# Water pipe to refrigerator is hot water. Opinions? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 13, 2021, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-pipe-to-refrigerator-is-hot-water-opinions/952433 "2021-10-13T15:43:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-pipe-to-refrigerator-is-hot-water-opinions/952433/21 "2021-10-14T20:13:43Z")
> [@dougrb](#): > > I thought you weren’t supposed to consume hot tap water because of all the crap that leaches in from the water heater (have you ever seen the inside of an old water heater?). If the water heater is full of gunk and crap, wouldn’t that mean the water heater is _removing_ this stuff from the water? And if the water heater is removing this stuff from the water, doesn’t that mean hot water from the tap has _less_ gunk and crap compared to the cold water? ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2021, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-pipe-to-refrigerator-is-hot-water-opinions/952433/22 "2021-10-14T22:15:07Z")
> [@jharvey963](#): > > Some people say tapping the hot water is better because: 1) clear ice cubes, 2) less sediment in water (sediment in hot water heater settles to the bottom, but hot water is pulled from the top of the tank), 3) Most of the water the refrigerator pulls will have cooled in the pipes. 1. Hot water freezes faster. duck + run ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2021, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-pipe-to-refrigerator-is-hot-water-opinions/952433/23 "2021-10-15T16:12:49Z")
We have a cold water line that’s only for the kitchen sink and refrigerator ice cube maker and & filtered water dispenser. We couldn’t use hot even if we wanted to as the rest of the house, including ALL hot water runs through a water softener. And softened water is quite awful to drink. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2021, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-pipe-to-refrigerator-is-hot-water-opinions/952433/24 "2021-10-16T22:19:05Z")
This is just a guess, and apologies to the OP if it is way off base, but in my experience almost all water lines to refrigerators come from the hot water heater-the cold inlet line to the hot water heater. It may look like it is tapping into the hot water but it isn’t. It just so happens that as jharvey963 pointed out, the water lines to the water heater tend to be the easiest lines to access. So that is where the tap goes. But when installed correctly, the tap goes on the cold water intake to the heater. Of course that water may not be particularly cold (my heater is in the attic where it is definitely not cold!) and so may seem kind of hot. But it isn’t because the water was heated in the water heater. Again, apologies if I am stating the obvious here… ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2021, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-pipe-to-refrigerator-is-hot-water-opinions/952433/25 "2021-10-16T22:30:38Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Our fridge generally produces colder drinking water than the tap. I assume this is the result of the water lines running through the fridge or freezer. There is a reservoir in the refrigerator to chill the water before it is dispensed. It does not go straight through the lines into your glass. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2021, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-pipe-to-refrigerator-is-hot-water-opinions/952433/26 "2021-10-17T15:13:17Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > There is a reservoir in the refrigerator to chill the water before it is dispensed. It does not go straight through the lines into your glass. It’s called a reservoir, but it’s really just a coil of tubing that the water runs straight through, at least that’s the way it is in mine and has been in any refrigerator I’ve owned. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/water-pipe-to-refrigerator-is-hot-water-opinions/952433.md?page=1)