With children around Australia suffering severe burns and scalds each year, hot water in baths and showers are proving to be a leading culprit.
The Victorian Building Authority (VBA) is urging Victorians to be extra vigilant around hot water in the home during winter.
Many household scalds occur in the bathroom where the water temperature from taps and showers is high and when people cannot react fast enough to avoid scalding.
The VBA’s State Building Surveyor Andrew Cialini said Victoria’s plumbing regulations limit heated water temperatures to no greater than 50°C in new and renovated bathrooms.
“Victoria’s plumbing laws require a maximum temperature of 50°C at the outlets of each shower head or tap, which is hot enough for a shower, but not hot enough to cause scalding.” Mr Cialini said.
“Children can still receive scalds from temperatures below 50°C so it’s important to make sure that you take steps to stop little ones from accidentally turning on the wrong tap and burning themselves.”
The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) recommends running a combination of hot and cold water together, to get an appropriate bathing temperature for your child.
For newborns the recommended maximum bathing temperature is 36°C and for older children it is 37-38°C.
The VBA encourages consumers to make sure hot water delivered to a bath or shower is a maximum of 50°C and to contact a licensed or registered plumber about regulating the temperature.
Older hot water systems installed before 5 August 1998 are likely to deliver hot water above 50°C that can cause scalds but licensed or registered plumbers have various ways of reducing the temperature of water outlets, depending on the system type.
“Hiring a licensed or registered plumber to install a tempering valve if one isn’t fitted is an easy and quick way to reduce the hot water temperature in the bathroom,” Mr Cialini said.
Early childhood centres, schools, nursing homes or similar facilities require a lower maximum heated water delivery temperature of 45°C, to protect vulnerable occupants and users.
Licensed or registered plumbers are the only people who can legally install a hot water system and undertake plumbing work in Victoria.
Consumers can use the VBA’s “Find a practitioner” tool to find a licensed or registered plumber.
For more tips on how to reduce the risk of hot water burns in the bathroom, visit the VBA’s hot water safety guide and the Royal Children’s hospital tips to reduce the risk of bathroom scalds to children, as well as the Kidsafe website.
For first aid tips in the case of a scald injury visit the Royal Children’s Hospital burn safety guide.
