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AIBU?

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Original poster

I think I have now heard it all.......

157 replies

Ppatime · 23/05/2019 20:19

True anecdote. Child in class wanted some water. Teacher directed child to drinking water tap in class and a clean cup. Child said that mum did not allow water from the tap; child only allowed to drink filtered water. For context, drinking water in our area is wonderful and the child has no medical issues.
Mind. blown.

OP posts:
bluerememberedhills · 25/05/2019 19:17

DS loves tap water - doesn't like NW tap water - too soft - not his preference - but he drinks it - Tap water is just fine wherever it comes from though

SheeshazAZ09 · 25/05/2019 19:29

Chlorine and aluminium are deliberately added to tap water by water companies and plenty of people don't want to drink those so they have water filters. Plus there are large numbers of other contaminants in drinking water, including chemicals that leach from water pipes (include endocrine disruptors and metals) and pharmaceutical drugs. Contaminants just have to be below a legal tolerance level, by EU law. Filtering water for drinking is the norm in many countries where the water is technically considered safe to drink. I agree that this child was just importing what was the norm at home into his school. I hope he was not subjected to the hostility that some posters are displaying on this thread.

LisaD76 · 25/05/2019 19:40

Don’t know why people complain about tap water tbh.... most bottled waters have been through similar cleaning processes as that which is out of the tap.... and tap water has added fluoride doesn’t it?

MatthewBramble · 25/05/2019 19:46

the quality of tap aster in most parts of Britain is absolutely horrid.

The taste may be a bit strong sometimes but as drinking water I'd say it rates among the best in the world.

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 25/05/2019 19:47

The only place I've ever tasted chlorine in tap water was Miami - and it was horrible. I've never tasted it anywhere in the UK. Though I know taste can vary according to area. A granny's hard London water tasted quite different from our soft water at home.,

IMO bottled water is largely a massive con, albeit very convenient when you're out if you've forgotten to bring your own. (Notable con being Dasani, which was supposed to be launched on the UK market, but was pulled after the press revealed that it came out of a tap in Sidcup.)

In the late 70s/early 80s we lived on a construction camp, in the middle of the Abu Dhabi desert. Our water came in a bowser truck, and came out of the tap hot, thick and brown. I had to filter it, then boil it and keep it in the fridge.
When we came back to the UK on holiday that first summer, when bottled water was very much a new thing, we were gobsmacked that people were paying well over a 1000 times more for what they could get out of the tap - cold and clean - for free at home.

I wasn't surprised that bottled water was already such a big thing in France - on my first visit in the 60s (school exchange) we were told that water was not necessarily safe to drink - we had to be sure it was labelled 'potable'.

ddl1 · 25/05/2019 19:48

Perhaps the child's parents grew up in the late 80s/ early 90s? I remember problems with germs (Cryptospiridium - sp?) in the water in some places at that time; so the parents may have got a fixed idea about tap-water, which they never overcame. Of course, it's a bit weird for them to be passing this on to their child in 2019!

SchadenfreudePersonified · 25/05/2019 20:01

I visited Yorkshire and the air was simply horrid up there! I only breathe filtered air when I'm in the north and northeast.

Grin

Aye - lucky for us northerners that we have evolved special air-filtering nostrils to screen out the nasties.

I blew me nose yesterday and there was three flat caps and a whippet in me hanky. When I went to Ilkley on a day out I got a sheep stuck up there. Was a bugger to remove!

sunshine11 · 25/05/2019 20:07

Tap water does have quite a few nasties in it despite going through filtration. Sadly the legal tolerance for certain bugs isn’t that high so your tap water will include artificial hormones, fertiliser and excessive amounts of fluoride. If in any doubt get it independently tested, it’s an eye opener for sure!

We only drink filtered water at home and bottled if out. I can always tell a cuppa made with tap water. That said, my kids drink tap water at school because that’s what there is.

Hoppinggreen · 25/05/2019 20:07

Reminds me of a story my friend told me
She was in NY on 9/11 and although she thankfully was safe most if the roads were closed and people had to walk miles to get outside of the exclusion zone. A few restaurants opened their doors for people to have a rest and a drink and she went into one along with a group who didn’t know each other but were all were all walking together. One woman had a dog and the restaurant owner said that they didn’t allow dogs in but given the circumstances she could take the dog in. A waiter brought the dog a bowl of water and she yelled “wait!!! Is this TAP WATER??. My dog doesn’t drink TAP!!”
My friend being a down to earth Mancunian told her what she though about that

wildchild554 · 25/05/2019 20:20

@IHeartKingThistle could the parabens thing be anything to do with a sensitivity to parabens? I have a friend who has to limit her exposure to them as she can end up with an extreme reaction to them. I hadn't heard of it till they told me about it.

DarthLipgloss · 25/05/2019 20:23

Mum of 18 month old in group in v v middle class Yorkshire Dales town wouldn't let DD eat my homemade carrot cake cos I'd made it with salted butter...

IHeartKingThistle · 25/05/2019 20:37

@wildchild554 that would have been understandable! No she was just holding forth, told all the other mums they shouldn't let their kids near the plastic mixing bowls too. Wish she'd been as hot on her kid's behaviour as she was on parabens Grin

perplexedagain · 25/05/2019 20:39

We got a separate drinking water tap and filter fitted in our new kitchen. My god the difference ... tea now tastes fantastic. Before getting a proper filter system i would've said not worth it but now i am a complete convert. Don't blame said child for only drinking filtered water - wish I'd got one sooner

SluggishSnail · 25/05/2019 20:44

I once had a 9 year old over for tea who asked if the chicken was Tesco chicken, because they only ate Waitrose or Sainsbury's chicken

wallowinwater · 25/05/2019 21:27

“*If you’re concerned about your children’s hearing, then don’t take them to the air show maybe?”

What makes you think they were concerned about their kids hearing- kids with sensory processing disorders wear these, they want to enjoy the show too. You’re really ignorant.

isabellerossignol · 25/05/2019 21:28

I once had a 9 year old over for tea who asked if the chicken was Tesco chicken, because they only ate Waitrose or Sainsbury's chicken

Grin I'd love to be the person to break the news to the parents that the Waitrose chicken is produced in the same manufacturing facility, in exactly the same way, as the Tesco chicken. If you go to the manufacturer's outlet shop you can buy the excess stock directly from them for about £1 a go...

Poloshot · 25/05/2019 21:35

I agree Op, it does surprise me the amount of odd balls around

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 25/05/2019 22:14

Bobblr bottles have a built in filter - I use one myself.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 25/05/2019 22:15

Bugger - didn’t check before posting - Bobble bottles! Blush

lalafafa · 25/05/2019 22:50

It’s a con this whole drinking loads of water.

Allhailthesun · 25/05/2019 23:03

Really! We have tap water that’s safe and drink able throughout the country It may taste better in hard water areas but it’s all up to a really safe standard.
You go with your filtered water that had had had a big marketing campaign, adevettisingto buy their filtration system and lots of plastic and wrapped/ postage filtering products.

moonrises · 25/05/2019 23:04

PickAChew I didn't realise they supplied East Durham too,

Dra anyone is free to visit, just they need to be advised that Hartlepool water is not great.

Marmablade · 25/05/2019 23:39

I can genuinely tell the difference between types of tap water around the country. London and Birmingham are the absolute worst. East Midlands is the best. IMHO.

That said child should surely just suck it up out of home??

HazelBite · 25/05/2019 23:54

I cannot drink tap water in London, East Anglia the West Country and various other places in the Uk, I come out (within hours) in dreadful skin rashes.
The water in North Wales and the Highlands of Scotland is fine.
Obviously there are some additives in some of the water in various regions that irritates me.
It is really inconvenient to not be able to have coffee/tea at friends houses or stop for one when you are out, or have ice in your drinks.
Filtering the water at home doesn't make any difference so I have to buy 12 x 2 litre bottles of water a week, it is a problem that I would much rather not have!

Lozz22 · 26/05/2019 00:02

Our water tastes rank where I live. Its like drinking a cup of tea or water from a cup that has had bleach inside it and not washed out properly.I always used to filter my water even to fill the kettle up. Don’t do it as much now but I do make sure I give the two a good blast through first before filling the kettle up. Hair never seems to clean as nice in a hard water area which is probably why when I travel to Durham I like to spend ages in the shower washing my hair in nice soft water and drink plenty of the tap water there too