Years ago, I purchased an electric hot water kettle.  At the time, I did not think of it as a piece of kitchen equipment that Americans used very much.  I was aware that it was something that many households in the United Kingdom used routinely....for their tea making etc. as, I am a tea drinker and took an interest in the art of tea. In Europe itself where I lived for a number of years it was normal to have a small hot water heater device at the kitchen sink where the people directly retrieved hot/boiling water for a number of uses.
Then, here in the United States  I realized convenience of the electric kettle and, most of all the speed of which it provided boiling water...FASTER than the microwave!!!  I was a convert.  The 'point of use' hot water tanks are now becoming more popular for their convenience and economical green aspects.
The kettle is filled only with filtered water from our  Reverse Osmosis system that we had installed when we  our house was built in 1997.
I use the kettle everyday several times a day!

A BIG issue with my ALS, is my constant  throat irritations/tickles with throat clearing and coughing...causing choking 
A lot of this annoying problem is probably caused by the GERD (silent version - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laryngopharyngeal_reflux  ) for which I take Dexilent  (a protein pump inhibitor) medication .

I should point out, that due to the health issues I have, and the resulting medications I already take to treat them, I have to be VERY CAREFUL  as to what if any cough suppressant medications I consume...and the amount...
...for instance, meds that contain codeine (IC Hydrocodone-Homatropine Syrup) work amazingly well in 'silencing' a cough...and, make me feel 'euphoric' and put me to sleep, if you know what I mean...but CAN BE dangerous for me especially with the sleep apnea I have!   I may never wake back up after  falling asleep.

I have found that it is a good thing that I LOVE drinking hot beverages....coffee and tea....and also hot cider,  hot wine, cocoa etc.
 and now
due to wanting to get away from so much caffeine, I have more recently resorted to making a hot lemon with honey beverage and have found this combo to be quite helpful in relieving the constant throat irritation (temporarily), tastes good and healthier, plus very easy  to make.

Last night, I was up again until after 1 a.m. before I was able to go to bed and stay in bed with the coughing under control.
One change I made, as I had become tired even of the tasty lemon 'toddy'...
was leaving out the lemon and honey..
and resorting to just sipping on hot, hot water until the throat irritation subsided, which it did eventually.

So, I would note that with hot weather coming, I will be in sort of a dither. 
 Like most people, I prefer to drink hot beverages in cold weather to help in staying warm and cold beverages in hot weather to help in staying cool.
COLD, ICED beverages often, cause further irritation to my throat or at least do not relieve it....that instantaneous "TICKLE" that appears so often and makes for so many problems....even to the point of being panicked when I know it is coming on..... 

It is 5:30 a.m. now, I am up again.  NOT due to cough but because I have to 'be the mom' and get my son up and out the door for school......

Hot Lemon Honey Beverage recipe>

The ingredients are approximate to be adjusted to personal taste....
(Please note: children under the age of 1 year are NOT supposed to have honey!)

Ingredients:

Serves: 1

8 ounces water
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (I  have been  using  the bottled kind as that is what I have on hand)
2 tablespoons +/- honey

Directions:

1.   Boil water and pour into mug.
2.   Stir in lemon and honey. 

ginger or other spices/herbs  may be added to taste and is known to assist in digestion.
This is great with tea of your choice if you are in the mood for more flavor.