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Tap Water - How can you drink your disgusting water?

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Stasis

Member
Really depends on where you are, and even just moving from one town to another 20 mins away.

I'm talking about taste and not safety. Other than the occasional warning in a few towns I've lived close to Montreal it's always been safe. Far as I know. In NYC, Philly suburbs, and the Jersey Shore as well. On trips I've often stuck to bottled. Same with various rented cottages in all aforementioned areas, going 1-3 hours out. Well water. Lake water.

I've definitely noticed the difference in how NYC water feels when showering compared to Montreal and area. Don't know which is 'hard' and which 'soft' but it's so different! We really prefer NYC.

Thankful that I've never had to live somewhere it's unsafe. We can drink from our tap. It's just not delicious. Kinda has a metallic taste but tests came through fine. We stick to bottled, much as I dislike the practice. Now mostly through a water cooler for less waste, through we did/do recycle all anyway.
 
Bottled water is nowhere near as consumed as tap water. I can bring several cases of mass poisonings over the last decade despite being a minoritary option, while tap water remains massively more safe due to superior regulations and inspections, even if it tastes worse in some regions.

The fact is that while the chances of getting sick from bottled water are very remote, tap water is even safer, so there's no point in drinking from a bottle because somebody tells us that "it's healthier". It isn't. That's just marketing. And anybody who buys it, it's falling for it.

Now, if you prefer the taste and buy a bottle from time to time or you actually need bottled water for other reasons (be it kidney issues or running a restaurant), that's totally fine by me.
Eh, I don't know about other countries, but in quite a few regions in Brazil tap water is simply undrinkable. The common thing is to have a water cooler or something inside every house, with those big... containers? I don't know the name, those that have something like 20L of water in them. We buy at least two weekly in my house and it's the most common thing around, because we know that drinking tap water means you'll probably spend the entire day on the toilet.
 

barit

Member
tap water is the most intensive and extensive controlled food item in Germany, the rules and regulations are even stricter than for milk. Still, some taste good, some taste bland.

71YQEM6E5CL.gif


Translate:
I say YES! to german water
 
Uh, aren't you literally not supposed to consume water in Spain in any form? Every time I've been on holiday I've seen signs to not even use it in cooking. Bottled water under every circumstance.

I live in Scotland though, so perfect water every time.

When we went to Spain (Benidorm and Salou) we were told not to drink the tap water either, there may have been some notices in the room. This was a very long time ago though (I think it was 2003 and 2006).

I'm in England and tap water is okay in moderation, I'd drink it if I was dehydrated, but anymore than that and I'd go off it. I prefer the taste of bottled water, I'm very fussy though so it's probably just a me thing!
 

Funky Papa

FUNK-Y-PPA-4
Eh, I don't know about other countries, but in quite a few regions in Brazil tap water is simply undrinkable. The common thing is to have a water cooler or something inside every house, with those big... containers? I don't know the name, those that have something like 20L of water in them. We buy at least two weekly in my house and it's the most common thing around, because we know that drinking tap water means you'll probably spend the entire day on the toilet.

I mean, I was talking about developed countries in my previous post. Brazil is still classified as a developing one, so it's understandable that some things are yet to be improved. Same with Indian tap water (which gave me a thunderstorm-like case of diarrhea some years ago).
 

Condom

Member
Most water in poor countries is still drinkable from my experience, just tastes weird. I have been lucky though.
 

entremet

Member
Tap water is fine. This hating on tap is nonsense propaganda from the bottle water companies. Public water is one of the most heavily monitored resources.
 

Hanmik

Member
Tap water is fine. This hating on tap is nonsense propaganda from the bottle water companies. Public water is one of the most heavily monitored resources.

but the difference in taste and usefulness... (this isn't about bottled water vs. tap water, just me being a snob with great taste)
 

breakfuss

Member
Tap water is fine. This hating on tap is nonsense propaganda from the bottle water companies. Public water is one of the most heavily monitored resources.

I've had some that smelled like cat piss and I'm pretty sure it was fucking with my mammary glands. There are some places, at least here in Florida, that I would never drink from the tap.
 
I mean, I was talking about developed countries in my previous post. Brazil is still classified as a developing one, so it's understandable that some things are yet to be improved. Same with Indian tap water (which gave me a thunderstorm-like case of diarrhea some years ago).
Hah you're right, didn't notice the "developed" part. Still, it is something that kinda blew my mind when I was a kid and in American movies you'd have people just drinking straight from their tap. Something you'd only see around here if you had one of those expensive filters installed directly on the faucet.
 

Steel

Banned
Ohio tap water is exceptional. Michigan's is good as well.

Florida's on the other hand...never even once.

Eh, depends on where you are in the state. My area's got reverse osmosis filtering, so the water's pretty good. I'd go so far as to say it goes down better than bottled water.
 

skynidas

Banned
Here in Spain it depends on where you are. I live in Madrid (the capital) and the water is great here, but yeah, in Barcelona is disgusting.
 
Tap water in Austria is incredible. Almost no difference to bottled mineral water. Guess having all those mountains and thermal springs pays off.

I was surprised that when I was in Tokyo this year the tap water tasted like pure chlorine, despite having read before that the japanese are so very proud of their water quality.

our tap water is probably healthier than most bottled water and we flush our shit away with it.
 

Gattsu25

Banned
Ohio tap water is exceptional. Michigan's is good as well.

Florida's on the other hand...never even once.
I rented a house in FL that had city provided tap water (compared to the well water that was common in the region) and the water would congeal (turn into a sticky gel) if you left it sitting on a surface for a few minutes. I've never trusted tap water since.
 

EYEL1NER

Member
I spent most of my time in Missouri and moved to San Francisco about 10 years ago. I noticed a real difference in the taste of the water. Come to find out, we have some of the best water in the world here:

http://archives.sfexaminer.com/sanf...nest-in-world-report-says/Content?oid=2129349

I now feel very spoiled. It's terrible the condition of the drinking water in many other parts of the world. I really had no idea that it was such a widespead issue in many parts of Europe, though.
See, and I'm from Missouri and wont drink any tap water that isn't Independence, MO tap water. If SF water is better than that, I need to try some.
The tap water I've been drinking in the South is just not the same, so it's bottled-only for me and has been for a number of years.
 

Zalusithix

Member
I live in Scotland and the tap water here is fantastic. Which is good because the only thing I drink is water. Not a fan of English tap water and the worst tap water I've ever drank was from New York.

If you mean the New York as the state, then it's highly dependent on where you were. NY has an abundance of fresh water sources. Great lakes, finger lakes, rivers, etc. In our county alone, we can either draw from three lakes: Otisco, Ontario, or Skaneateles. Other counties / NYC have their own sources. Then you have the differences in age/quality of the municipal water mains.
 

MrToughPants

Brian Burke punched my mom
Oi, I have one of these:
EVNDseI.jpg


Now American toilets, I never understood why the water comes so high you dip your dick in it while you're taking a shit. That cannot be hygenic.


You know that you can adjust the water level in your toilet, right?
 

Glix

Member
Ohio tap water is exceptional. Michigan's is good as well.

Florida's on the other hand...never even once.

How could you possibly say this with no irony. Even if the water in 99% of the state is fine.

"Oh we just have this one city with poison water. We're actively not doing anything about it because its no big deal, only poor people and people of color live there"
 
My water in michigan is great. If you run well-water through a filter I think it's the best you can get.

You know that you can adjust the water level in your toilet, right?

Also depends on the age of the toilet. Older ones were less efficient and I believe they used more water in the bowl. At least from what I remember, ours used to be really high and slow and then we got a new one and it had a much lower water level.
 

effzee

Member
is NYC water still considered tops in taste and quality for the US?

I just moved from Queens to NJ and NJ water tastes terrible.
 

squall23

Member
I mean, I was talking about developed countries in my previous post. Brazil is still classified as a developing one, so it's understandable that some things are yet to be improved. Same with Indian tap water (which gave me a thunderstorm-like case of diarrhea some years ago).
I previously posted, but Hong Kong's tap water is still untrustworthy.
 
I find it funny how the water can be so drastically different in taste within even the same city.

Minneapolis water (from my tap) is delicious. Go to my friends (2 miles away) and it tastes horrendous.

Montana (eastern part of the state) water tasted like some deity filled the source with farts.
 

mhayes86

Member
The tap water at my parent's house in Maryland tasted fine. The apartment that I live in in Virginia though? Absolutely undrinkable. Even when boiled it retains an odd taste. I immediately bought a purifying water pitcher and a filtered shower head which has improved the water significantly.

There's also a difference if a residence uses well water.
 

bbalde

Member
Capetown / South Africa reporting, I drink tap water all the time since I'm here. Never bought a bottle water, except when on a road trip and don't trust public restrooms at fuel stations.
 

Kodros

Member
Went to Seattle for PAX, the tap water is probably 70% chlorine. My god did it taste bad.
Then went to Vancouver later. The tap water there was super clean in comparison. Yo Vancouver you and Seattle are only hours apart, you should share some of that ice water!

Seattle has really good water in general. Some of the best I've had. The closer your tap is to the chlorination plant, the stronger the chlorine is. The pipes break down the chlorine the farther it goes so water at the start wont taste the same as it does at the end. So maybe you were just real close to the plant.
 

jehuty

Member
Tap water from Milwaukee,WI is probably the best in the US. Its so good that Coca-cola likes to use it for tons of the water bottle products.

I went to Minneapolis and had some of their tap water. I got extremely sick for the rest of my trip there. You would think with all the lakes that Minnesota likes to boast about that their water would be on point. Wrong!

Oh, and drinking tap water from southern U.S states is a gamble no one should ever make. Unless you are a fan of diarrhea, if that's the case, then drink away.
 
Tap water tasted exactly the same as bottled water everywhere I've been in Germany. On the other hand I still remeber when I visited the US (I think Iwas 8 or 9 at the time) and my first tap water there tasted like it's been taken straight from a swimming pool. I think that was in Wisconsin.
 
I love my Massachusetts water. Among the best in the US.
I like water filters just to leave my water in the fridge so it gets ice cold. Love really cold water

You know that you can adjust the water level in your toilet, right?

This was a gaf meme. A guy came in making your typical "Why does America suck so bad" post, and the thread was about how American toilets have high water his dick was in the water. Someone came up with some math that suggested OP was saying he had like a 14" dong, while the majority of posts were "You do realize there isn't any single American toilet"
 

ZOONAMI

Junior Member
In MN it kind of depends on if the water is coming from an underground aquifer or surface water. I like the taste of the underground water even though its kind of hard from the minerals. Surface water i dont like the taste of all that much but i run it through a brita filter and then its fine.
 
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