As of September 1, 2004, the Ontario building code requires that hot water at household taps not be hotter than 49 degrees Celsius. This code change applies to new construction and home renovations involving water heaters. However, what if your home is older and isn’t directly affected by the code?
With most Canadian hot water heaters set to a temperature of 60 degrees Celsius, tap water can cause serious burns and can happen anywhere that tap water is too hot, including your bath, shower, or sink. Children, the elderly, and those with certain disabilities are at a higher risk of tap water scalding. For example, a child can be scalded by water heated to 60 degrees Celsius within a mere second of contact.
As alarming as that is, these scalds can be easily prevented and putting into action the information that you’ve learned in this article will remove the possibility of such a terrible incident.
Installing a scald protection valve, or mixing valve, can help to control the temperature of your tap water before it leaves your taps. The valve will mix in cooler water whenever needed to ensure that the water at the tap isn’t hotter than 49 degrees Celsius. There are three ways you can use these valves:
Contact one of our expert plumbers to come out to your home for an assessment. Once he has evaluated what the best solution for your home is, he will provide a recommendation and the full cost for doing the work upfront.
