It makes a lot of sense having them separate. Tom Scott explains https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfHgUu_8KgA
Here in California showers and much other plumbing are required to have backflow valves so that hot and cold don't cross contaminate.
Here in California showers and much other plumbing are required to have backflow valves so that hot and cold don't cross contaminate.
"Most bathroom sinks in Britain still have separate hot and cold taps today, 60 years after Mr. Churchill’s conversion and decades after nearly all dual taps were scrapped in the U.S. and most vanished from continental Europe. For reasons of thrift, regulations and a stubborn attachment to tradition, the British have resisted the tide of plumbing history. Even when they renovate old homes, many choose two-tap systems, and builders often install them in new, low-end housing. Separate taps account for an estimated 40% of all bathroom-faucet sales in the U.K."
From: http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/mhillebrandt/entry/british_peculi...