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Original poster

Do you drink water from a hotel bathroom tap?

97 replies

SpangoDweller · 07/02/2023 22:15

Just wondering. Travelling for work with a couple of colleagues & one asked why I bought a large bottle of water for my room. Staying in a small independent hotel & I have no idea if it’s mains or tank fed, & I drink loads of water so I need a source!

OP posts:

JammiDodgers · 08/02/2023 06:18

Oooh never 👎 🤢

southlondoner02 · 08/02/2023 06:26

Never occurred to me not to. But agree with people about bathroom taps generally. I live in a block and a few years ago when having a boiler fitted the workman went on the roof and discovered dead pigeons in the tank. We never drank from the bathroom tap but it freaked me out a bit thinking of all the pigeon water we'd been showering in/ brushed our teeth in

Metabigot · 08/02/2023 07:07

Ive always presumed if it wasn't safe, they'd say.

Why is a kitchen tap different to a bathroom tap anyway?

adulthumanfemalemum · 08/02/2023 07:11

Maybe abroad I might be suspicious but as far as I'm aware in the UK legally a tap must have a sign saying so if it's not suitable for drinking so if there's no sign I would drink water from any tap.

meetmeatmidnights · 08/02/2023 07:13

Hell no!! Bottled water only, always stock up. Even for tea / coffee if desperate (normally try to get them from a Starbucks or similar).

DalaiLlama · 08/02/2023 07:21

Why is a kitchen tap different to a bathroom tap anyway?

Kitchen taps come straight from the mains.

Bathroom taps often come from a tank. The tank is filled with mains water but that water then sits there for a period and it’s not advised to drink it as you can’t guarantee the cleanliness of the tank- anything that can get to the tank is potentially in the tank (pigeons, rats etc). So it’s probably fine- most tanks don’t contains dead pigeons- but it’s not advised.

Aftertheshowisover · 08/02/2023 07:35

Have done for years home and abroad not been a problem. I have noticed when taps say not suitable for drinking in public areas and wouldn’t then of course.

gogohmm · 08/02/2023 07:53

Yes unless I remember to bring my water bottle

gogohmm · 08/02/2023 07:57

But I also drank the tap water in Sri Lanka and brushed my teeth to the horror of my dp ... I was fine (5* hotel I should add)

RedRocketGirl · 08/02/2023 08:05

Jellybean23 · 07/02/2023 22:22

Whenever we stay in hotels, we drink the water from the washbasin cold tap. Surely it is mains water, just like at home? And wouldn't it be labelled as not fit for drinking otherwise?

Err definitely not always mains water! Guess you've not heard about this case. They only checked the water tower when the water went brown apparently. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Elisa_Lam

CornishGem1975 · 08/02/2023 08:45

Yeah I do. Hasn't killed me yet.

whytesnow · 08/02/2023 16:14

There isn't a sign to say not to drink out the toilet bowl so would you do that

MaverickGooseGoose · 08/02/2023 16:59

No way. I don't use the kettle either.

KrasiTime · 08/02/2023 17:06

I rinse the kettle out then boil it 2 or 3 times rinsing out every time. I’ve heard some grim stories.

Lcb123 · 08/02/2023 17:07

Yes I’ve always done so apart from countries where tap water is unsafe

Notjusta · 08/02/2023 17:15

Yep I do. Nothing bad has ever happened!

And I fill my bedside glass with water from my bathroom every single day!

Clearly I'm living on the edge 😁

Most homes these days don't have a water tank for the bathroom tap. Those of you who don't drink from your bathroom tap, do you know for certain you do have a cold water tank in the loft and that it actually feeds your bathroom tap?

KrasiTime · 08/02/2023 17:16

We have a tank in the loft. House was built in 1930’s. Most people I know have same set up.

DoesItMakeYouFeelBetter · 08/02/2023 17:20

Yes. It’s just the same as water from the tap as home, isn’t it?

Fairysilver · 08/02/2023 17:29

I drink tap water everywhere, UK or abroad unless in a developing country.

Jellybean23 · 08/02/2023 23:57

KrasiTime · 08/02/2023 17:16

We have a tank in the loft. House was built in 1930’s. Most people I know have same set up.

Usually, the tank in the loft is a feeder tank for the hot water cylinder in the airing cupboard. The height of the header tank determines the pressure of the water in the hot taps. It is the water which eventually runs out through the hot taps and shouldn't be drunk. The water running out of cold taps in the bathroom and kitchen taps is a separate feed, direct from the mains and therefore drinkable. This is why, in houses with a header tank in the loft, the upstairs hot water pressure is low compared to the cold water pressure upstairs.

Wavescrashingonthebeach · 08/02/2023 23:59

Only boiled in the kettle for a hot drink & using for brushing teeth

MishaBukvic · 09/02/2023 06:36

Nope.
Partly because of Elisa Lamm (dead body found in water tank of a hotel ) .

And partly because of cold water tank feeds which are still around in some UK hotels. My colleague did a plumbing job for a hotel in the Midlands and he found debris in the water tank that was feeding the cold taps in the rooms. So no, I ain't drinking outta them !

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