To drink water out of the bathroom tap

Depends if bathroom water is also mains or from a tank. If mains, it's fine. If a tank, it could have a dead pigeon in it.

Brush them in the kitchen or with a glass of water taken from the kitchen or spit not swallow

Our cold water tap in the bathroom is fed completely separately from the hot water tap and the kitchen tap. I don't even know where it comes from. It has a separate stop ok all to itself. I wouldn't drink from it.

You also need to think about the age of the pipes leading to the bathroom tap, and the possibility of lead.

We have lead pipes on our main feed. The water is potable so long a it hasn't been standing. In the morning we have to run the taps through. Obviously changing it to non lead pipes is better.

The bathroom/ tank thing is due to Legionnaire's.

What do the people who don't drink out of bathroom taps do when they brush their teeth?

Cross post on how to test!

Our cold water tank (replaced in the last decade) in the loft feeds the hot water cylinder and the bath, but not the sink in the bathroom.

Another way to tell which sinks run off mains is to turn off the stopcock, drain any water in them in the kitchen sink, then try running the other cold taps - if they run for a while, with 'normal' enthusiasm they are fed off a tank. The method described above will also work, but means going into the loft.

I didn't know this -it is so interesting!

It depends on your house. Kitchen tap water is normally straight from the mains. Some houses also main feed the bathroom in which case it is fine to drink. However some bathrooms have a storage tank feed which you shouldn't drink.

Check in your loft for a tank
If you have one turn your stop tap off. Then turn your bathroom tap on. If water comes out you are in a tank feed in your bathroom so don't drink it. If nothing comes out it is mains fed and ok to drink... Once you turn the stop tap back on... 😉

We've got a tank in the loft which feeds the upstairs cold taps. I've been brushing my teeth and drinking from them for about 20 years with no ill effects. The tank is covered though. Might be the odd spider but no chance a random pigeon or mouse could fall in.

Years and years ago houses originally had lead pipes. When it was realised these were potentially harmful they were changed but to save money often only the kitchen pipes were changed. So people were told not to drink from bathroom taps.
Everywhere has copper pipes now so you’re quite safe.
when you return from a period away it’s a good idea to run water for a couple if minutes from taps and showers, putting them on cold.

Not necessarily. I have tanks in the loft that feed the upstairs taps

Combi boilers arent the best choice for a lot of houses especially if you use multiple taps/showers at the same time. We got a new boiler a couple of years ago but kept our tanks and hot water cylinder

I thought that most people had combi boilers now, obviously I must have been wrong

My current house (built in 2000) has water tanks in the loft. I still drink the bathroom water and have managed to survive!

So what about cleaning your teeth in the bathroom with 'tank' water? Surely everyone does that. If the water was that bad wouldn't ingesting even a small amount result in illness? We'd all be coming down with sickness bugs all the time.

Well I just had my boiler replaced so for once I can actually give an answer!

the plumber told me because my new boiler means all the water comes from the mains now and not stored in a tank all the water from the taps in both the kitchen and bathroom is drinking water now.
i still don’t use the bathroom probably out of habit but I could.

so yes your bathroom tap is fine for drinking from.

I think it’s fine, you used it to brush your teeth I’m guessing

Years ago? This is still the case in the house I am in now, and my previous one.

You can’t assume all bathroom taps are fed directly from the mains. You need to check if you don’t know for sure.

Yes, that must have been when ours went to the mains, we had a combi boiler and all new radiators put in about a year after we moved in, before then there was a hot water cylinder and boiler in the fireplace. Plumber must have sorted the tank at the same time so we didn't use it anymore

I really, really wouldn’t drink from a bathroom tap unless you KNOW for certain that the water for it comes directly from the mains (ie not from a tank in the loft). A plumber would be able to tell you if you can’t find out for yourself.

I once looked in the tank in the loft of an older house we were living in, and it was GRIM. Dead flies, scum on the surface, etc.

Seriously, I would check which system you have!

Just seen the boiler comments

I have a tank in an upstairs cupboard but my kitchen and bathroom are downstairs at the other end of the house. I can't work out if it's safe or not

If you have a combi boiler your water will not come from a tank. If you have an older immersion heater it will do.

my bedroom is in the loft but I still think about drinking the bathroom water!