For context, I live in Hong Kong where most people drink tap water after boiling first. Some may install water filter but may still boil the water. Very few drink bottle water unless they’re outside and too lazy to bring their own bottles.
Now, I’m researching whether I can drink tap water in Iceland (I’m going there in August), and while it looks like the answer is affirmative, almost no web article mention whether I need to boil the water first. People in Japan (a country I’ve visited a few times) also seems to be used to drink tap water directly without boiling.
The further I searched, the more it seems to me that in developed countries (like US, Canada and the above examples), tap water is safe to drink directly. Is that true? Do you drink tap water without boiling?
It sounds like a stupid question but I just can’t believe what I saw. I think I experienced a cultural shock.
Edit: wow, thanks so much for the responses and sorry if I didnt reply to each one of you but I’ll upvote as much as as I can. Never thought so many would reply and Lemmy is a really great community.
2nd Edit: So in conclusion, people from everywhere basically just drink water straight out of tap. And to my surprise, I checked the Water Supplies Department website and notice it asserts that tap water in Hong Kong is potable, like many well-developed countries and regions.
However, as the majority of Hong Kong people are living in high-rise buildings, a small amount of residual chlorine is maintained in the water to keep it free from bacterial infection during its journey in the distribution system. Therefore it is recommended to boil the water so that chlorine dissipates.
So, in short, I actually do not need to boil the water unless I hate chlorine smell and taste. But I guess I’ll just continue this old habit/tradition as there’s no harm in doing so.
US here. Yes, can confirm I can, and do drink water from the tap without boiling. The city provides, maintains, and regularly checks the safety of the water. Notices are put out if something damages the pipes and a “water boiling” policy is put out promptly over local radio and/or newspaper.
It depends on where you live in the US for sure. Not everywhere has drinkable water. And even more places have poor-tasting or very hard tap water.
In Germany tap water is considered “one of the most strictly controlled food products”
Yes. And i’m always stunned by how many people buy loads of water at the Getränkemarkt. Just drink it from the tap or get one of those machines that make sparkling water if you like that?!
I just moved here, I usually drink tap water but some places just have a weird taste to it which makes me wonder how often the individual taps are tested. While the source may be good, I don’t know about everything in between. I feel like I still need a filter.
I was one of those idiots. I sort of inherited the behavior from my parents.
When my employer bought some sparkling water machines, it dawned on me that I should do the same.
good quality water is an underappreciated factor in quality cuisine.
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Lol, I was you 10 years ago. For context I’m Malaysian and we only drink water that is first filtered and then boiled. When eating outside we generally avoid iced drinks unless it’s a reputable shop.
Then I moved to Australia and reacted with utter horror to see my then-bf drink straight from the tap. I was like wtf you’re going to get parasites! Spit it out!
Now I drink water like Aussies and my kid refills her bottle from the tap too. My parents, when they visit, still boil water to drink but they’ve at least stopped thinking we’re trying to murder their grandchild.
Berlin, Germany: we drink water straight from the tap. It’s free and delicious. If you don’t feel like drinking tap, just drink a “Berliner Rohrperle”. It’s the same thing with a fancier name, because our tap water is awesome.
Nowadays we even have public drinking fountains dotted around the city.
What do you mean “free”? :D
Sure… it’s far from expensive, but it’s not really “free” as in “you don’t have to pay for your tapwater”.
True, it does cost about 0.2 cents per liter, so you’ll likely pay less than 2€ a year if you exclusively drink tapwater.
In the US, the only time you’d have to boil water before drinking in most places is if there’s something wrong with the water system and they put out a “boil water” advisory, and that’s pretty rare. It’s definitely not something you have to on a daily basis. Some people will use water filters but it’s not usually a necessity.
Very true. However in the less urban areas there is often well water which varies by jurisdiction from drinkable to toxic (even flammable!) Also some places in the US have water that is unsafe to use even if it was boiled. Usually water is handled on the local level and can be different depending on the local government’s ability, wisdom, and funding.
Toronto tap water is actually very, very good. Tastes better than most bottled water I’ve tried. Very high standards here - we are extremely fortunate and I hope the high standards stay for a long, long time.
Water? Like from the toilet? :O
(j/k)
Not at all…where I live tap water isn’t clean at all. It comes in a white colour with pression. And mining industry contaminated a lot
Netherlands: our tap water is better than bottled spring water
Canada: our bottled water IS tap water…
I just drink water straight from the tap
Fuck Nestle!
I think tap water being bottled water is the same for pretty much the same for every country that has clean drinking water available from the tap.
If you can’t drink your tap water without boiling, your government has totally failed you.
I believe in Canada we have high standards for our potable water, unlike the UK for example our water heaters need to be up to par (UK typically has seperate taps AFAIK).
So no need to boil, also if you’re trying to get rid of chlorine you can just use Brita filters, carbon filters that restaurants use do the same AFAIK. Also even cities like mine which (at least at some point before now) had way more houses than apartments still chlorinated the entire city’s supply.
Filters are insanely good these days. I was thinking about getting a life straw, but there’s a slightly more expensive alternative that can do like 500x more filtering before it needs to be replaced, and comes with a pouch you can fill and then pour into a regular water bottle. Life straws are meant to be drank from directly, and the alternatives that company offers are just water bottles with life straws built in - so you put unfiltered water in the bottle itself… Probably gets gross or requires constant cleaning
The further I searched, the more it seems to me that in developed countries (like US, Canada and the above examples), tap water is safe to drink directly. Is that true? Do you drink tap water without boiling?
Yes. It’s a bit of a scandal when that’s not true. (Canada here)
And to my surprise, I checked the Water Supplies Department website and notice it asserts that tap water in Hong Kong is potable, like many well-developed countries and regions.
Boiling it has to be “force of habit”, then. I wonder how long it’s been potable. I’m guessing mainland China is mostly boil-first.
One thing to consider: While tab water in most of the developed world is potable,any water safety guarantees usually end where the house water pipes begin. Depending on the state of the piping, tap water might not be safe, even if the water supplyer says it’s safe.
You can get a water test (especially bacteria is important) for relatively cheap. Last time I did such a test it was ~€60. It’s not wrong to do one.
Also, the definition of potable water is that the water is potable after the tap has been running for 10(!) minutes.
Bacteria contaminated pipes are pretty common and if the water has been sitting in these biofilm-covered pipes over night or even longer, the water can become pretty harmful. Especially after you get home from a vacation, letting the water run for a decent amount of time might be a good thing.
Also: the worst thing that can happen to your water pipe system are blind pipes, so pipes that are connected only on one end. That could be e.g. left-over plumbing after remodeling or pipes that lead to unused taps. If at all possible, these ahould be removed or flushed at best daily.
I’m located in the US and like others have said it’s safe to drink the tap water, but me personally, I run my water through a filter first.
In Rome there are literally fountain running constantly in the middle of almost all the streets(old area specially ) of potable whater. Again non stop, people use them allot
