Have you ever wondered why your hot water faucet gives you cold water when you first turn it on? Depending on the size of your home, you may wait a few seconds or even minutes for hot water. This is not only inconvenient, but wastes a lot of water.
The distance hot water needs to travel is the reason cold water comes out first. When the faucet is on, hot water is drawn to the sink through your plumbing. Turning it off stops the water, but doesn’t return it to the water heater. It stays in the pipes and gets cold. The next time you need hot water, the cold water in the pipes has to be pushed out by fresh hot water from the water heater. The more piping between the water heater and the faucet, the more cold water there is and the longer it takes.