My uncle spent 10 minutes explaining why he only uses cold water for coffee and now I'm questioning everything

Was at a family barbecue last weekend in Phoenix and my uncle Frank started going off about how hot water from the tap pulls lead and copper out of old pipes. Said he tested it with a TDS meter once and got readings triple what cold water gave him. Never thought about it before but I've been using hot water from the kettle my whole life to speed up brewing. Now I'm sitting here wondering if I've been slowly poisoning myself or if he's just paranoid from too many nights working at the plant. He also insisted on using a paper filter instead of metal because of something about oils and cholesterol. Anybody else get a random lecture from a relative that made them second guess a daily habit like this?

2 comments

2 Comments

terry_thomas1mo ago

Did your uncle mention if he tested the water while it was still hot versus letting it cool down first? Seems like that could make a difference in what the meter picks up.

price.tara1mo ago

Wait wait wait. So you're saying he just tested it straight out of the tap while it was still hot? That's kind of blowing my mind right now. I always thought you had to let it cool down first because heat messes with the sensors and gives you a false reading. My buddy wrecked his meter that way once, said it fogged up the lens and never worked right again. Makes you wonder if the uncle's results are even real if he didn't bother letting it sit.