Eli5: Why dose warm/hot water come out of the tap “milky” or foggy white when cold water comes out clear?
In: Chemistry
Water coming into your house has dissolved air in it. Unlike solids like salt or sugar, which are more soluble in liquid at higher temperatures, gases become less soluble at higher temperature. So when the cold water goes into your water heater and gets hot, all the dissolved gas wants to come out. But, since the water lines are under pressure and there’s nowhere for the gas to escape, the gas is forced to stay dissolved in the water. When you open the tap and that pressure goes away, the dissolved gas is free to come out of solution and creates that foggy appearance.
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