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At 150 degrees F, an adult can suffer a third-degree burn in two seconds. You will not finish a sentence.
That is one line from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission's publication on tap water scalds (March 2012). The agency says most injuries and deaths from scalds involve the elderly and children under 5, and urges everyone to set their water heater to 120 F (49 C). It adds that this also conserves energy and saves money.
The burn-time table
For most adults, per the publication:
| Water temperature | Time to third-degree burn |
|---|---|
| 150 F | 2 seconds |
| 140 F | 6 seconds |
| 130 F | 30 seconds |
| 120 F | five minutes of exposure could still cause one |
How to lower it
- Electric heater: call the electric company (some do it free), or shut off the power and breaker, remove the access panels and set both thermostats to a common temperature per the manual. Do not use hot water for two hours before setting it.
- Gas heater: call the gas company.
- Apartment: ask the building manager.
- Check it: hold a candy or meat thermometer under the faucet, first thing in the morning or at least two hours after use.
If your hot water comes from an on-line system run by your furnace, CPSC says contact your fuel supplier to have the temperature lowered, and that this does not affect the furnace's heating capacity. CPSC adds that you should consider the lowest setting that still meets the hot-water needs of your clothes and dish washing machines, so check the manual for each.
Before every bath
Hand-test the water, especially for infants and young children. Never leave a child alone in the bathroom, even for a second.
This is a US publication from 2012 and we have not covered other health guidance, such as water-hygiene advice. If that is a concern, check your local health authority before changing the setting.
Last checked: 21 October 2026. General information, not legal, medical or financial advice. Sources: CPSC Publication 5098, Avoiding Tap Water Scalds (03/2012; accessed 16 October 2026).
