf.....1.cfm

Only Use Cold Water for Consumption
Use only water from the cold-water tap for drinking, cooking, and especially for making baby formula. Hot water is likely to contain higher levels of lead.The two actions recommended above are very important to the health of your family. They will probably be effective in reducing lead levels because most of the lead in household water usually comes from the plumbing in your house, not from the local water supply.

MiracleMama

Wed, Feb 01 2012, 9:03 pm

No. I learned it leaches lead out of the pipes. So I always used cold since hearing this. And now we have a good quality filter on our sink to keep all that junk out, but it still only works with cold water.

OOTBubby

Wed, Feb 01 2012, 9:08 pm

While I agree there may be other reasons not to use hot water, I'm not so sure about the lead in your home plumbing at least if your home is on the newer side. Most newer plumbing (ours is over 20 years old) is made of PVC (white plastic-like material) not lead or any kind of metal. There may be some metal pipes right at the water heater (though that part of our home is much older, close to 65 years), but not elsewhere.

medola

Wed, Feb 01 2012, 11:57 pm

Wow. This is all truly blowing my mind.
I can't believe ppl are this conscious about the lead in (hot) tap water!
I guess I'll have to be more careful.
But, come on, does anyone really run the tap for 2 MINUTES before having a glass of water?? I tried it tonight, but don't think I made it past like 26 seconds before my patience ran out....

Thanks, everyone!

shanie5

Thu, Feb 02 2012, 12:13 am

medola wrote:

I try to, but probably last the same 30 seconds or so most of the time too!

TranquilityAndPeace

Thu, Feb 02 2012, 12:24 am

Medola, don't feel bad. I happen to have been raised knowing this about hot water, but I was also raised with the words, "those pesticides on fruits and veggies are meant to stay on during rainstorms, so it doesn't help to wash them." My mother never washed fruits and veggies, and when I realized that everyone else does, I tried to incorporate it in my kitchen, but I still sometimes forget.

Raizle

Thu, Feb 02 2012, 12:57 am

medola wrote:

we do that in the morning when the tap hasn't been used all night. During the day it's turned on and off often enough that I don't think it's necessary.
I sent you a pm by the way.

Raizle

Thu, Feb 02 2012, 1:00 am

TranquilityAndPeace wrote:

The other reason we wash fruit and vegetables is because of certain nasty bacterias that sometimes can be an issue. You don't want to mess with that. Try not to forget.

http://nutrition.about.com/od/.....s.htm

Quote:

......Once your fruits and vegetables were ready for harvest, they were handled by several different pairs of hands in the fields and orchards, then in the warehouses, and finally again in your grocery store. Bacteria such as Listeria, Salmonella and E. Coli may all be lurking on your fruits and vegetables, whether they are organically grown or conventionally grown. These bacteria all cause food-borne illness and need to be washed away from your produce......

shoeboxgirly

Thu, Feb 02 2012, 4:01 am

I don't use the hot tap in cooking. Dh does. It has, for us at least, a lot to do with the houses we grew up in, the presence of lead and the hot water tank system (open tank = bugs eugh).

I grew up in a pre-war house, his parents house was built in the 70s, very different water systems.

I also get cross with him if he doesn't run the cold tap for a minute or two before making a cold drink because in mixer taps especially it isn't properly cold straight away...he's welcome to a warmish glass of water, but it's not for me.

sarahd

Thu, Feb 02 2012, 5:16 am

I always used to use cold water, but when we moved into our house my dh decided I was nuts. All our pipes are new and there is no lead in them, so what for? So now I use hot water to cook with.

mummy-bh

Thu, Feb 02 2012, 5:17 am

I always thought you're not supposed to use hot water for cooking/drinking, because the water sits in the hot water tank for a while, thereby potentially increasing bacteria, whereas the cold water comes directly to your tap on demand.

red_velvet

Thu, Feb 02 2012, 10:38 am

mummy-bh wrote:

Then won't the bacteria get killed when the water cooks/boils? I don't understand how this can still be a problem even in the newer houses that use non-metal piping?

Liba

Thu, Feb 02 2012, 10:44 am

My house is 11 years old and the pipes are all plastic so I most certainly don't worry about lead. I also don't generally have hot water available from the tap for washing dishes or cooking. I use boiling water from my stainless steel hot water urn. Smile