WFMW: Hot Water Tap

One of the best gifts BJ has ever gotten me is a hot water tap. Do you have one of these? If not, how do you manage?

You might be thinking, "I don't drink tea, why would I need that?" Oh, honey, you have no idea...

Of course you can make tea, cocoa, or instant coffee with the 190 degree water that comes out of the tap, as well as those instant ramen noodles (yuck). You can also save time on recipes that call for hot water (anything with real yeast, for example, as well as a bunch of convenience side dishes), by using your hot water tap.

It's wonderful for thawing. I've used the mine to thaw frozen breastmilk. You can warm bottles using the hot water, too. Much more convenient than heating a kettle.

One of the best uses, though, is disinfecting. My kids haven't been big pacifier users, but when guests have dropped their pacis, a quick rinse under the hot water tap and I know it's clean. When MG leaves a sippy cup of milk lying around, until it has become cottage cheese, I'll put some of the hot water in it and shake it up, rather than putting all that crud in my dishwasher, I get most of it off in the sink. It's also great for loosening baked on food - I'll fill a crusty pan up with hot water from the tap, and let it soak while I finish the rest of the dishes. By the time I'm done, the hot water has loosened the food and it's easy to clean.

I think the thing we use ours for the most is iced tea. I'll take a plastic gallon sized pitcher, put in four regular tea bags and one Constant Comment bag (all decaf, unfortunately - I miss caffeine!!), and about 1/3 cup sugar, then I'll fill it from the hot tap. The hot water brews the tea and dissolves the sugar. A half hour on the counter and some ice is all it needs for perfect iced tea. I always get compliments on my tea (it's the Constant Comment, that tip is free this week :) ).

So, my tip is to ask your significant other for a hot water tap this Christmas. You can spend anywhere from $100 - $300 for them, so shop around. We installed ours ourselves, which was an adventure. It still works 4 years later, though. That's one of the many benefits of being married to a rocket scientist!

Hot water on demand Works For Me!

If you're here for WFMW, don't miss my other WFMW posts:

How to tie your shoes if you have lollypop thumbs like me.
How to feel good about spending insane money at Christmas.
How to prevent dryer fires.
How to use Google Calendar to organize your family.
How to save a zillion dollars with the Magic Bullet.
How to quickly cool Mac & Cheese.
How to soothe a teething baby without whiskey - oops! I mean Tylenol.
How to do Time Outs correctly.
How to improvise a changing table.
How to get a baby and a toddler into the car.
How to keep your house decluttered with an old waitressing mantra.
How to find a great baby sling.
How to manage your grocery list online.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon!

Visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer for more WFMW tips!