Tap water

[Bestyearever2024]

Hi MNetters

Are you happy drinking tap water?

Or do you filter the tap water ? Buy bottled water? Or something else?

What do you drink your water/cold drink out of when you're on the move? Plastic? Metal? Glass?

Thanks for the advice 🙂

We live in a hard water area, often with high levels chlorine, so all internal water goes through a water softener.
We drink via a fridge filter, and unfiltered from tap for tea etc. Water tastes and smells fine.

I rarely buy water when out, as I take water in a stainless steel bottle, but if I do it is't usually plastic. (and expensive, paid £2.80 for 500 ml recently)

At home I filter and carbonate.

I take I carbonated to work in a metal bottle.

I only drink tap water from my home tap. I know it's irrational but I've been the same since I was a child.

I'll happily grab an Evian if I need to. I'll probably go to hell for that.

SE water, same in our last house,yet the tap water often tasted weird there and was cloudy old property lead pipes,so we used a filter jug. Now I keep it in a glass bottle in the fridge, I only like it really cold so do the dogs. Only time we take water out it's for them, large re usable plastic bottle. I'm amazed seeing people in supermarkets still buying small bottles of water, thought we were meant to be saving on plastic usage.

That should have said I take non-carbonated to work - I tried it once and it squirted everywhere.

My tap water is amazing here (Wales).

I'm in a hardware area, and it's what I mostly drink, unfiltered. Would a filter make any difference? Most of the flavour (which is basically not much taste at all) will be soluble, and wouldn't a filter only remove insoluble bits? (I don't know, never use one.)

Grew up on a farm where our water was from a bore hole in the chalk. That was fine, too. When we stayed at a family place in Wales, that was also straight out of the ground (much sifter than ours.) There were occasionally fresh water shrimps in it, whuch I thought was great fun when I was about 7. The scent of sheep dip one time was something that did make mum forbid us from drinking it that year.

I drink tap water happily. Our water is very hard so we filter for the sake of the kettle. I’ve got a Phox filter. I never buy bottled water unless I’ve got no option.

If I go out for a day, I'll usually take tap water in either a metal chilly's bottle or in a plastic water bottle, of which I have a collection, mostly corporate merch freebies over the years.

I'm really grateful for everyone's input. I've ordered a glass water bottle with a 'cover' off Amazon. I think I'll also buy a chilli bottle.

I now have to decide what to do about a filter and if I decide to buy one, which one!

Filter all tap water using a Phox. Even the water I cook pasta and vegetables with. Saving up for a Berkey. There must be so many cleaning chemicals and pharmacetuicals in our water now

The cat never used to drink the water I put out for him, now that I filter it he drinks lots.

I trust the cat more than the water companies.

Oh wow! Really? Now that's so interesting and I too would trust your cat!

I'm.in a hard water area and drink the tap water. Omg I notice the difference when I'm in a soft water area, so much nicer.

We have soft water, it used to taste great and we all drank it daily. A few years ago it changed and wasn't as nice. We have a Brita jug in the fridge and I use the Tesco own brand filters which are much cheaper than brita. The water tastes so much better than our tap water. I still use the tap water in the kettle and for cooking.

My cat regularly drinks straight from the tap in London. I'm an old gimmer, I don't take water out with me in any sort of bottle, I haven't died of thirst yet

This is a really interesting topic. - I've been pondering this for some time. We (as-family) have drunk tap water for years but since moving house 2months ago have switched to bottled water- various reasons for this; the amount of sewage now in our lakes /rivers etc which is where some of our drinking water comes from- I get that it's treated but how much more treatment is needed to make our water safe compared to say 30 years ago - is the treatment /chemicals harmful in the long term to human health?
The recent tap water scares in part of the country
Also we'd be very naive to think that our drinking water isn't also teaming in microplastics- I'm unsure which is better tap or bottled and being trying to get a conclusive answer by searching reputable sources but I'm no clearer - bottled water is in any event is very expensive so I'm interested to read other people's opinions on this

Also the issue with a lot of filters (ie Brita)f is they don't filter out bacteria and viruses - the recent scare with that nasty bacteria wouldn't be filtered out.. I'm unsure if it filters out all chemicals so interested if other MNetters are more informed

Interesting points @Bunnybear42

And I'm guessing it's also possible for bottled water to be contaminated? 🥺

@Bestyearever2024 Yes imagine so ! I tend to buy premium bottled water in the hope they are a good choice but who knows ! I'm not sure there is a definitive answer tbh !!

Where in Wales are you? I'm in the south, and the water tastes vile. It has a strong chemical taste.

I always drank tap water until we moved house. Then I bought bottled until we had the kitchen redone & a filter fitted.

The tap water at work is horrible. We take big containers ftom home.

I'm in the north west.

I'm in West Yorkshire and our tap water is delicious. We have about 95 water bottles/chilli bottles/canisters to choose from if wanting to take it out and about with us. (Not really 95 but it seems close, do the damn things breed when you shut the cupboard doors?!)

I miss London tap water

I now live in a very soft water area and I can smell the chemicals as it comes from the tap. Never used to, when I first moved here I though it was lush

Glass of Thames finest for me please :)

I drink tap water at home. But when I go out I do take mineral water. because tap water goes funny after a while. (Tastes a bit lime-y.) I have Peak District water... (Buxton mineral water... Closest source of mineral water for me pretty much!)

We have an under sink filter which we use for cooking but only drink bottled, usually sparkling.