To think you can drink from a bathroom tap?

[cheesenpickles]

Help me settle a long-standing debate in my household.

My dh thinks that you can't drink water from the bathroom tap and only a kitchen tap.

I think he's daft as a brush and it all comes from the same source. It's totally fine to drink.

Discuss

I was always taught not, but that was back when the water upstairs came from a (horrible) tank in the attic.

I still don't - because it's how I was brought up - even though I assume it's fine now.

My partner and DSS both do though, and they've never come to any harm.

It depends on the age of your house and the way your water supply is structured.
Years ago in almost all houses the water in the bathroom came from the water tank so wasn't used for drinking water. In most modern houses though, the bathroom cold tap is supplied from the rising main the same as the cold kitchen tap.

You can test which type you have by turning off your water at the main stopcock, then run both the cold taps in the kitchen and the bathroom. They should stop running after a few moments.

If the one in the bathroom keeps on running, you have got the old fashioned type of supply.

Depends on if you have a tank. My bil is a surveyor and has seen dead rats and a squirrel in the tank. not envy

Bath, shower, toilet and sink in our family bathroom are all fed from the cold water storage tank in our loft. Cold water (including toilet) in the en-suite in loft are mains fed because of being on same level as water tank. We wanted a combi boiler but can’t have one as the local water pressure can’t give enough for two bathrooms. (We had three companies in to investigate and quote and had to just get a new standard boiler with hot and cold water storage tanks).

Depends if you have a water tank in your loft/attic.
We don't we have a combo boiler so it's all the same water.

YABU and your DH is correct. Mine is fed from a tank in the attic so I'd rather only drink water from the downstairs sinks which are directly mains fed. However, I prefer the water at my friend's house as she has well water and it's gorgeous.

Tank fed water is one issue and the other is artificially softened water. Generally unless you need a low sodium diet it is safe to drink but it is not recommended. The hospital I work at labels all taps with softened water as not drinking water.

Someone has said bathroom water tastes better, that is likely tank fed. As it has sat around chlorine evaporates and the water tastes less chemically. However, you still dont know what crap is in the tank. Filling a jug with water and letting it sit for a few hours has the same effect.

YANBU, it's just water :)

I'm in a hardwater area so I'm not drinking from any taps.

Honestly, just because your water has lime in it doesn't mean it isn't drinkable.

@SnugglySnerd That's right, the episode is Basil the Rat, with the health inspector rattling through a long list, ending with "and two dead pigeons in the water tank!", to which Basil replies "Otherwise OK?".

Sybil: "Did you take those pigeons out of the water tank?"
Basil: "No I left them in, they're nearly done."

It's usually only the hot water that comes from a header tank leading a hot water cylinder tank which heats the water (usually in bathroom airing cupboard). Most people's bathroom taps will be directly connected to the mains the same as the kitchen. You do sometimes have to run the bathroom cold tap for a minute to clear any water that has been sitting in the pipes to get really cold water from underground as it's got further to go than the kitchen tap, but is the same water!

Just realised that for the last 20 years I haven’t had a water tank but still only drink water from the kitchen tap .

Always drink from the bathroom tap i fill up a glass every night

as for not drinking in hard water areas i cant drink in soft areas if i go away doesnt agree with me

Our tank is made of asbestos - although I googled it and apparently it's harmless to ingest, just don't breathe it! When we moved in we did some work in the attic and I noticed the tank was full of dead woodlice in the bottom (we cleaned it but I expect they're back by now....), so although I do have the odd swig I wouldn't drink more than that. I keep a bottle of kitchen tap water by the bed for if I get thirsty.

We also have a water softener which is another reason to stick to the main kitchen tap only. But as PPs have said - if you have no tank and no softener than you are fine.

been doing it all my life.im still alive...

Depends on the water source. In most houses the kitchen tap is connected to the mains and the rest come from a water tank. Obviously the mains water is fresh and the water from the tank has been hanging around for however long it takes you to get through a tank of water.

I’ve heard horror stories about dead pigeons being found in the tank. Also, they can be a bit old and corroded.

I'm amazed at anyone buying water in the UK unless they're caught short out and about.

I swear the water just tastes different here (think of the little girl in Signs "It tastes funny.")🤣 I'm hardly spending a fortune on water anyway we're not THAT healthy in this household.

It horrifies me that some houses have tanks of water for upstairs. Never had one and never would.

You can never live in a large house then!

i thought you were going to as whether you stuck your mouth round the tap to drink.

We weren't supposed to drink water from the bathroom when we had a tank but when we had the heating overhauled, the tank went. Then we could drink out of any tap!

Reminds me of one of the many funny scenes in Dad's Army when Pike asks his Mum for a glass of water then shouts "Kitchen water, not bathroom water!" :)

No tank here so perfectly safe to drink from the bathroom tap.

Growing up we had a tank (and some still do) so eww, no.

Come back OP! Did the rotten tap water get you?