There could be lead in your water supply and that’s not a good thing. Lead can cause delays in physical and mental development plus deficits in attention span and learning abilities in children. Adults may experience increased in blood pressure and kidney problems when exposed to lead.
The stories you hear about lead in your hot water are true. If you’re used to filling up pots with hot water from the sink, make the switch to cold. Cold water, unlike hot won’t cause lead to leach from your pipes. According to the EPA houses built before 1986 are most likely to have pipes with lead. However, note that even “lead-safe” pipes can contain some lead – cool water is simply a better choice.
Cold water or not you should run water for 15 to 30 seconds before drinking it, especially if you have not used your water for a few hours, this allows any possible lead to drain out before you get to it.
Most tap water is pretty safe. However, if you’re concerned, it’s easy to find out if your water is safe or not. If not you may want to consider a water filter.
Put your water in a safe pitcher – it’s silly to get lead-free water from the sink only to put it in a pitcher that can add lead to the water.