Is it safe to use water from the hot water tank to make Kombucha?
Household water-heaters heat water for washing, not for drinking. Water out of your hot tap generally has health threatening levels of heavy metals (such as lead) as well as an off-taste. You should consider this water unfit for human consumption. Incidentally, if you live in the United States in a house whose plumbing system was constructed between the 1930’s and the late 1970’s, it’s a good idea to let the cold tap run at full for about a minute before using it. This will help flush out heavy metals that may have collected in the water as it sat in the plumbing system. This goes for all tap water consumption of course, not just for the tea.
