Wait For Hot Water

Joseph Gulaskey has to wait and wait for hot water to show up in his faucets in the winter. He lives in North Huntingdon, PA where it can get quite cold. Here's what Joe sent me:

"During the winter months and having an unheated cellar, I have my hot water lines covered with polyfoam insulation.

With that said, in the winter months we usually waste about a gallon and a half of water to get a start of hot water to come out of the faucet.

What are you thoughts, on my having to wrap the hot water lines to the bathroom & powder room with outside gutter tapes and have the tapes on just prior to and during the waking hours in order to conserve on water being wasted?

What are your thoughts on efficiency and safety?"

Joe, I don't like your idea at all. Here's why. For starters wrapping pipes with heat tape can lead to fires. Just ask your local fire department or search for stories online about this.

If you're on a well, the water costs you nothing but the tiny amount of electricity to bring water to your interior pressure tank. If you're on city water, you can do the math to see what a gallon of water costs you. My guess is less than a penny.

If you want hot water as soon as you turn on your faucets, you can get a wonderful recirculating pump that does work on a timer. In fact, you can set it to go on and off multiple times in the day. CLICK HERE to see the pump that I've got.

I did a video about this pump and you should probably watch it. CLICK HERE to watch the video of the recirculating pump.

If you don't want the pump or expense of putting it in, just save the water that comes out of the faucets and use it to water plants, add to the washing machine or help flush a toilet. There's no need to see it go down the drain.