Every year, thousands of children and adults are burned by tap water because the water was set too hot.

The following chart shows how dangerous and quickly hot water can cause a bad burn:

To help prevent serious tap water burns, lower your hot water heater temperature to 120° F. If you have small children, disabled, or elderly persons in your household, you may need to set your water heater thermostat even lower.

After you have turned down the thermostat, check the water temperature 24 hours later to make sure it is low enough to be safe. To do this run the hot water for two minutes and then hold an outdoor or candy thermometer in the stream of water until the reading stops going up.

Sources: “Burn Prevention Tips,” Shriners Hospitals for Children, www.shriners.org. Rheem, www.rheem.com. “Burn Safety: Hot Water Temperature,” University of Michigan Health System, www.med.umich.edu.