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Why Britain Uses Separate Hot and Cold Taps

Tom Scott · 6.8M views · 2014-10-06 · 2:58

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Overview

Tom Scott explains why Britain historically has separate hot and cold taps rather than mixer taps, tracing it to how water was stored in tanks. He notes why the hot tap is not safe to drink from.

On Hacker News

HN commenters treat it as the standard short answer whenever UK taps come up.

Recommended by 2 HN people across 2 months · HN mentions 2015–2025

Topics

Home, DIY & practical skillsWorld history
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tom scottuk tapswater storageplumbing historybritain

What people said

SimonPStevens · 2021-03 · Recommendation

Short video by Tom Scott on the subject for those interested. [VIDEO] tldw; Older homes in the UK had a water storage tank in the roof space that fed the water heating tank. This couldn't be classified as drinking water so wasn't allowed to be combined with the safe mains water that fed the cold tap. These days modern houses mostly use combi-boilers with no storage tank, so mostly both hot and cold are drinkable and it's not an issue. But preferences still lean towards the separate taps.

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rogerbinns · 2015-03 · Recommendation

It makes a lot of sense having them separate. Tom Scott explains [VIDEO] Here in California showers and much other plumbing are required to have backflow valves so that hot and cold don't cross contaminate.

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throw0101d · 2025-04 · Reference

Obligatory Tom Scott video on the topic: * [LINK] Bonus: "Why Britain Uses Separate Hot and Cold Taps": * [VIDEO]

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Sources

Video by Tom Scott, played through YouTube.

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