Plano-Residential hot water (apartment complex, water heater, law)

[HIM_Darling]

I'm in an apartment complex in Plano where each building has its own huge hot water tank. We've measured the hot water coming out of the kitchen sink at 165*. Is this even legal? If you absentmindedly turn on the hot water with no cold to balance it and go to wash a dish or your hands you get burned.

Also the bathroom shower faucet is just one knob that controls the flow, the hot water, and the cold water. The only problem is that they reversed the hot and cold so that you have to turn the water almost off to get warm water, but then you have no pressure. And even then it fluctuates randomly throughout the shower going from warm to cold, and then if you turn it warmer its okay for 2 minutes then it will get scalding so you have to turn it back down. And the cheap plastic knobs give me blisters from trying to grip and turn the thing so often while the shower is going. Is this something that they've done on purpose or is it worth asking them to fix?

[ChristieP]

Hot water at 165 is definitely dangerous. It's not supposed to be more than 130. I would definitely ask your complex to come adjust the thermostat on your hot water heater.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by HIM_Darling

I'm in an apartment complex in Plano where each building has its own huge hot water tank. We've measured the hot water coming out of the kitchen sink at 165*. Is this even legal? If you absentmindedly turn on the hot water with no cold to balance it and go to wash a dish or your hands you get burned.

Also the bathroom shower faucet is just one knob that controls the flow, the hot water, and the cold water. The only problem is that they reversed the hot and cold so that you have to turn the water almost off to get warm water, but then you have no pressure. And even then it fluctuates randomly throughout the shower going from warm to cold, and then if you turn it warmer its okay for 2 minutes then it will get scalding so you have to turn it back down. And the cheap plastic knobs give me blisters from trying to grip and turn the thing so often while the shower is going. Is this something that they've done on purpose or is it worth asking them to fix?

1. To be clear to you have a big water heater in your apartment unit that you can access? Or is there a very large water heater that serves several units that you cannot access?

2. 165F is WAY too hot. Water at that temperature can cause a 3rd degree burn in about 1 second.

3. Call apartment staff at 8:00 AM in the morning and demand that they turn the water down to about 120/125F.

4. Have them fix your shower fixture's hot and cold reversal as well.

[HIM_Darling]

Its a large water heater that serves the whole building and we have no access to it. From what I can tell by law they are required to have some sort of anti-scald device installed that prevents the water coming out of the faucets from being more than 120*. Obviously they do not. When you turn the water almost off in the shower its close to if not the exact same temperature as the sink(I haven't taken the thermometer in there to check though.
I will definitely be contacting the office about it though.