Cold water not cold

[Jboduch]

I’m curious why our kitchen faucet cold water never seems to get cold? It’s on the warm side of lukewarm.

Thank you in advance.

[Kenswing]

I’m curious why our kitchen faucet cold water never seems to get cold? It’s on the warm side of lukewarm.

Thank you in advance.

Because most of the water that comes to your house is coming from one of the water tower tanks. That water is sitting up there getting beat on by the sun all day long.

[Malsua]

Because most of the water that comes to your house is coming from one of the water tower tanks. That water is sitting up there getting beat on by the sun all day long.

Not to mention the ground temp is probably 70 degrees, so then are the pipes.

[pjwenz]

Pipes are not buried deep enough.

[Stu from NYC]

That is why we use quite a bit of ice

[MrFlorida]

Cold water is not really cold, it's just not hot ...

[Safety Ranger]

obviously not from the south...

[Papa_lecki]

When your house was built, it was cheaper to plumb luke warm water to the house vs cold water, it’s all about the evil Developer trying to save a buck.

[retiredguy123]

OP, are you saying that the cold water in the kitchen has a warmer temperature than other faucets in the house? If so, I would measure the water temperature difference. There should not be a significant difference after running the water for long period. If it is, you may be getting some hot water mixing with the cold.

[Bill14564]

OP, are you saying that the cold water in the kitchen has a warmer temperature than other faucets in the house? If so, I would measure the water temperature difference. There should not be a significant difference after running the water for long period. If it is, you may be getting some hot water mixing with the cold.

Along those lines, if the house has a hot water recirculating system then that could cause the cold water side to be warm initially.

[Kelevision]

Did you really think before you made that ridiculous statement?

If you do not live here in TV, then shut up, you have no skin in the game. If you do live here, then move. You have options.

Was that person serious? I read it as sarcasm

[Bogie Shooter]

Was that person serious? I read it as sarcasm

Yep, “evil developer” was the clue! 😄

[Stu from NYC]

Did you really think before you made that ridiculous statement?

If you do not live here in TV, then shut up, you have no skin in the game. If you do live here, then move. You have options.

Sarcasm Sheldon

[Papa_lecki]

Did you really think before you made that ridiculous statement?

If you do not live here in TV, then shut up, you have no skin in the game. If you do live here, then move. You have options.

It was a joke.
I live in the villages, and love it.

[walterray1]

I’m curious why our kitchen faucet cold water never seems to get cold? It’s on the warm side of lukewarm.

Thank you in advance.

It is because we live in Florida. When we lived in Vermont the cold water was cold. Different climate. Get yourself a refrigerator that has a water dispenser. Problem solved.

[Inexes@aol.com]

Did you really think before you made that ridiculous statement?

If you do not live here in TV, then shut up, you have no skin in the game. If you do live here, then move. You have options.

Are you related to Sheldon.......
ZOOOOOMMMMM

[4$ALE]

Are you related to Sheldon.......
ZOOOOOMMMMM


Bazinga

[ThirdOfFive]

I’m curious why our kitchen faucet cold water never seems to get cold? It’s on the warm side of lukewarm.

Thank you in advance.
New to TV, right?

This subject seems to come up every year towards the end of spring. Just how it is here for apparently most people, and it won't get cold no matter how long you run it--just drives up the water bill.

[Stu from NYC]

new to tv, right?

This subject seems to come up every year towards the end of spring. Just how it is here for apparently most people, and it won't get cold no matter how long you run it--just drives up the water bill.

ice, lots of ice

[Battlebasset]

It reduces the energy requirement to heat your water, so bonus.

Add ice to the water you want to drink. Problem solved.

[coffeebean]

I’m curious why our kitchen faucet cold water never seems to get cold? It’s on the warm side of lukewarm.

Thank you in advance.

Wait until the winter months. The tap water will be cold but........not nearly as cold as the water in New York in the winter.

[Velvet]

I noticed it too. In the summer time the cold water faucet delivers semiwarm water. The answer is to use the fridge water for drinking. Or add ice cubes.

[Bogie Shooter]

Amazing what can be learned on TOTV.
Add ice to warm water to make it cold!:doh::doh::shocked::clap2:

[Sandee K]

I’m curious why our kitchen faucet cold water never seems to get cold? It’s on the warm side of lukewarm.

Thank you in advance.

Maybe because the pipes are the temperature of environment?

[Kelevision]

In the winter months I have my shower handle set to 11 o’clock and in the summer around 1-2 o’clock. Big difference when the “cold” water is “florida cold”

[Bjeanj]

When we lived in Indiana, we were on well water. It was icy cold, so when we moved here I noticed the “cold” tap water is lukewarm at best. Big difference.

[barbnick]

Your in Florida????

[Villager24]

I’m curious why our kitchen faucet cold water never seems to get cold? It’s on the warm side of lukewarm.

Thank you in advance.
When I moved from Houston to Denver that was one of the first things I noticed; the cold water was cold. Just a north/south thing.

[Sandy and Ed]

Was that person serious? I read it as sarcasm
I LOVE this site. Always makes my day. Makes me remember that Eastwood movie. The good the bad and the ugly.

[Sandy and Ed]

Wait until the winter months. The tap water will be cold but........not nearly as cold as the water in New York in the winter.
……..or summer

[My Daily Run]

Call the water dept...they must have run out of ice...������������������

[Rzepecki]

I’m curious why our kitchen faucet cold water never seems to get cold? It’s on the warm side of lukewarm.

Thank you in advance.

The water lines in TV are only buried 12” compared to, say, Michigan where they are buried 4’ so they don’t freeze in the winter. The ground temperature is warmer at 12”.

[justjim]

Nice silver lining, you dont have to spend any energy to thaw your water pipes.

[Laker14]

ice, lots of ice

don't forget the gin.

[midiwiz]

I’m curious why our kitchen faucet cold water never seems to get cold? It’s on the warm side of lukewarm.

Thank you in advance.

LMAO it's pretty obvious. welcome to Florida we are in the south. No matter where in this state that you are the cold isn't cold like up north. cold at best is luke warm pretty easy to figure out why. IT'S HOT and the water table is only a few feet under us.

[midiwiz]

The water lines in TV are only buried 12” compared to, say, Michigan where they are buried 4’ so they don’t freeze in the winter. The ground temperature is warmer at 12”.

btw that wouldn't matter our old house ines were 3 ft under same diff.

[SaucyJim]

Are you related to Sheldon.......
ZOOOOOMMMMM

I think you meant “Bazinga!”

🤓

[SaucyJim]

Amazing what can be learned on TOTV.
Add ice to warm water to make it cold!:doh::doh::shocked::clap2:

Funny. All this time I’ve been adding warm water to the ice to melt it. Hmmm…

[mlmarr]

I’m curious why our kitchen faucet cold water never seems to get cold? It’s on the warm side of lukewarm.

Thank you in advance.

you are now living in Florida/water is never really cold .. another reason to always use cold water setting in the washer... its really a warm water

[Villagesgal]

Personally, I love my "cold" showers in the summertime.
Seriously, pipes in the ground are warmed by the sun. The water will get cold in the winter. Get used to it down here in the South.

[MrFlorida]

The best one was the lady that thought she shared a mailbox, because she could see people inside....LOL

[OhioBuckeye]

Yes you’re right, plus the pipes that come in your house aren’t down in the ground far enough. Just my opinion!

[retiredguy123]

The best one was the lady that thought she shared a mailbox, because she could see people inside....LOL
How about the lady who kept walking from her house to the mailbox because her computer was telling her she had mail.

[bark4me]

obviously not from the south...
Clearly

[bark4me]

I’m curious why our kitchen faucet cold water never seems to get cold? It’s on the warm side of lukewarm.

Thank you in advance.
Ummmmm.... You aware that you live in the state of Florida, right? It's located in the south just in case you forgot.

[RRGuyNJ]

I’m curious why our kitchen faucet cold water never seems to get cold? It’s on the warm side of lukewarm.

Thank you in advance.

It's probably normal due to the high heat and that water mains are not nearly as deep in the ground as places up north. If you want to be sure then turn off the hot water under the sink and run the cold water. If there is no change in temperature, then you know it's not a problem with your faucet. Good luck and stay cool.

[retiredguy123]

The water lines in TV are only buried 12” compared to, say, Michigan where they are buried 4’ so they don’t freeze in the winter. The ground temperature is warmer at 12”.
There are actually places in Alaska where the freeze line is so deep that the water supply pipe needs to be installed aboveground and heated to prevent freezing.

[Berwin]

My in-laws who lived in Sun City, AZ would turn off their water heater in the summer and use the hot water tap for cold water and the cold water tap for hot water. The water heater was inside so it was in the air conditioned space and much cooler that way.

[Battlebasset]

Going a different direction on this, but wonder why we don't see more use of solar for hot water in Florida (not talking about pools)? Funny that we spend tons of money to try to turn sunlight into electricity, when the natural use would be to heat water.

If I want to water my plants with a hose in summer, I literally have to run two gallons into a bucket to get the water cool enough to not boil the plants.

[Stu from NYC]

Don't listen to the mean ones. They probably have dimentia.

Not funny at all

[Larry P.]

The OP was just asking a question, he was not complaining and probably did not need an explanation of how to get cold water.......

[Stu from NYC]

The OP was just asking a question, he was not complaining and probably did not need an explanation of how to get cold water.......

Have you ever seen a lengthy thread on here that did not wander off course with people trying to supply helpful info to OP or others?

[Byte1]

Unless you have a really good whole house filter, you probably won't want to know how bad the "tap" water is here. When I change my filter, every six months, it is covered in brown slimy mud-like substance. Nasty looking. I make my coffee and iced tea via the refrigerator filtered water. I am still not too enthusiastic about the water.

[New Englander]

I’m curious why our kitchen faucet cold water never seems to get cold? It’s on the warm side of lukewarm.

Thank you in advance.

I use a Britta water pitcher. Fill it at the sink. The water goes through the filter and I keep it in the refrigerator. Works well for me.

[Bogie Shooter]

Have you ever seen a lengthy thread on here that did not wander off course with people trying to supply helpful info to OP or others?

Or never read another post except OP……and post the same thing over and over.:censored:

[Princeton]

I’m curious why our kitchen faucet cold water never seems to get cold? It’s on the warm side of lukewarm.

Thank you in advance.

I have the same problem. It has nothing to do with Florida. It’s because they’ve change the piping to be that cheap PVC plastic stuff and it picks up the heat. I had regular copper pipes in my old house (Palm Harbor FL), Water was always cold, out of the faucet, no matter how hot it got outside. As far as water towers go, I haven’t seen any around But if there are, that could be a problem too

[d1nod1no]

was that person serious? I read it as sarcasm

users are not allowed to direct comments toward another user.

[Bogie Shooter]

I have the same problem. It has nothing to do with Florida. It’s because they’ve change the piping to be that cheap PVC plastic stuff and it picks up the heat. I had regular copper pipes in my old house (Palm Harbor FL), Water was always cold, out of the faucet, no matter how hot it got outside. As far as water towers go, I haven’t seen any around But if there are, that could be a problem too
Look up!

[retiredguy123]

Is this really a problem for anyone?

[coffeebean]

……..or summer

Very true.

[Stu from NYC]

Is this really a problem for anyone?

Obviously it is for people used to colder water coming out of the tap.

Thankfully we can get cold water directly from the fridge adding ice to make my drink as cold as I want it to be

[HJBeck]

If you get hot water very quickly in all your faucets throughout your house (I.e. not wait 20 - 25 seconds before you get hot water) then you most likely have a hot water circulating system. Many times to save money on the installation, the installers may use the cold water pipes to circulate the hot water, thus you can get very warm to even hot water from your cold faucets. This is just one explanation for your warm water situation.

[JMintzer]

users are not allowed to direct comments toward another user.

Then why did you respond to (and quote) another poster

[JMintzer]

Going a different direction on this, but wonder why we don't see more use of solar for hot water in Florida (not talking about pools)? Funny that we spend tons of money to try to turn sunlight into electricity, when the natural use would be to heat water.

If I want to water my plants with a hose in summer, I literally have to run two gallons into a bucket to get the water cool enough to not boil the plants.

You "literally have boiling water" coming out of your hose? So hot that it "boils your plants"?

[Byte1]

You "literally have boiling water" coming out of your hose? So hot that it "boils your plants"?

Maybe they have a black hose...:shrug:

[Laker14]

I never thought about the effect of the heat and sun on the water towers. It got me thinking about those things. Anybody here know what the volume capacity of those things is, and how many days it takes to do a 100% turnaround of the water in there.
I was playing Palmer one day and the big tower on Laurel Valley was being painted. Seeing human beings way up there gave it a frame of reference of size and height. Looking up at those people painting it made me woozy. So did the smell of the paint. But it was pretty cool.

[Stu from NYC]

Then why did you respond to (and quote) another poster

Very confused. If you want to comment on someones post is that not addressing another poster? This is done here all the time.

When is it ok and when is it not?

[Southwest737]

Cold water temp is 85 degrees in summer. Could almost turn off water heater.

[Papa_lecki]

You "literally have boiling water" coming out of your hose? So hot that it "boils your plants"?

Yes, it’s not the water in the hose that gets baked in the sun all day.

[davephan]

You can buy a water chiller, either for a small area of your plumbing or the whole house. I don’t know how much it would cost to run the water chiller. Just search for “whole house water chiller”.

You can also get a water chiller for your pool. Some electric heat pumps that heat pools are reversible and can cool the water temperature. The heat pumps that have the chiller option cost about $1,000 more. If we added a heat pump to our pool, I would pay the extra $1,000 for the chiller option.

The cold water in Minnesota is a lot colder than the water temperature in Florida. I’ve never been a fan of cold tap water, otherwise I’d buy a whole house water chiller. Although I freeze partially filled water bottles to keep bottled drinking water cold. I never drink water from the tap. I always drink from water bottles. If that’s the case for you, just freeze partial water bottles to chill the bottled water that you add to your frozen water bottles.

[DonnaNi4os]

You can run the cold water tap till the cows come home. When the temps are this high you will never get cold water. If you drunk tap water it is a good idea to keep a pitcher in your fridge.

[jimkerr]

It’s normal here. You finally get to feel some cold water when it gets cold out for a month or two and then the rest of the year it’s warm. It’s just a part of living in sunny Florida.

[Glowing Horizon]

When your house was built, it was cheaper to plumb luke warm water to the house vs cold water, it’s all about the evil Developer trying to save a buck.

Good answer. Thanks for the giggle.

[Glowing Horizon]

There are actually places in Alaska where the freeze line is so deep that the water supply pipe needs to be installed aboveground and heated to prevent freezing.

Good reason for humans NOT to live in Alaska.
“Here’s your sign”
~Bill Engvall 🤪

[Glowing Horizon]

Going a different direction on this, but wonder why we don't see more use of solar for hot water in Florida (not talking about pools)? Funny that we spend tons of money to try to turn sunlight into electricity, when the natural use would be to heat water.

If I want to water my plants with a hose in summer, I literally have to run two gallons into a bucket to get the water cool enough to not boil the plants.

If you get a larger watering can, mixed hot & cold (warm) water is less of a shock for the plants. Warm water is also much better to use with plant food.

[Bill14564]

...

If I want to water my plants with a hose in summer, I literally have to run two gallons into a bucket to get the water cool enough to not boil the plants.

A 100ft garden hose holds a little over 1.5 gals of water. So sure, running the 1.5gals of hot water out of the hose and then a little more to absorb the heat of the hose itself makes sense.

(Boiling? Literally 212 degrees?)

[MrFlorida]

Very confused. If you want to comment on someones post is that not addressing another poster? This is done here all the time.

When is it ok and when is it not?

You can quote, but not attack or abuse another poster.

[Battlebasset]

A 100ft garden hose holds a little over 1.5 gals of water. So sure, running the 1.5gals of hot water out of the hose and then a little more to absorb the heat of the hose itself makes sense.

(Boiling? Literally 212 degrees?)

Yes, I understand that 212 degree Fahrenheit is boiling. And 100 degrees Celsius. And 373 Kelvin. It was a little hyperbole.

Guess I should have said wilt. :sigh:

[crilemd]

Great answer
cd

[Stu from NYC]

You can quote, but not attack or abuse another poster.

People do criticize others posts all the time. Guess it is up to the severity of the criticism that gets one into trouble

[AZ SLIM]

My in-laws who lived in Sun City, AZ would turn off their water heater in the summer and use the hot water tap for cold water and the cold water tap for hot water. The water heater was inside so it was in the air conditioned space and much cooler that way.

Yes, we lived in Lake Havasu City AZ where it could be 115f for days at a time with an occasional bump to 120. In the summer we would turn the water heater off and at times the cold tap water was too hot to take a shower. Our heater was in the garage so that was just as hot as outside. Enjoy Florida!

[JMintzer]

Very confused. If you want to comment on someones post is that not addressing another poster? This is done here all the time.

When is it ok and when is it not?

When you figure it out, please let me know...

[JMintzer]

You can quote, but not attack or abuse another poster.

That's not what the Moderator said in that other thread...

[Pairadocs]

Not to mention the ground temp is probably 70 degrees, so then are the pipes.

Right...LOL... Florida, Minnesota, two very different situations... LOL ! On the other hand, one saves a lot of $$$$ in Florida since using "hot" water in the shower or tub is completely unnecessary....LOL !

[Pairadocs]

Good answer. Thanks for the giggle.

Yes, obviously it has to be that evil, nebulous, mystic, being called "the developer".....LOL, it's good to smile in these tense times !

[HORNET]

Water doesn’t come from the water tanks, the water tanks are to control line pressure and eliminate surge pressure.

[Stu from NYC]

When you figure it out, please let me know...

Have asked on two threads and no answer. Apparently if I say something civil on a post it is ok.

[mtdjed]

Water doesn’t come from the water tanks, the water tanks are to control line pressure and eliminate surge pressure.

I am guessing that the above statement is not totally correct. Yes, the tanks are there to control line pressure. But they are also there to provide a reservoir of water to cover peak usage periods. Low usage times will allow the tanks to gain water, and high usage times allow the stored water in the tanks to supplement the incoming water being pumped from the source.

It would seem that the above post was basically saying that not all water used in the system comes from directly from the tanks.

[ton80]

I am guessing that the above statement is not totally correct. Yes, the tanks are there to control line pressure. But they are also there to provide a reservoir of water to cover peak usage periods. Low usage times will allow the tanks to gain water, and high usage times allow the stored water in the tanks to supplement the incoming water being pumped from the source.

It would seem that the above post was basically saying that not all water used in the system comes from directly from the tanks.


That is correct. The water usually comes directly from the pump station. Typically the elevated tank is on level control to maintain a relatively constant level/ pressure in the distribution piping as described above based on the water distribution systems I have seen. If there is more demand than the pumps can provide water can come from the tank, but this should be rare and stored amount is limited. Normally the tank inventory is stagnant and potable water does not enter the tank.

Potable water coming into the house is currently about 86F based on temperature readings after running water for a few minutes to clear the piping entering the garage. If you have a set of water filters sitting in your garage the water can be heated some more just sitting in your hot garage. Running water will never make it cooler in summer. The soil temp is about 86F or more when the air temp is 90F.

Actually the water in pipes under air conditioned space get some minor cooling since your floor temp approaches your AC setting say 75F. However once you remove the small inventory of "cooled" water in the pipes under the slab you are back to the outside heated water.
Cool water from the refrigerator as recommended by many is the answer.

[Keefelane66]

Water towers are placed to provide a constant pressure instead of running pumps 24/7
“ In order to regulate and maintain pressure and water levels throughout a system, water towers are used to store treated water and manage flow. One pipe typically controls both the intake and outtake from the storage area.”

[Carla B]

When I moved from Houston to Denver that was one of the first things I noticed; the cold water was cold. Just a north/south thing.

Yes, and, when I moved from North of Denver to Houston I noticed the opposite. In fact, outdoors Houston felt like a sauna at night most of the year.