So I have a friend who insists on softening her dogs kibble by hot water from the tap. Is this safe?

JustAPoorDreamer

Or even healthy for the dog? As far as I am aware the hot water in the tap is separate from the cold water and not treated in any way.

The dog seems good for now but I worry about the dog getting sick or getting something in the future. I have tried to say to her I do not think it's a good idea but she is stuck in her ways. Surely hot water from the kettle would be better.

Mod note: On the assumption this thread isn't a pisstake, I've amended the thread title to ward off the inevitable trolling. Some posts deleted too.

Madd002

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058343895/so-i-have-a-friend-who-insists-on-softening-her-dogs-nuts-by-hot-water-from-the-tap-is-this-safe

Do you think the hot water in the tap is coming from a different pipe directly to the house 😅 The cold water is fed into & been heated in a copper tank from immersion/oil or gas when it's empty it fills again from cold water tank in attic.

Water is treated at source from wherever your local treatment plant is.

The dog will be fine.

Rubberchikken

Is there a reason for softening the nuts?

Personally would noil water and let it cool myself but that's just me.

Depending on use. The water in the tank might be lying there for hours/days.

Jim_Hodge

Warm water is warm water when it comes to softening kibble.

magicbastarder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121947332#Comment_121947332

Does the immersion tank feed from the mains or does it go via the attic tank first?

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121947404#Comment_121947404

In any house that's plumbed properly, attic tank.

Madd002

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121947404#Comment_121947404

Like L1011 said.

JustAPoorDreamer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121947346#Comment_121947346

She thinks the dog will choke if she eats dry nuts as she eats quick. The dig would be grand but you just can not tell her. She is stuck in her ways.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121947332#Comment_121947332

Awe OK. Hopefully.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121947369#Comment_121947369

As above. She is afraid the dog will choke on dry nuts.

pauly58

The theory is to reduce the chance of bloat, pouring on warm water lets the nuts expand.

magicbastarder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121947409#Comment_121947409

that's what i thought.

a friend of a friend recently found a dead rat in his attic tank. so probably best not to consume water that's been through the tank.

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121947809#Comment_121947809

A bit of an extreme example there and they have more to worry about than drinking the water if that was true. Even washing with it could carry serious disease risks.

For 90%+ of the country water from a domestic hot water tap is absolutely fine for a dog.

Widdensushi

R.I.P

Madd002

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121947809#Comment_121947809

Your attic tank should be covered by a lid ( we've ours sealed )and adequately insulated to stop it freezing in winter. I'd be more worried about the mice/rats running around attic. If they failed to address that problem I'm not surprised they found one dead in tank.

cbreeze

Dog will be grand. I've drunk hot water from the tap for coffee when there was a water outage, no issues.

pleh

We have had a dead bat in ours at one point :(

Peregrinus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121948099#Comment_121948099

The attic tank can't be closed with an airtight seal; otherwise water won't flow out of it. So, even if it's covered with something that keeps out something as large as a rat, dust, insects , etc will get in. For that reason water from the attic tank is not considered safe to drink, and this is why the cold tap in the kitchen feeds directly from the main.

Having said that, the risk of poisoning is probably quite low, especially for a dog, which has a somewhat more robust digestive system than we do.

Inviere

A simple word change in the thread title has made a big difference.

delboythedub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121947332#Comment_121947332

would you drink the water from the hot water tap even if it was cold ???. most likely contains Bacteria

stargazer 68

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121952447#Comment_121952447

Its a dog. It licks it's own ****. I'm sure it's fine

Alun

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121952447#Comment_121952447

Yet the hot water comes originally from the same tank in the attic that your cold water comes from, you know the stuff you brush your teeth with and wash and shower in.

cnocbui

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121952447#Comment_121952447

I would. My water comes from a well - silly word for 100m+ deep bore hole. It then goes into the attic tank, and from there to the HW cylinder. Almost the first thing I did to this house after buying it was to fashion a close fitting lid for the attic tank out of heavy duty plastic, which stops glass fibres from the insulation, dust, or anything else getting in.

There very likely are bacteria of some sort in the water, cold or hot, but after two decades of drinking the stuff, I'm still here. Fact is, I have been consuming large quantities of bacteria my whole life. My mouth and gut are full of them. My skin is covered in them; blighters are just everywhere.

I used to own a really old house/holiday home. I can tell you, it's a bit disconcerting when you turn on the tap and bits of fur and skeleton start coming out of it, particularly after you have cooked with and taken a shower in the water previously. I got the ladder and climbed into the roof where the tank was and then had a fun job of cleaning out the rest of the dead bat and flushing the rest of it out of the pipes and HW tank was a job.

Water source was a pond up the hill. One other time I thought the water was a bit off from usual. Went for a walk up the hill to find a dead sheep in the pond.

Had a few words with the person leasing the grazing.

So having survived consuming dead bat and sheep, your bacteria seem like sweets.

One thing I don't see get mentioned with the climate hysteria is the unbelievable cost of fixing the entire countries plumbing and mains water systems, because if it does get warmer, houses will have to switch to a proper, safe, plumbing system driven by high mains water pressure with no storage tanks in houses.

That's what we have in Australia. No one has a tank in the attic as water that gets warm would facilitate the growth of all sorts of deadly pathogens. One of the worst is amoebic meningitis. Unfortunately there are still the occasional deaths from this from people swimming in warm bodies of water. I believe the amoeba can get in through your eyes and nose to your brain and you don't have to ingest any, so it wouldn't be safe to bathe or shower with water from an attic tank in a warm climate.