Designed to sit within your sink, boiling water taps look and operate just like a regular kitchen mixer tap. The difference is that they also provide filtered boiling and chilled water.
Boiling water taps heat your water before storing it in an insulated tank. This means there’s minimal loss of heat over short distances – which makes them highly efficient.
Easy to use
With so many new kitchen gadgets on the market, it can be tricky to find the genuinely useful ones that make a difference in your home. A boiling water tap is one of these essential upgrades that can transform your kitchen for the better.
A boiling water tap is a monobloc mixer tap that offers standard hot and cold water along with instant 98oC boiling water, all from the same spout. Typically, they use proximity sensors to detect when the Hotkey is close by and then pump boiling water from an insulated central channel to the spout. This insulating feature means that the outside of the tap body stays cool to the touch and the child safe handle is perfectly safe for adults.
Using a boiling water tap can eliminate the need for a kettle, which can leave your countertops free and uncluttered. It can also reduce the amount of energy you consume by not heating the water until you need it, which can save you money on your electricity bills. Plus, it’s much easier to pour boiling water than putting up a kettle and waiting for it to boil.
Moreover, you can pour boiling water straight into pans to cook things like noodles and couscous faster, and heat up drinks such as tea and coffee more quickly. A boiling water tap can also be helpful if someone in your household has trouble lifting the kettle, and can be much more convenient if you have children who might forget to switch off the burner after making their tea!
Safe to use
During boil water advisories, boiling tap water helps to make it safe to drink by killing pathogenic bacteria and parasites that can cause waterborne diseases. However, it does not remove other harmful contaminants such as pesticides or industrial chemicals. The best way to protect your family’s health during a boil water advisory is to use a household filter that removes harmful microorganisms and chemicals.
Boiling is also not a good solution for eliminating inorganic contaminants such as metals and heavy metals, particularly in homes with older pipes. These contaminants leach into the water supply during the heating process and become even more concentrated as they evaporate into steam. This can lead to a toxic buildup of harmful substances, such as arsenic and lead.
Water heated in tanks and boilers also tends to pick up more dangerous heavy metals than cold water. This is because the metals in the water heater and pipes dissolve much faster in hot water. The water then carries these dangerous contaminants into your home, which is why it’s recommended to use cold water for cooking and drinking in the event of a boil water advisory.
The Borg & Overstrom multifunctional instant hot tap allows you to safely dispense boiling hot water from the tap, with no need to wait for the kettle to boil. It has a childproof double push and turn switch that prevents children from operating it, or it can be locked away out of reach behind the tap body. This ensures that children can’t use it while an adult isn’t present to supervise.
Convenient to store
A boiling water tap with a built in 2.4L tank keeps instant boiling water ready and at the ready, dispensed via the child-safe handle. It uses less energy than boiling a kettle, helping reduce your energy bills. The tap also offers advanced filtration and in-cupboard fully insulated storage for added benefits like improved water quality, taste & clarity.
Boiling water is a safe way to purify drinking water in a crisis, as the high heat can kill microorganisms. However, it can’t remove all chemical contamination from poor quality water. This is because some dissolved pollutants (such as chemicals from sewerage, agricultural or industrial waste) are resistant to boiling temperatures. The same is true of many lead contaminants from old pipes.
A boiling water tap eliminates the need for a kettle, meaning your kitchen will look cleaner and more clutter-free. It can also help you cook more quickly by pouring boiling water straight into pans, or make drinks and iced tea faster. For older or disabled family members, it can also be easier to use than a standard kettle. A boiling water tap with a built-in 2.4L tank can be installed on your sink or in your worktop and is available in a wide range of styles to suit modern kitchens. These include single or double bowl options and swivel spouts that can dispense boiling or regular hot water.
Energy efficient
Boiling water taps use an electric hot water tank that heats and stores water before it is delivered instantly to your sink spout at the touch of a button. The tank is small, thermally insulated, and plugs directly into the power supply in your kitchen. They also take up less bench space than a standard water heater and can be hidden away behind a wall or in a cupboard.
Instant boiling taps usually dispense water at around 100°C, which is the ideal temperature to boil a kettle, steam vegetables or cook pasta. They require much less energy to operate than traditional kettles, but how efficient they are in terms of electricity usage will depend on your local power prices and how often you use them.
Depending on the brand you choose, some taps can offer different dispense temperatures and some may have additional functions such as filtered cold water. Some of the highest quality models are even able to sterilise baby bottles. This means you can get rid of a separate water filter that takes up valuable fridge space and is prone to limescale build-up.
Installation of a boiling water tap is very straightforward and most people can do it themselves. You will need to cut a new sink hole in your bench top but it is not difficult and there are plenty of helpful online videos to guide you through the process.