Water Science and Technologies
- is it safe to let a water heater to be unplugged for ~3—6 months at a time?
My house has a tankless water for most of the house. Exceptionally, one floor gets hot water from a tank. I rarely need hot water on that floor so I keep the tank unplugged. But when I need a backup shower (e.g. the tankless gets clogged with limescale) I plugin the tank, let it reach a quite high temp, then shower.
Is this risky? I just heard from someone saying they only unpower their water heater for 1 day at a time because of some specific kind of bacteria. I was assuming whatever bacteria colonizes in 6 months or whatever would be killed off when I fire it up. But I know that some bacteria (which goes after spoiling meat) produces toxins, so even when the bacteria is dead there are dangerous chemicals remaining. Is this the same risk with water heaters?
If it’s unsafe, what do I need to do? Do I have to fill the tank with air between uses? Or can I just run the water for as long as needed to get all new water in the tank before powering it?
- A simple way to get microplastics out of your waterwww.washingtonpost.com A simple way to get microplastics out of your water
New research shows boiling water is surprisingly effective at removing the ubiquitous tiny plastic particles.
- How socially and culturally diverse Minnesotans value waterphys.org How socially and culturally diverse Minnesotans value water
Understanding how different communities value water and prioritize its protection is critical to effective policy and governance.
- Water molecule discovery contradicts textbook modelsphys.org Water molecule discovery contradicts textbook models
Textbook models will need to be re-drawn after a team of researchers found that water molecules at the surface of salt water are organized differently than previously thought.
