RAY: I think we all know that when you run the faucet, as more and more water goes down the drain, you begin to use up the water that has reached ambient temperature in the pipes.

If you're lucky, you'll begin to take water from the other side of the meter that's a lot colder.

The question was, why wasn't the older filter doing it?

TOM: Well, it was doing it, but it was taking longer.

RAY: Exactly, even though it didn't appear plugged up, the flow had been reduced by probably 60 or 70 percent.

TOM: So, what's coming out of the spigot on top is stuff that's been in the pipes between the bottom of your sink and your basement.

RAY: Right, it takes a lot longer to get to the cold water that's on the other side of the water meter.

Who's our winner?

TOM: The winner is William Schumacher from Redway, California. And for having his answer selected at random from among all the correct answers that we got, William is going to get a 26 dollar gift certificate, to the Shameless Commerce Division of Car Talk.com where he can get all kinds of things, including the Car Talk necktie.

[ Car Talk Puzzler ]