Why we offer sublime support on scale

One of the things we are often asked about is limescale and how it might affect the Quooker boiling water tap.  The Quooker’s design actively discourages the formation of scale and makes it easy to combat.  Fortunately, scale only affects some parts of the UK, where there is hard water, while soft water areas have no scale build-up at all. 

Limescale build up is due to the presence in your domestic water supply of calcium and magnesium salts.  Higher concentrations of these minerals signify what is known as hard water.  You can look up whether you are likely to be affected by limescale on the Drinking Water Inspectorate’s national hard water map.  If you do live in a hard water area, you should also be able to find information about limescale on your local water provider’s website. 

The Quooker system is designed to make scale maintenance as simple and straightforward as possible.  Firstly, the tap head has a removable aerator which can be unscrewed and removed for regular local cleaning.  This actually helps to prevent the build-up of scale. 
Secondly, the Quooker tank comprises a cylindrical vacuum flask, which means that most of the scale will collect in one place and is therefore easy to find and simple to dispose of.  We can guide you through cleaning the other places where you may find it in the system.  Many rival systems use boilers or heaters, which allow limescale to collect in widely spread multiple points, and make them far more difficult to maintain.

We are determined that you should enjoy many happy, trouble-free years with your Quooker, so we’ve designed ease of maintenance into it as a feature.  If you do live in a hard water area, we offer three options for combating scale without any fuss. 

There are three simple ways to tackle scale:

1. Self-cleaning.  This is perfectly possible for a competent DIYer, and we’ll give you a free cleaning kit every time you need to descale your Quooker. 

2. If you don’t feel confident with DIY, you can prevent limescale from ever reaching the tap by having a descale filter installed. When it needs changing, you simply clip off the old cartridge and clip on a new one in no time at all. 

3. If neither of these options appeal, you can simply give us a call and we’ll send one of our skilled engineers to service and descale your Quooker for you. 

All three options work equally well, so the choice is yours.  We’ve done everything we can in the design of the Quooker to help you combat scale in a hard water area, because we want you to relax and enjoy a trouble-free, kettle-free future.  

That’s why we offer sublime support on scale.

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Why you should ask a few vital questions when choosing a boiling water tap

 

There are a few practical questions, aside from aesthetics, you should ask when deciding whether to ditch the kettle and install a boiling water tap instead. 

Firstly, does it actual provide 100°C boiling water?  We invented the boiling water tap to do just that, but not all imitators can match the 100°C that is so important for brewing perfect tea!  Don’t settle for second best. 

In the spirit of safety first, it is unsurprising that the question people often ask us is how safe can 100ºC boiling water tap really be? Many of whom are often surprised to find out that having a Quooker tap is much safer than using a traditional kettle. 

You should ensure that you install the safest.  Ask about safety features.  In 25 years, Quooker has never received a single complaint about scalding from a Quooker boiling water tap – despite there being 250,000 Quookers in use.  

Such an outstanding record can be attributed to Quooker’s dedication to safety.  The Quooker tap is always installed at the back of a worktop, over a sink. Unable to be pulled forward or knocked over, the Quooker tap helps keep even small children safer in the kitchen. 

Despite the aerated flow of the Quooker tap meaning that it is possible to pass your hand underneath the tap without scalding yourself, you still want to be as safe as possible!  We’ve designed a push and twist turning mechanism that means you cannot simply ‘knock’ a Quooker tap on – further protecting you and your family. 

Another key point of interest when choosing your boiling water tap should be; how manoeuvrable is the tap itself?  The Quooker tap has the built in capability to rotate as well as extend up and down, whilst some boiling water taps are fixed and others are able to pivot only.  

With a Quooker tap, you no longer have to be frustrated after finding out that your pans or cafetiere do not fit under the tap, or have to place your pans in the sink in order to fill them. No longer do you have to manoeuvre pans of boiling water around rigid taps and out of the sink. Instead you can fill your pans, cafetiere or teacups on the work top.

 Aside from practicality of use, the height adjustment feature is also an added bonus from a safety point of view, allowing the Quooker tap to be used in the most practical way possible.

Many people are interested to know; can a boiling water tap save me money?

The answer is yes!  With a Quooker tap energy is no longer wasted boiling more water than you need in a kettle.  You also avoid paying to heat the hot water that just sits in your pipe and loses down between uses – over a year that adds up to the equivalent of a swimming pool full.  Day to day you’ll save energy and that means lower energy bills.

With a Quooker tap you can use the precise amount of water you require for that much needed morning brew, and do your bit for the environment to boot!

A Quooker also saves those precious minutes we all spend waiting for the kettle to boil. We estimate you can save up to 90 hours a year – over three and a half days!

The answer to the most vital question is simple; should you ditch the kettle and install a Quooker?  Oh yes. 

That’s why you should ask a few vital questions when choosing a boiling water tap.

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Why playing safe in the kitchen should mean installing a Quooker…

The UK’s much loved soap opera, Coronation Street, often tackles important issues in its plotlines, and we were glad to see it tackle the problem of kettles and scalding accidents last week.  It’s something we’ve spent the last 25 years tackling ourselves. 

Boiling water needs treating with respect, so it’s no surprise that the first thing that a lot of people ask us is whether it’s really safe to have a tap which dispenses 100ºC boiling water in a kitchen.   What is sometimes a surprise to them is the realisation that it’s actually much safer having a Quooker tap than a kettle in the kitchen.

Hopefully, seeing Tyrone scald himself seriously with a kettle, putting his hand out of action for some time – not a good thing when you’re a mechanic – will make more people think seriously about how safe their kitchen is.  In case you’re among them, here are a few facts to consider.

According to The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), around 7,000 people visit A&E Departments every year due to kettle-related accidents.

In 25 years, Quooker has never received one single complaint about scalding from a Quooker boiling water tap.  That’s despite there being 250,000 Quookers currently in use – the equivalent of over a million years of regular use.

RoSPA recommends placing the kettle towards the back of the worktop where it will be out of reach for a small child. 

The Quooker tap is installed at the back of the worktop over the sink and cannot be pulled towards the front of the worktop. 

A kettle, once boiled, contains an average of between 1.1 and 1.7 litres of boiling water.  If this is tipped over a person, particularly a young child, it can do serious, extensive and sometimes, sadly, permanent harm.

The Quooker tap dispenses boiling water in a steady flow in a spray format.  The aerated form allows you to pass a hand through the flow without scalding yourself.  Naturally, you wouldn’t want to keep your hand in the flow of boiling water, but you wouldn’t – you’d snatch your hand away as soon as you felt the heat.  What makes a huge and critical difference is that by comparison you may get a few drops of boiling water on your skin or clothing – you won’t be soaked by over a litre of it. 

Even so, we don’t think you should take any risks with boiling water, which is why we added the additional feature of a twist and turn mechanism to turn the tap on in order to dispense the water.  We also made sure that our tap can be raised and lowered to suit the vessel you’re filling.  You can also rotate the tap with ease so that you can fill a pan placed firmly on the worktop next to the sink, rather than holding it at any awkward angles over the sink. 

We love being able to use boiling water on demand in the kitchen – it helps with cooking, cleaning and getting hot drinks in busy offices or homes.  BUT – we never forget that safety is important.  After 25 years, 250,000 Quookers and many millions of hours of their combined use, no-one has ever told us that they’ve had an accident related to a Quooker. 

That’s why playing safe in the kitchen should mean installing a Quooker.

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Why all boiling water taps are not the same…

First things first – there are quite a few pretenders to the title ‘boiling water tap’, but only one genuine article.  We know this to be true because the patents that we hold on the genuine boiling water dispensing Quooker tap make it pretty impossible for anyone else to achieve 100ºC boiling water from a tap. 

Some of our competitors would have you believe that this is a good thing.  They say that 100ºC boiling water is steam.  Clearly anyone who has ever boiled a kettle knows that while some steam is given off when water boils, it doesn’t all turn to steam – or there would never have been kettles. 

They may also tell you that 100ºC boiling water scalds tea and coffee, so slightly off the boil is better.  But boiling water doesn’t scald if you dispense it in an aerated stream so that the air in it prevents scalding tea and coffee – or anything else you want to prepare in the food line. 

This also makes our tap safer than a kettle – the aerated stream is far safer than a constant stream from a kettle.  It’s possible to pass your hand through a Quooker tap boiling water stream without scalding yourself.  Don’t ever try that with a kettle! 

You also can’t accidentally knock a Quooker over, pouring litres of boiling water everywhere.  The Quooker has a safety push and twist action which also helps to reduce mistakes – you can’t turn it on by accident.

The turning point for taps is quite literally, their turning point.  Being able to rotate from side to side makes a tap so much more versatile, and this too has positive implications for safety.  It means that you can place a pot or saucepan on the worktop to fill.  You don’t have to sit it in the sink then lift it out – which can be tricky and precarious.  Instead you can grasp it easily and firmly to place it on the cooker.

Rising to the occasion is important too.  The long and the short of it is that if you’re going to invest in a boiling water tap you want to know that you can fill things with it – large saucepans and stockpots, for example, or tall flasks for boardroom meetings or even picnics (should the summer settle down into nice weather).  In colder weather you may wish to fill hot water bottles too.  The Quooker tap gives you a long or short neck – you just lift it up or push it down as you wish. 

They say looks aren’t everything, but we believe that if you’re investing in a boiling water tap it should also look great.  The Quooker does, and it comes in traditional or contemporary styles to match your kitchen. 

Finally – and we think, importantly – it’s backed by great customer service.  We know that everybody claims that, but like our tap, we really do deliver on our promises.

That’s why all boiling water taps are not the same.

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Why life should always have its ups and downs

Like most people, we’re fans of the natural highs in life, but we think that for balance you should be able to choose between ups and downs – especially when it comes to choosing a boiling water tap. Yet only Quooker helps you to deal with life’s highs and lows, because we designed in a height adjustment feature right from the start – and we made the tap rotate too, so you can position it exactly where you want it.

It’s amazing how often we find that people buy our taps and absolutely love them, without appreciating quite how versatile they are. Rising to the occasion isn’t just a neat trick – although we find that our customers find our tap’s ability to change its height quite entertaining – it’s also highly practical and adds to safety too.

One of the main reasons you might choose to buy a boiling water tap is to help save you valuable time when cooking. Imagine how frustrating it can be to find that either your boiling water tap isn’t tall enough to fit a cafetiere or a pan under the spout for filling. Or find that you have to put your cooking pot in the sink in order to fill it. Lifting a heavy pan out of the sink can not only be awkward, but potentially hazardous too.

We built in a height adjusting feature to solve this dilemma. You can literally pull the spout up or push it gently down to the height you need, depending on what you need your boiling water for. The Quooker allows you to place your pan, teapot or cafetiere – or any receptacle you choose on the worktop, and swivel the Quooker tap up and over the top of it for perfectly safe filling; then simply swing the tap back and down out of the way as soon as you’ve turned the tap off.

If you’re making tea or coffee, your job is just about done now – you’re ready to serve and it took just a few seconds. If you’re cooking, with the tap safely turned back over the sink, you have a clear space to lift the now full pan safely and easily, in order to put it on the cooker.

This also has a few highly practical advantages, especially in busy households. If you want to make a quick snack while someone else is busy washing up or peeling vegetables, you don’t even have to wait for the sink to be free. This also makes it easier to work as a team when cooking in the kitchen, and saves you lots of time.

It’s such a good idea, we can’t think why every boiling water tap manufacturer doesn’t do it. Perhaps only we know how?

Whatever the reason, since it’s not just innovation for its own sake, but saves you time and keeps you safer, life should always have its ups and downs.

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Why we stop at nothing to conserve water

While we may be enjoying an unseasonably warm spring, which is great for your heating bills, the lack of rain over the winter months has already led to the prospect of hose pipe bans and the need for water conservation, long before the summer actually arrives.   

Only using what you need is the first rule of water conservation.  That’s why you should never leave a tap running while you brush your teeth, for example, and why it’s better to shower than to take a bath.  That’s also exactly why you should use a Quooker rather than a kettle. 

Of course it is possible to only put into a kettle the exact amount of water that you need, but who ever does?  Even if you put a modest amount of water into the kettle, you always allow for a little extra in case there’s limescale floating in the kettle or in case the kettle evaporates some of the water you need.  It’s a guesstimate.  The Quooker, on the other hand, delivers the exact amount you need in an instant with impressive precision. 

If, later in the day, you want more boiling water, you might reboil the water that’s already in the kettle or top up from the cold tap and then reboil. 

That’s going to affect your water quality so never get a really good cup of tea or coffee, so you may throw away the leftover water each time.  The cumulative effect of that is a lot of wasted water.  Dispensing boiling water straight from a tap means you really do only use what you need every time you cook or brew up.  You’re saving time but you’re also doing your bit for the planet too.

The really shocking waste of water in the home comes when you wash up, which in a busy family home you could do several times a day.  In order to get hot water for washing up you’ll let the hot tap run until it’s hot enough.  In doing so you let the cold water contained in several metres of pipework run straight into the drain.  When you’ve filled the bowl and turned off the tap, the water left in the pipe will gradually cool down, ready to be wasted next time you want to wash up, or just to wash your hands. 

A Quooker COMBI in the kitchen avoids all that water waste.  By mixing water from the boiling Quooker tap with your normal kitchen cold tap, the COMBI provides instantly available washing up water without firing a boiler.  This saves those metres of wasted water every time you wash your hands or your dishes.  Over the course of a year this conserves a huge amount of water. 

Amazingly it saves enough water to fill a swimming pool.  That’s pretty impressive  - even before you stop to consider how much energy was wasted heating up that body water, before it cooled down again and you just threw it away.  That’s energy which you’ve paid for but got no benefit from, of course.

Time-saving devices often use more resources, and water conserving products are often more time consuming to use.  Isn’t it refreshing to find an invention that conserves water as well as saving you time and lowering your energy bills?  Almost as refreshing as the superb tea and coffee it makes for you.  Because the bottom line is, it does also give you superb quality boiling water. 

That’s why we stop at nothing to conserve water.

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Why we worked overtime to save you precious minutes

What would you like more of?  Money, obviously – but a great number of people, when asked this question, will also say “time”.  Not surprising perhaps, in a society where the term ‘time-poor’ has become part of our language.  At Quooker, we’ve put much of our time into developing a boiling water tap that saves our customers time.

Over the course of the day, saving three minutes each time you would normally boil a kettle saves you about a quarter of an hour, or an hour and a three quarters each week.  Add up the time you save every week over the course of a year and you’ll save around 91 hours.  That’s 3.8 days in total, except it’s your time during your busy days that you’re saving, so in terms of waking hours it’s more like five days extra to do what you want with. 

What can you do with three minutes?  You could iron a shirt – so it could determine whether you look smart or crumpled at that all important business meeting.

You can empty your waste paper bins and take your rubbish out to put in the wheelie bin or the recycling – one less job for the weekend.  You can open your post and realise you must make that credit card payment or you’ll be charged a penalty.  You may even have time to pay that bill online. 

Or you can listen to your children, or talk to your other half. 

Of course you’d try to do all these things anyway, but often it’s a choice; have a cuppa or do that important small thing.  You try to do both, but by the time the kettle has boiled you don’t have time for a drink.  Or you get distracted and come back forty minutes later to a lukewarm kettle which you have to boil again, wasting energy as well as time.  With instantly available boiling water you can make your drink in seconds and do that important task as well. 

You can drink your tea in between turning and ironing that shirt, so you go to your important meeting properly hydrated and able to concentrate.  You can sip your coffee as you open the post and pay that bill, so you feel refreshed before moving on to your next errand.

What could be better than to share time with the family over a cup of your favourite brew?  On frantically busy mornings, it can make all the difference.  You can between know everyone has gone to work or school with a hot drink inside them, or could and seeing them go without.

We know it’s only a few minutes here and there, but when you’re running a busy home and keeping to a tight schedule, every second counts.  Or you just may want another three minutes in bed to think about the day ahead.  We’re happy to oblige.

That’s why we worked overtime to save you precious minutes... 

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Why we exert ourselves to save you energy

With domestic fuel prices rising, just about everyone’s giving at least a passing thought to how they can cut down on their energy consumption.  Even if we’re not doing so out of environmental motives, we are keen to reduce our household bills. 

You might be forgiven for thinking that a tap that can provide 100ºC boiling water instantaneously at any time of the day or night could be something of a luxury when it comes to energy consumption.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  If you want an energy efficient kitchen, then a Quooker tap, particularly a Quooker COMBI that mixes boiling water with your normal cold feed, is a must – here’s why!

A boiling water tap is great for making hot drinks, snacks and hot water bottles in seconds, all more efficiently than a kettle.  But that’s just the start.  A Quooker is also amazing at cleaning pans, beaters, baking trays and all those kitchen gadgets that are fiddly and hard to wash up. 

Actually, some of the biggest savings to be had are in good old conventional washing up, as one of our customers pointed out just this week.    

He tells us that since installing a Quooker COMBI the family now only uses their normal domestic hot water supply to wash their hands in the downstairs cloakroom.  All other hot water for cooking, cleaning and washing up they now get from their Quooker tap.  This has allowed them to reduce their domestic hot water heating by 30 minutes a day, which gives them a significant saving on their gas consumption.  They’re also saving on electricity because the Quooker is more energy efficient than a kettle.

And here’s a staggering thought – how much energy would it take to heat a swimming pool of water until it’s hot enough to wash up with?  Because that’s how much water and energy we waste every year in drawing off and discarding water until we get some that’s hot enough to wash up with. 

But that’s cold water isn’t it, you say?  Well, no.  Every time we draw off hot water, we leave a run of pipework of several metres filled with hot water, between the hot water tank and the tap.  This just sits in the pipe losing heat.  By the time we next need hot water it will be cold and will be discarded before the tap runs hot enough again.  Over the course of the year, we’ll waste about a swimming pool of water.  All of it will have started off as hot water, and all of it represents wasted fuel we’ll have paid for and never felt the benefit of. 

The Quooker quite simply cuts out all that waste of fuel and water. 

And that’s why we exerted ourselves – to invent a 100ºC boiling water tap to save you energy.   

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