Hot Water Temp vs. Bacteria

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Yikes!! To all that. Well I believe at 1st glance I am on the same page with a lot of that. Never can be too careful I suspect. Of course I have already gotten the remark on Farcebook, "Now you're getting way to obsessed." But when you have allergies persist through every season for years to sometime not being able to drive for sneezing you look every where. The HW tank was something I'd not considered and I have had it on very low now for several years. Probably around 115F. So it's been up to coming from the kitchen tap now @ 130F for several days. This should be healtier! Jack ":-Dx
 
I stick my hands into a lot of nasty things.

I was cleaning a sewer line yesterday. Cable popped and splashed the crap in my face. Rule #1 keep your mouth close when cabling a drain.

:cool:

My septic backed up a few years ago. Called out a septic contractor, popped the lid and the tank was filled. Had it pumped out and he began to dig. The DB was completely blocked so he pulled on a worn canvas work glove and went to it manually... :eek:

Got everything working and covered it back up. I mentioned that while employed in a new car dealership, we had to watch an OSHA film on work safety and anything you touch (chemicals) bare handed immediately goes into your system. I suggested he buy some plastic gloves or further such activities.

He looked at me then agreed. Now showing how dumb I am, we shook hands at that point... :eek:
 
I agree with all that. You remind me of a time long ago, the 70's, we were renting a building just outside of town for meeting purposes. The tank was filled. The guy was passionate about his "business" that was pumping it and was crouched down next to the tank giving me the 411. While explaining he stuck his finger in the mess. I gasped, thinking he'd made a mistake but he went on like nothing was wrong. You are absolutely right about the skin. It IS an organ of the body and does absorb whatever it comes into contact with. I've known that for decades and therefore am careful about gas, used to wash a lot of car parts in gas with no gloves. Even pain creams and things of such nature are absorbed and you have to be aware. Good stuff there friend! Jack ":-Dx :)
 
...careful about gas, used to wash a lot of car parts in gas with no gloves.

:D

You wanna hear dumb?

GUMOUT aerosol used to clean passages in a carburetor. Usually at least one shot would wind up in an eye. Cuss a little bit and keep on doing it... :eek:

1) Cold is on the left,

2) Hot is on the right,

3) Shiat flows downhill

4) Try and not bite your nails

5) Leave no DNA on work surfaces...
mixed-smiley-002.gif
 
The HW tank was something I'd not considered and I have had it on very low now for several years. Probably around 115F. So it's been up to coming from the kitchen tap now @ 130F for several days. This should be healtier! Jack ":-Dx

If you jacked up the thermostat(s) to 130F, you have a chance of scalding yourself (especially in shower). A tempering valve @ the WH will give internal tank temp of 140F while supplying hot water distribution @ 120F.

You can also plumb the 140F to the washing machine and dishwasher and still have 120F @ the house service line.
 
Being sanitary is much more important in our new THIRD WORLD COUNTRY Ayatollah O'Bama has introduced us to with all of these undocumented illegals and non-compliance with basic health codes (shots - quarantine) as was once done.
It sounds like you are trying to impugn the integrity of our noble leader Barack Hussein. The same noble leader who endeared voters in 2008 when, after learning there would be no photo-ops, he decided to shoot some hoops while our wounded soldiers in Germany with their arms and legs blown off waited in vain for their chance to meet a presidential candidate. The same Obama that left 36 Americans to die in Benghazi while he went to bed and rested up for his fundraiser in Las Vegas the next morning. The same Obama who went golfing while nuclear reactors melted down in Japan. The same Obama who compared himself to Jesus during the memorial service for the innocent people who were killed when Gabby Gifford was shot. I should have bought a really thick journal eight years ago to keep track. After all, he did win the Nobel PEACE Prize in advance for destabilizing the entire Middle East along with most of Europe and Africa. As he has reminded us himself on more than a few occasions, it is our own ignorance that prevents us from understanding the things he does. Hopefully, someday we may gain the knowledge to understand just how deeply he cares for all of us.
 
If you jacked up the thermostat(s) to 130F, you have a chance of scalding yourself (especially in shower). A tempering valve @ the WH will give internal tank temp of 140F while supplying hot water distribution @ 120F.

You can also plumb the 140F to the washing machine and dishwasher and still have 120F @ the house service line.

I have a followup. Now that I have the WH set up to where it's coming out the tap at near 130F, I guess it's slightly hotter there, it travels maybe 10 feet. Is my hot water more germ free or my cold water. Out town is compliant. We get that info all the time. And I know compliant doesn't satisfy professional minds like yours. But my ? again, is my hot water more germ free or the cold. If the hot was I'd just draw off the next days water from the hot tap and let it cool. Thanks! ":-Dx
 
only way to answer your question and put you at ease,, is proof.

agreed?

go to the health department and get 2 specimen bottles.

fill the bottles and return them to the health department along with $ 5.00 [the fee here]

they will run it thru the lab and provide a read out.

all your questions will be answered .
 
Edited: Answered myself on this end. Thanks for all the information! ";-Dx
 
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Okay. On a hunch I called this non-descript building that sits out on the state property by the Delaware Home for the Chronically Ill. About 1 mile away from where I am. Finally after calling numbers to find the correct number I got through. They say the water in my home town is tested frequently, they are using it themselves and drinking it I suppose, but they would be glad to test mine for $4. So I will stop out and get a kit soon. Thanks! ":-Dx
 
It sounds like you are trying to impugn the integrity of our noble leader Barack Hussein.

You can't impugn what the man doesn't have... :cool:

Hopefully, someday we may gain the knowledge to understand just how deeply he cares for all of us.

This man (or whatever machine that got him off the streets of CHI) has done enormous damage(s) during his terms of office to bring down what was once a great nation.

I bet Hitler, Tojo and Stalin are spinning in their graves knowing that this organizer has done more damage than they even conceived of possibly doing.

But he is tough, I will give him that. How many could wakeup each day smelling Michelle's morning breath?
 
I have a followup. Now that I have the WH set up to where it's coming out the tap at near 130F, I guess it's slightly hotter there, it travels maybe 10 feet. Is my hot water more germ free or my cold water.

Your hot water.

Out town is compliant.

So is (was) Flint MI.

We get that info all the time. And I know compliant doesn't satisfy professional minds like yours. But my ? again, is my hot water more germ free or the cold. If the hot was I'd just draw off the next days water from the hot tap and let it cool.

Thanks! ":-Dx

First off, you do not drink water from a tank water heater.

Secondly, what quality water leaves the plant will not be the same after being distributed through mains and your homes distribution system.
 
Your hot water.



So is (was) Flint MI.



First off, you do not drink water from a tank water heater.

Secondly, what quality water leaves the plant will not be the same after being distributed through mains and your homes distribution system.

Yep! Got that. So I'll part with $4 soon. And yes, Biden may live there who knows? Sorry they are ripping you for the extra $1. :D
 
I bet Hitler, Tojo and Stalin are spinning in their graves knowing that this organizer has done more damage than they even conceived of possibly doing.
You forgot to mention Mao Tse Tung, the role model of Obama's close ally, and the dictator that he chose to honor with an ornament on the official White House Christmas tree.

"Community organizer" is the Democratic party's PC term for rabble rouser. Hitler had his humble beginnings too. This story has not fully played out yet. Will he be satisfied that he has jammed his unwashed middle finger into the faces of every American? He still has almost a year to create a sufficient cataclysm to block his succession.

You are right. Given the opportunity, the Christian genocide he would unleash would make Hitler, Tojo, Stalin and Mao Tse Tung look like amateurs.
 
You need 130F to kill legionella bacteria. Since you don't really flush out your hot water tank on a regular basis, the bottom can basically become a petrie dish.
That's a good point. That bottom layer of slime in an electric WH may never get to 130F even if the surrounding water temp is much higher.

By the same logic, that "petrie dish" in a gas WH will get a frequent blast of sterilizing heat even if the thermostat is set to 120F. Should there be different recommendations based on whether gas or electric?

First off, you do not drink water from a tank water heater.
I'm glad I read this thread. There should be public warnings. By common wisdom, most people probably think it's safer.

If not safe to drink, I would think the risk should be considerably greater to wash your face. Your eyes and nasal membranes don't have the high acidity of your stomach as a firewall against invading bacteria.
 
Originally Posted by KULTULZ

First off, you do not drink water from a tank water heater.


I'm glad I read this thread. There should be public warnings. By common wisdom, most people probably think it's safer.

If not safe to drink, I would think the risk should be considerably greater to wash your face. Your eyes and nasal membranes don't have the high acidity of your stomach as a firewall against invading bacteria.

Absorption through the skin should be much less rapid (IMO) than drinking. Much depends on the water source, whether municipal or well, and how it was/is being treated.

If a WH is never serviced, the product should become similar to Bundy Tea... :eek:

And don't forget, in some emergencies (such as a zombie invasion) that water may be the only potable water available for some time.
 

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