Brita water jug for Uk hotel stays?

[Mudonstairs]

I feel like this is a stupid and dull question but I can’t find the answer by googling it. We have a 5 day round trip coming up and will be driving from Scotland to wales with various overnight stops and I was just wondering if it’s safe to drink bathroom water from the hotel rooms if we bring a brita water jug. Does anyone know?

I know you can boil the water but it would be handy to have the jug as a place for the water to be stored as we will then be able to use the kettle for teas and coffee without worrying about pouring the water waiting for it to cool etc. We are travelling with a toddler so would prefer not to have to lug bottled water around as will have enough luggage as it is!

Well now, I hadn’t thought about nespresso machines 🤔 I don’t think the travel lodges and ‘Dickensian’ hotels I have booked are likely to have any of those 😂

Don't think you can fit knickers in a nespresso, so they're probably fine! 😂

I wash the cups before I use them / take my own travel cup as I worked with someone who had done housekeeping in a posh hotel and they were told to rinse the cups and wipe them with the dirty bath towels. 😬

I drink water from the hotel bathroom tap though, if it's not potable they have to put a sign up, surely? The gym I go to has signs and also a specific drinking water tap in the loos. It's pretty normal that people would want to drink tap water in a hotel room - they'd have to make you aware if it wasn't safe.

I do drink water from the bathroom sink tap at home, as I know it's from the mains and not the loft tank. I wouldn't drink water from a loft tank.

GrannyAchingsShepherdsHut · Today 14:41
Don't think you can fit knickers in a nespresso, so they're probably fine! 😂

Thongs? ….. 🥴

To be honest I normally use bottled water in hotels but if not I just go to bar or restaurant and ask for a jug of water that I can bring to the room. I have never had any place refuse.

Thanks. I didn’t know the signs were a thing if it’s not suitable to drink. I have often seen signs saying drinking water but never seen signs saying don’t drink.

We have a toddler and I have read that bottled water isn’t always suitable for babies/toddlers due to the minerals.

I'd be more worried about the cleanliness of the cups/glasses than the quality of the water as they're not always washed properly

@Mudonstairs it will be fine on a short occasion. If in doubt pick a water bottled in the UK like Buxton (which is available out of a fountain for locals) as the mineral content will be similar to what they are used to.

Me too. I take a travel kettle and only use the bathroom tap water for hot water bottles, and buy cheap bottled water for cold drinks but most hotels I stay in have bottled water in the room or water machines.

I would always assume that water is suitable to drink unless it's labelled otherwise, especially in a hotel.
I would also double check that a Brita filter actually removes bacteria and viruses - I don't think they do, they just filter out the chlorine and minerals so it improves the taste of the water. If you want to filter water that you are unsure of its safety, I would use a hiking water filter - I have one from Amazon (waterdrop brand) that works well.

Stopped caring with toddlers because I figured can’t be worse than the salt in a packet of pom bears. It is a thing for babies though. But Evian is always ok and that’s very easy to find.

Thanks. I do always wash cups and glasses in the hotel room before using them. I am curious as to what other toddler mums do when bottled water isn’t recommended for toddlers. I guess we could ask for a jug at the hotel bar but it just seems like yet another thing we are going to have to remember/ask for. I already anticipate we will have a few requests I.e iron & ironing board, extra pillow for the little one etc. We are travelling to a new place on every single day of the trip and it’s all come about because of a wedding, so we will all be tired and can’t imagine either of us will want to go hunting for water after a long day travelling with a car sick DC.

Perhaps I am overthinking this trip because DCs car sickness is making me dread it and I want everything else to go as smoothly as possible.

Funnily enough, packets of Pom bears will be coming with us as I heard that they help car sickness. Don’t know how true it is but willing to try anything for DC’s car sickness!

Surely if water not potable they need to put a sign up near the taps, clearly visible that states this? I’m not from UK but that’s the rule where I’m from so unless it has that sign then you can safely drink from the tap.

The kettle is another thing entirely. I don’t have many male friends that will drink from hotel kettles. Seemingly, when uni age, and I’m guessing a few years thereafter, it was a ‘thing’ for young men to drunkenly wee in a hotel kettle and think it fucking hilarious. I’m talking people who went on to be/are doctors, lawyers, engineers etc, not homeless people! Hence, now several decades later none of them will use a hotel kettle🤣. I just rinse it thoroughly, give it a boil, rinse again and boil. Then use. They think I am mad.

I wasn’t aware that there needs to be any signs for people not to drink water. I have always not drank any water unless it says drinking water or is from a kitchen, but that isn’t from any knowledge I’ve acquired, it’s just what my mum told me to do since I was a child so it’s stuck.

I had no idea that peeing in kettles was a thing. Wouldn’t occur to me as surely guests would just use the toilet. Maybe it came about when young lads would share rooms and the bathroom is occupied. Perhaps that’s where the saying ‘boils my piss’ come from 😂

Had a quick check and it looks like the Brita filters don't remove bacteria. For that you'd need a 0.2 micron filter (for bacteria) and Brita filters seem to be 0.5 or bigger. There's an ion echange step which will remove some viruses but not all.

Friend of mine checked as the water had a funny taste and there were a few decomposed bats in it.

If you are really concerned, you could invest in the like of this:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/WATER-Filtered-Water-Bottle-500ml/dp/B00SLG1OI2/ref=asc_df_B00SLG1OI2/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=310552789112&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2873766226093992538&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9046418&hvtargid=pla-563589480904&mcid=bc631ff1540f3aa5afc1dc5ccbfd4db2&th=1

One way of testing if it is mains water. Turn the tap on put your finger under the tap if you can hold the water back it is from a tank. If it is hard to or starts to spray everywhere then it is mains water.

I didn’t know this, thanks. My husband insists that our bathroom tap in our house is mains so it’s ok to drink. I’ll be testing this tonight!

can’t imagine either of us will want to go hunting for water after a long day travelling with a car sick DC

Could you not fill up a few bottles with tap water from home and just take them in the car with you? When they are empty then you could just refill them.

I'm sure you won't need to go "hunting for water" in the UK.

We will of course be filling our own personal bottles of water before we set off but I was meaning specifically to have in the hotel room for the evening and night. DC goes to bed at 7pm so we will be in our room for most of the evenings and nights. I guess one of us could go out to get more water but just as I said, looking for a bare essential is just an inconvenience in my eyes. ‘Hunting’ may be an exaggeration but it also may not be that easy in the remote parts of Wales (this is my first time going to Wales so I have no idea). I know that the travelodges I have booked don’t have bars, well I’m assuming they don’t because I’ve had to buy a separate breakfast cereal add ons with our stay because there is no restaurant.

When I travel, it’s not just about water safety, it’s about taste. I find that the hotel water almost always tastes bad. I don’t know that a brita would be enough to compensate. When the water doesn’t taste good, I drink less and end up not feeling well as a result. I tend to get dehydrated easily.

we carry reusable water bottles and buy big jugs of bottled water to refill them as needed. I used to buy individual bottles of water but that was more cumbersome and the waste really bothered me. The big jug and refill system is a good compromise.

This thread is making me want to go up in our loft and check the hot water tank! 1960's build house and pretty sure not a lot has ever been done to our plumbing, the water pressure is rubbish anyway and we constantly get air locks.

I'm imagining all sorts floating around in our hot water tank now 😂

I never knew that my boring question would actually make quite an interesting thread 😂 I’m currently trying to settle DC into bed (again) and then go test whether my bathroom water is mains or tank as per PP advice. I’m excited!