Which is exactly why I stipulated North America and did not include "everyone" or the UK.pugwash said:However, you neglect the pipes that carry the water - many houses in the UK still have copper pipes (my parent's even have lead ones!). It's all dependent on the age of your house - anything build after the eighties in the UK should be fine. Anything build before that, I'd use a water conditioner (although I'd still use a water conditioner for houses built after the eighties as the water companies over here love using chloramines!)
Guess it depends on the countries building regulations at the time of construction ultimately.
Every country has different regulations, however the USA and Canada are pretty close. For the record, QldRobbo, I'm not American. I'm Canadian from Ontario that married an American. So, I do know a little bit about Canadian regs
Bob is correct, as usual. I don't know *anyone* who has a water heater that is older than 30 years and by the time you have your temps adjusted etc., etc., any heavy metals would be flushed out.
Of course all water heaters should be drained yearly to prevent build ups as well.
Roan