Bring Your Kitchen Into the Future With a Boiling Water Tap
0If you love steaming hot water on tap and want to bring your kitchen into the future, a boiling water tap is an easy addition that solves a lot of problems. This one little change to your sink set up will also free up worktop space for a streamlined finish.
Safety
A boiling water tap has a built in safety feature that allows only the press of a button to activate the boiler and dispense hot boiled water. This prevents scalding injuries caused by accidentally leaving the tap running as you carry out another task such as cleaning or cooking.
A boil water advisory is a precautionary measure when unsafe bacteria, viruses or parasites are detected in the public drinking supply. Boiling kills certain bacteria, waterborne viruses and parasites (including E. coli, Salmonella and Rotavirus) but does not remove hundreds of other harmful contaminants that survive the heat like heavy metals, chemicals, dissolved solids and chlorine. A high quality water filter is the best way to remove these unsafe contaminants during a boil order.
Most water scalding incidents happen in the home and are most common for young children, elderly people and people with compromised immune systems. These people are also more likely to experience serious or life threatening illness from these organisms such as diarrhea and vomiting (1).
Safe Kids Canada works with water and injury prevention partners to develop codes, standards and practices for safe water temperatures in buildings. This includes a focus on community engagement in this process as a way to promote safer water temperatures. This is in part why a document compiled by Safe Kids Canada was sent to decision makers and product standard development groups, including plumbing and building industry representatives (2).
Convenience
A boiling water tap is a great addition to any kitchen. It eliminates the need to boil a kettle which can be a time-consuming process, freeing up space on your countertops for an uncluttered finish.
Boiling water taps come equipped with an in-cupboard fully insulated tank which heats the water and stores it – you simply turn on your tap, select your temperature and you have instantaneous boiling hot water! This means you can make that morning cup of tea or brew your favourite hot drink in seconds.
Some models also provide filtered hot and cold water so you can have crisp, clean, taste-enhancing water for drinking straight from the tap. This will help you keep hydrated and healthy, especially after a long day.
Another handy feature is the ability to pour boiling water straight into pans – a much faster and more efficient way of cooking, especially when making noodles or cous cous. You can even use it to steam vegetables or quickly defrost food. Plus, the taps’ point-of-use system means there’s minimal loss of heat due to short distance travel. This helps reduce your energy bills as you’re not boiling your water over and over again!
Design
With boiling water literally on tap, you’ll be able to make cups of tea, instant coffee, pasta and much more – even sterilising baby bottles. Plus, with a wide range of styles and finishes to choose from, you’ll be able to find the perfect boiler tap for your kitchen.
Instant hot and boiling water taps use a combination of insulated tanks and thermos technology to store the boiling water, which is stored at 100oC. This means that the water is always ready to dispense in just the press of a button, saving you time and energy by cutting out the need to boil kettles and using less electricity.
Boiling water taps typically come with child safety features, like dual stage control levers that require both the left and right side to be pressed simultaneously in order to activate the steaming hot water, plus a spout that’s insulated and safe to touch. For even more safety, many of the latest designs, such as the Pronteau 4In1 offer ProBoil 3, a smart software-controlled system that ensures the tap only dispenses water at the correct temperature to help reduce the risk of scalding.
Some models also include a built-in nano-phosphate filter and a 2.4L water tank to provide instant, near-boiling, filtered drinking water. This reduces chlorine, lead, turbidity and other impurities to provide clean, healthy water that’s fresh and balanced.
Energy efficiency
Many people are unsure what the difference is between a hot tap and a boiling water tap. They both serve the same purpose of dispensing water, but there are a few key differences between the two.
Boiling water taps use a small thermally-insulated tank that is connected to your power supply, which stores the boiled water until it’s needed. The tank is heated with an electric heater which enables it to dispense the water at a high temperature instantly.
This tap also uses far less energy than a traditional kettle, which requires much more to heat up water to the required temperature. This is because they only use as much water as needed, meaning that there’s no excess energy consumption.
In addition, some models have features that help to reduce the chance of accidental scalding. This is because these taps usually come fitted with child locks and are often insulated to prevent people from touching the hot pipework.
Another time-saving benefit of a boiling water tap is that it can allow you to cook food or make hot drinks faster than using a kettle. This is because the tap allows you to pour boiling water directly into pans for quick cooking, or even dispense hot water over noodles or couscous for speedy and easy soups. Most models also feature filtered cold water which eliminates the need for an extra separate tap in your kitchen or a costly water filter that takes up valuable fridge space.