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The world is full of traditions that seem strange and sometimes even wild to other cultures.
Today we are in website We decided to figure out why sinks in England have 2 taps.
Reason No. 1. Historical
Much of Britain's housing stock dates back to the 19th and early 20th centuries, before the advent of mixers and modern valves. Some of the homes are much older - one of the consequences of living in a part of the world where there are few earthquakes.
When indoor plumbing was introduced, it started with a simple system running cold water directly from the mains into the kitchen. Later, hot water was added separately, hence a double system was created.
Reason #2: Compliance with the law
In England there is a law according to which It is prohibited to mix cold water and hot water from the boiler. The fact is that there is no central heating in the country, and every house has a gas water heater (which the British call central heating).
Previously, a special tank was a mandatory part of the boiler. The water could become stagnant and the tank could rust, making the water undrinkable.. Apparently, this did not stop many people, and a law had to be introduced prohibiting the mixing of cold potable water and hot water from a container.
Reason No. 3. Following traditions
The British do not wash their hands under running water. To begin with they plug the sink drain with a stopper, draw water and wash your hands with soap. Then remove the stopper and dry your hands with a towel. However, they do not rinse their hands. Using the same principle, they wash themselves and wash dishes, without rinsing, but immediately sending them to dry.
Great Britain is a country that honors its traditions and is very different from other European countries. The British are not like everyone else, from driving on the left to having a very peculiar sense of humor. But a particularly strong surprise awaits tourists who want to wash their hands or take a bath.
The thing is that the British do not install faucets, but use two separate taps for cold and hot water. Editorial "So simple!" will tell you why the residents of Foggy Albion stubbornly continue to equip their bathrooms in this way.
Cold and hot water taps
Our wonderful world is full of traditions that seem unusual and sometimes even wild to people of other cultures. Using two separate water taps may seem strange at first. But from a design point of view it looks very nice. However, there are 4 reasons that force the British to refuse water mixers.
Reasons for using two water taps
Making repairs in the UK is quite a big problem, especially when it comes to redevelopment, changing the water supply system, and so on. Much of Britain's housing stock dates back to the 19th and early 20th centuries, meaning these houses were built before the advent of faucets and modern valves.
When indoor plumbing came into being, it was a simple system that supplied cold water directly to the kitchen. Later, a separate hot water supply system was added, hence a double system was created.
The fact is that there is no central heating in the country, and every house has a gas water heater. It may seem strange, but in Britain there is a law that prohibits mixing cold and hot water, so as not to clog the pipes with cold water intended for drinking.
The British do not wash their hands under running water. To begin, they plug the sink drain with a stopper, draw water and wash their hands with soap, as if in a basin. Then remove the stopper and dry your hands with a towel. However, they are not rinsed.
Do the same when washing and taking a bath. The dishes are washed exactly according to the same principle and, without rinsing, they are placed in the dryer.
And finally, the last explanation, a purely rational one. Residents of Foggy Albion save money this way. If there is a faucet, a person opens the taps, selects the desired water temperature and only after that begins to wash his hands. At the same time, a lot of clean water goes into the sewer. In England, such extravagance does not exist.
But it is worth noting that resourceful people have come up with a way out of this situation. They make a faucet from an ordinary plastic bottle without bothering with plugging the drain.
England is famous for its eccentric traditions. Consider their left-hand traffic or outward-opening windows! And a particularly strong surprise awaits tourists in the bathroom when they first go there to wash their hands.
The whole world has been using faucets for a long time, because it is very convenient, but residents of Foggy Albion stubbornly continue to equip their sinks with two separate taps for cold and hot water.
So what explains this strange difference? The editors of “AWESOME” decided to look into the issue and dug up a lot of interesting information. It turns out there are three reasons why separate taps are used in the UK! 
Reason No. 1 is legislative. It may seem strange to us, but in Britain there is a law that prohibits mixing cold and hot water! This happened because there is no central heating or boiler rooms. 
Each house is equipped with a boiler or water heater. Previously, tanks in which water was heated were made of low-quality metal, which rusted and became covered with oxide. Because of this, the water became undrinkable. To protect people from poisoning, it was necessary to introduce a law prohibiting the mixing of cold water suitable for drinking and hot water from a container. 
Reason number 2 - loyalty to traditions. The British wash their faces differently than we do. Instead of washing under running water, they plug the sink and fill it from two separate taps. Then they wash their hands or wash themselves with this water, as if from a basin! 
After washing, simply dry your hands with a towel without rinsing! Do the same when washing and after taking a bath. The dishes are washed exactly according to the same principle and, without rinsing, they are placed in the dryer. 
Reason No. 3 - economic And finally, the last explanation is purely rational. This is how the British save money! If there is a faucet, a person opens the taps, selects the desired water temperature and only after that begins to wash his hands. At the same time, a lot of clean water goes into the sewer. In England, such extravagance does not exist. 
This is how this purely British quirk is explained. Share the information with your friends, they will also be interested in learning more about the mentality of the British.
Tourists and visitors often have a question: why do an English sink have 2 taps?
The question arises: how to wash your hands or wash with warm water? Ice water flows from one tap, and boiling water from the other. I wonder why the British came up with such a strange method?
And it turned out that many people were interested in this issue. I had to talk to the British and ask questions.
Answer number 1: compliance with plumbing laws
In England there is a drinking water law. There is a ban on mixing cold drinking water and warm water. Previously, a mandatory part of the boiler was a special tank where water was stored. The water could become stagnant, the legionella bacteria could appear (mortality from it reaches 30% of those infected), and the tank could rust. For this reason, cold and warm water were served separately, so as not to drink “dangerous” water.
Answer number 2: habit or tradition + saving water
A friend of mine married an Englishman. And his traditional parents, who live near Oxford, provided the answer to this mystery-shrouded question. It so happened that for some time a young married couple lived with their parents until they found separate housing. So, both in this family and in the families of other Englishmen, she noticed the same ritual of washing dishes. The sink is filled with water (cold and hot water are mixed in the sink until warm), detergent is poured, the dishes are washed, and without even rinsing off the foam with running water, they are wiped with a towel, that’s all. No matter how she tried to explain to them that it would be better to wash off the foam under running water, they didn’t listen to her at all, that’s what their grandmothers did. In addition, in England it is customary to save on water and electricity bills, so the English method of washing dishes is also economical.
And here are some quick methods of “mixers” found, invented by immigrants:
Great Britain differs from other European countries not only in driving on the left, but also in its water taps. An inexperienced tourist will be in for a big surprise when he wants to wash his hands. The fact is that the British do not have mixers; they use two separate taps for cold and hot water.
Modern technologies make it possible to equip bathrooms with the most functional and convenient plumbing fixtures, but residents of Foggy Albion stubbornly continue to use two separate taps. It may seem strange, but there are 4 reasons that make the British refuse water mixers.
1. Historical
Much of the UK's housing stock dates back to the 19th and early 20th centuries, meaning that houses were built before the advent of mixers. Remodeling or changing the water supply system is quite a big problem. Initially there was a simple system that supplied cold water directly to the house, and hot water was added later. Thus, two separate systems were created.
2. Legislative
In England there is a law prohibiting mixing cold and hot water. It was introduced to prevent pipes with cold water intended for drinking from becoming clogged. There is no central heating in the country, and every house has a gas water heater.
3. Loyalty to traditions
To wash their hands, the British plug the sink drain, draw water from both taps and wash their hands as if in a basin. After this, remove the stopper and dry your hands with a towel. It is not customary to wash your hands under running water. They wash their face and wash the dishes using exactly the same principle.
4. Economic
The English are not wasteful people. They observe economy in everything. And since water and gas are very expensive in the country, water consumption with a closed sink is much less. When there is a mixer, opening the tap and selecting the desired temperature, a lot of clean water goes down the drain.
Although there are no mixers in Britain, our people will find a way out in any situation. A resourceful tourist came up with such a plastic faucet from an ordinary bottle so as not to bother with plugging the drain.
