We all love hot water, right? Without access to hot water, showers and baths would become a lot less satisfying. However, there is a danger with hot water. Thousands are hurt each year, sometimes even requiring a visit to the emergency room, due to water that is scalding.
If you have a regular water heater, it will put out water that is between 120 and 160 degrees fahrenheit, and at 160 degrees you can be scalded in a few seconds. To prevent this, many homes have an anti-scald valve. It could be installed right at your water heater to provide protection for the whole house, or it could be installed by individual faucets.
An anti-scald valve mixes the outgoing cold and hot water to keep it at a stable temperature. This mixture is automatically adjusted depending on how hot the water produced by the water heater is.
These devices are especially important if you have young children or older ones living at home, since they are more sensitive to hot water.