But the Victorian Building Authority is urging Victorians to be mindful of their approach to warding off the cold weather.
Scalding and burn injuries — especially to children — from hot water in baths and showers remain a cause for concern across the country.
Victorians should be extra vigilant around hot water in the home during winter.
Many household scalds occur in the bathroom where the water temperature from taps and showers is high, and people cannot react quickly enough to avoid scalding.
VBA state building surveyor Andrew Cialini said Victoria’s plumbing regulations limit heated water temperatures to no more than 50°C in new and renovated bathrooms.
“Victoria’s plumbing laws require a maximum temperature of 50°C at the outlets of each shower head or tap, which is hot enough for a shower, but not hot enough to cause scalding,” Mr Cialini said.
“Children can still receive scalds from temperatures below 50°C so it’s important to make sure that you take steps to stop little ones from accidentally turning on the wrong tap and burning themselves.”
Hot water systems installed before August 5, 1998 are likely to deliver hot water above 50°C, which can cause scalds, but licensed or registered plumbers have various ways of reducing the temperature of water outlets, depending on the system type.
“Hiring a licensed or registered plumber to install a tempering valve if one isn’t fitted is an easy and quick way to reduce the hot water temperature in the bathroom,” Mr Cialini said.
The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne recommends running hot and cold water together to get an appropriate bathing temperature for your child; for children, the recommended maximum bathing temperature is 37°C to 38°C and for newborns it is 36°C.
Consumers can use the VBA ‘find a practitioner’ tool — https://www.vba.vic.gov.au/tools/find-practitioner — to find a licensed or registered plumber.
For first aid tips in the case of a scald injury visit the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne burns safety guide at https://www.rch.org.au/burns/burns_safety/#Scald_burns
