Yes, I didn't say it was lead. It is just a dirty, unpleasant container. Not where you want to get your drinking water, especially for tea.

It isn't just limescale in your hot water heater, it is whatever your water pipe carries in and accumulates in the tank. We lived at the beach and had to flush sand out every couple years.

Your cold water carries the same junk into your tea. It’s just missing the settling tank that would separate it out.

It is potentially a decade of accumulated junk in the hot water heater. If you aren't able to taste the difference, the data backs up the issue with drinking hot water.

https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/29/health/29real.html

https://blogs.edf.org/health/2018/02/26/lead-hot-water-issue...

https://www.denverwater.org/tap/psa-dont-drink-or-cook-with-...

Make up your mind, does it come in or go out of the hot water tank?

It can’t both accumulate and leave at the same time.

False assumption it needs to accumulate and leave at the same time.