A boiling water tap sits alongside your regular kitchen tap, delivering filtered boiling and ambient or chilled water. This one tap solution means you can ditch the kettle for good.
While a high-quality boiling water tap will have a higher set up cost than your average kettle, it will save you time and money in the long run.
1. Easy to use
Instant boiling water taps offer the convenience of steaming hot water literally on tap. They sit in the kitchen sink alongside your regular hot & cold kitchen taps and provide filtered boiling, ambient and chilled water, so you can use it for tea and coffee, steam vegetables or pasta, clean dishes, fill baby bottles and sterilise equipment.
They work like an electric shower, taking your mains water and rapidly heating it within a heavily insulated tank, ready to be dispensed when you need it. They also use less energy than a kettle and save on electricity bills – on average, boiling a kettle uses between PS30-PS40 a day.
Boiling water is the traditional way to purify your tap water and remove harmful bacteria, but it’s time consuming and can be expensive. Moreover, the heat of boiling water doesn’t necessarily kill all the microorganisms present in tap water or eliminate chemicals such as chlorine and lead.
With a boiling water tap, you can simply press the button to dispense boiling hot water, whenever you need it. You’ll no longer need to boil a kettle, so you can save time and money, as well as space on your kitchen bench. Most models come with child safety features such as a double push and turn switch or push and twist operation, to prevent accidents and injuries.
2. Energy efficient
Boiling water taps use less energy than a kettle, with some using up to 50% less. This is because the system only uses energy when the water is at a temperature that you need it to be, not all the time as happens with a kettle. This means significant energy savings for you and your household. Many of our systems also come with Global GreenTag certifications to prove how energy efficient they are. Choosing a pumped system also helps, with software controlling the process to ensure the water is only dispensed when it’s at the correct temperature.
It’s not just about saving energy – boiling water taps are also environmentally friendly. They help to reduce carbon emissions and waste, and are a lot better for the environment than the electric hot water systems that run on gas or electricity.
When water boils, it releases non-volatile contaminants (like lead, mercury and arsenic) into the air, as steam. These chemicals are then inhaled by humans, and can be absorbed into the bloodstream. By dispensing boiling water from a tap, you’re only adding water that you know is safe to use.
Using a boiling water tap means no need to fill and empty a kettle, making your kitchen cleaner and safer for children and the elderly or infirm. This can also be beneficial during a boil water advisory, when it’s recommended that you only use bottled, boiled or treated drinking and cooking water.
3. Safe to use
Boiling tap water makes it safer to drink by killing any bacteria, viruses, or microorganisms in the water. This is especially important during boil water advisories when public health officials warn that your tap water could be contaminated with harmful microorganisms. However, it’s also important to know that boiling your tap water doesn’t make it completely safe to drink or use.
Tap water usually contains contaminants from the pipes, storage tanks, and other parts of your plumbing system. This is because hot water sits in your pipes and heats up the metal components for longer than cold water does. This means that hot water often has more heavy metals and other dangerous contaminants than cold tap water does. Adding hot water to cold tap water can increase these contaminants, making them more dangerous to drink.
Even if your faucet water is tested regularly for contamination, contaminates can still be present in your tap water. This is because there are many different sources of contamination in tap water, including organic and chemical contaminants. Boiling can deal with some organic contamination, but it won’t get rid of chemicals like lead or arsenic in your water.
The best way to get clean drinking water is to filter it through a home water filter, or to collect rainwater or well water. This can remove dangerous toxins from your drinking water and give it a fresh, clean taste.
4. Saves water
Boiling water taps dispense instant boiling filtered water at the touch of a button, replacing your kettle saving energy and space in your kitchen. The filtration system also helps reduce the risk of accidental water burns – which can be an issue with older water systems that use lead pipes (although these are being replaced in newer houses).
There are many benefits to owning a boiling water tap compared to using a kettle. These include:
Get rid of the kettle – saves space on your worktop and can make your kitchen look sleeker. Quick-cooking – you can pour boiling water straight into pans to cook meals quickly and efficiently. Energy efficient – Quooker taps are the most energy-efficient hot tap on the market and will save you money on your electricity bills.
Stainless steel taps are highly durable, easy to clean and hygienic – unlike plastic taps which can harbour bacteria.
Although boiling water taps have a slightly higher initial setup cost than standard taps and kettle, they will soon pay for themselves in savings on electricity and fuel costs. Boiling water taps are also a more environmentally friendly choice than using bottled water as the tank is insulated to retain heat so there is minimal wastage of energy. They are more durable than kettles as well and have child-safety mechanisms in place to prevent accidents.