Does extremly hot water (175f) damage fixtures?

[MasterPlumbersKeymaster]

The tap temperature in my condo is 175 farenheit, (or 79 celcius). Obviuosly this is dangerous, and I intend to approach the strata council to get the boiler temerature turned down. In order to support my case to council, I’m wondering if such a very high temperature might be also be damging to our hot water fixtures. It seems to me that such high temperatures would tend to cause rubber O rings, seals, gaskets and the like to soften and shorten their working life considerably. Do any of you experts have any experience to support that case?

thanks in advance, lcm

[Retired plbg1Participant]

Eventualy it will have some effect on certain fix, but I would be more concerned about getting scalled by the hot water. If they dont do anything about it call the city hall are the health dept.

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Art retired plbg

[AKPlumberParticipant]

Retired is right, your first consideration should be scalding risks. This is serious, and a landlord can be easily sued if, say, a child gets scolded in the bathtub. Big liability. Your landlord or Condo Association should get on this immediately if they have any sense at all or they could find themselves taking care of it in a courtroom.
As far as damage to fixtures goes, yes it’s possible the extreme temperature can over time damage valve stems, washers, o rings, etc. But not usually too much a concern. You need nothing to support your case…..such an extremely high tap temp is in all probability against housing codes in your area, and if you or anyone in your family gets scolded you have a win-win lawsuit.

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