Am I wrong to not run my indoor hotwater heater?
Question:I'm saving about $500/year. A room temperature shower is refreshing. My dishes and clothes look fine after a coldwater wash. What am I missing?
Answers:
I like your thinking. The whole hot water is cleaner than cold water because it evaporates faster is a lie. The hot water kills bacteria (etc.) because bacteria starts dieing at 120 and will totally die in 150. So as far as showers your more relying on the chemicals in your soap to kill the bacteria, because no one takes a shower at 120 degrees F. (Not without blisters anyway) With your laundry you have the same predicament. Except some microscopic critters (like dust Mites) that can handle drowning and most chemicals, yet die at 130, you can get away with that.
The only problem is washing dishes. If you do it by hand you'll need to use a antimicrobial dish soap and you have it. If by machine, you're going to work the machine extra hard because the rinse cycle doesn't start until the water reaches 180. The heating elements are working harder to get the temp from 60 to 180 verses the 120 to 180 it is used to. Count on replacing the elements twice as much. But with all the ammount you save, a few hundred on heating elements every 3-5 years is afffordable.
(all numbers are temperatures in degrees F)
If it's only you...I think that's a great energy conservation idea. If there is anyone else in your household then they must be on the exact same wavelength as you or there will be termoil...
At least you may get a couple of extra years on the hot water heater also...less calcium and lime build up in the shower heads and water faucettes too.
I don't know if it's bad for your system to let it sit dormant, but I do know that you're dishes and clothes may look clean, they aren't getting as clean as they would with hot water. Your dishwasher washes dishes in water too hot for you to put your hands on, and in the end, sanitizes them. If you ever have anyone else using your dishes besides you, I would suggest using your hot water system only to run your dishwasher. You can cut off hot water to supply to your other sources.
As far as your showers and laundry go, I dont think cold water is all that bad. The only issue I can come up with is cleaning. Generally hot water is used to help kill germs and bacteria and because it evaportes faster then cold water. When water sits on counters or floors it can help promote the growth of mold. The first link on soruces is about hot water vs cold for laundry, socks in particular. The second link is a military spec on cleaning in cold water, and is pretty interesting. Overall, and in my opinion, I would use hot water for anything going inside my body, and cool water for everything else.
Something else to keep in mind is an "on demand" hot water system. Some can be expensive, others not, but folks in Germany have been using a similar system for decades to help keep utilty costs down. Check out the third link for info on "On Demand" water systems.
I only hope you drained the water heater before you stopped using it. Other than that, I can think of nothing wrong with not using the water heater. I only use warm water for showers (I am not as hearty as you!). I never use warm water in the washer or dishwasher. Good Luck.
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