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submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by nigelinux@lemmy.ml to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

For context, I live in Hong Kong where most people drink tap water after boiling first. Some may install water filter but may still boil the water. Very few drink bottle water unless they're outside and too lazy to bring their own bottles.

Now, I'm researching whether I can drink tap water in Iceland (I'm going there in August), and while it looks like the answer is affirmative, almost no web article mention whether I need to boil the water first. People in Japan (a country I've visited a few times) also seems to be used to drink tap water directly without boiling.

The further I searched, the more it seems to me that in developed countries (like US, Canada and the above examples), tap water is safe to drink directly. Is that true? Do you drink tap water without boiling?

It sounds like a stupid question but I just can't believe what I saw. I think I experienced a cultural shock.

Edit: wow, thanks so much for the responses and sorry if I didnt reply to each one of you but I'll upvote as much as as I can. Never thought so many would reply and Lemmy is a really great community.

2nd Edit: So in conclusion, people from everywhere basically just drink water straight out of tap. And to my surprise, I checked the Water Supplies Department website and notice it asserts that tap water in Hong Kong is potable, like many well-developed countries and regions.

However, as the majority of Hong Kong people are living in high-rise buildings, a small amount of residual chlorine is maintained in the water to keep it free from bacterial infection during its journey in the distribution system. Therefore it is recommended to boil the water so that chlorine dissipates.

So, in short, I actually do not need to boil the water unless I hate chlorine smell and taste. But I guess I'll just continue this old habit/tradition as there's no harm in doing so.

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[-] Vertelleus@sh.itjust.works 12 points 1 year ago

US here. Yes, can confirm I can, and do drink water from the tap without boiling. The city provides, maintains, and regularly checks the safety of the water. Notices are put out if something damages the pipes and a "water boiling" policy is put out promptly over local radio and/or newspaper.

[-] dandroid@dandroid.app 2 points 1 year ago

It depends on where you live in the US for sure. Not everywhere has drinkable water. And even more places have poor-tasting or very hard tap water.

[-] StingyAsian88@aussie.zone 8 points 1 year ago

Lol, I was you 10 years ago. For context I'm Malaysian and we only drink water that is first filtered and then boiled. When eating outside we generally avoid iced drinks unless it's a reputable shop.

Then I moved to Australia and reacted with utter horror to see my then-bf drink straight from the tap. I was like wtf you're going to get parasites! Spit it out!

Now I drink water like Aussies and my kid refills her bottle from the tap too. My parents, when they visit, still boil water to drink but they've at least stopped thinking we're trying to murder their grandchild.

[-] marvin@lemmy.sdf.org 6 points 1 year ago

Berlin, Germany: we drink water straight from the tap. It's free and delicious. If you don't feel like drinking tap, just drink a "Berliner Rohrperle". It's the same thing with a fancier name, because our tap water is awesome.

Nowadays we even have public drinking fountains dotted around the city.

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[-] EponymousBosh@beehaw.org 4 points 1 year ago

In the US, the only time you'd have to boil water before drinking in most places is if there's something wrong with the water system and they put out a "boil water" advisory, and that's pretty rare. It's definitely not something you have to on a daily basis. Some people will use water filters but it's not usually a necessity.

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[-] SaltySalamander@lemmy.fmhy.ml 4 points 1 year ago

If you can't drink your tap water without boiling, your government has totally failed you.

[-] Tankton@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago

Netherlands: our tap water is better than bottled spring water

[-] 9488fcea02a9@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago

Canada: our bottled water IS tap water....

I just drink water straight from the tap

[-] squaresinger@feddit.de 3 points 1 year ago

One thing to consider: While tab water in most of the developed world is potable,any water safety guarantees usually end where the house water pipes begin. Depending on the state of the piping, tap water might not be safe, even if the water supplyer says it's safe.

You can get a water test (especially bacteria is important) for relatively cheap. Last time I did such a test it was ~€60. It's not wrong to do one.

Also, the definition of potable water is that the water is potable after the tap has been running for 10(!) minutes.

Bacteria contaminated pipes are pretty common and if the water has been sitting in these biofilm-covered pipes over night or even longer, the water can become pretty harmful. Especially after you get home from a vacation, letting the water run for a decent amount of time might be a good thing.

Also: the worst thing that can happen to your water pipe system are blind pipes, so pipes that are connected only on one end. That could be e.g. left-over plumbing after remodeling or pipes that lead to unused taps. If at all possible, these ahould be removed or flushed at best daily.

[-] amoroso@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 year ago

I live in a major Italian city, I'm well over fifty, and I've always drunk unfiltered water straight from the tap without boiling. Some Italians apparently don't like the taste of tap water but it's still safe to drink it unfiltered and unboiled in nearly all the country.

[-] Pat12@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

When i lived in hongkong i never boiled the water, i just drank it from the tap

[-] Thorny_Thicket@sopuli.xyz 2 points 1 year ago

Finland

Yes. Our tap water is among the cleanest on earth

[-] Kauzig@feddit.de 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

At home I exclusively drink tap water. I only boil it for tea sometimes :) I‘m from Germany.

[-] juliebean@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago

yep, i'll drink straight from the tap. i live in california, united states. it is even common to have drinking fountains in public spaces: special button activated taps that spurt cool tap water into the air for you to drink from.

[-] chepox@sopuli.xyz 2 points 1 year ago

México. NO. Do not drink the tap water. Boiling does not help. It has a bunch of heavy metals and other contaminants in it. It sucks because mechanical filtering is incapable of removing them effectively. Reverse osmosis does but it is a challenging and expensive process to properly keep in your house. We always buy bottled water. Trucks deliver twice a week.

[-] infamousbelgian@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago

Belgium: yes! We drink tap water. Straight from the tap. Hardness varies from city to city. At my home I have a filter to make the water softer. That helps the taste but also keeps all faucets etc running.

[-] Wrrzag@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago

Spainiard here. You can drink tap water everywhere (that's connected to the drinking water network, obviously), but there are better tasting waters than others. Madrid's water is bad, Barcelona's is atrocious (I don't know anyone living there that doesn't buy bottled water, it even gives weird flavours when cooking), but other places are nicer. My town's water is awesome, I just fill up bottles from the tap and put them in the fridge for easy cold water and laugh at the camacus.

[-] pumpkin@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I live in Sweden. Yeah, the tap water is clean and can be drank straight from the tap without boiling, filtering, or treatment in the whole country.

[-] nameisnotimportant@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago

Switzerland here,

Yes we absolutely drink tap water here, not only it is well regulated but it may also beat many bottled water in terms of taste..

[-] JaneDoe@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago

In France tap water is drinkable and good almost anywhere, the exceptions being in some cities during drought or due to unusual pollution. I actually dislike most mineral bottled water because I find it tastes like something.

I used to live in Thailand, while the authorities say the water is good you'll likely get sick if you drink water straight from the tap. I used to buy my water from a filtering machine near my condo.

[-] LongPigFlavor@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago

I live in South Florida. The tap water in my area is safe. I drink it without boiling or filtering.

[-] Underwaterbob@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago

We filter our tap water here in Korea. Most people do, but as I understand, it's safe to drink it just straight from the tap. It's just better through a machine that gets rid of any lingering chlorine and heats it or chills it for you.

[-] andyMFK@reddthat.com 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Australian here, never met anyone who boils tap water before drinking it. Some people have filtered water taps installed but our tap water is usually pretty great, I drink probably 2-3 litres of it a day

[-] hdnclr@beehaw.org 1 points 1 year ago

In this US, yes, we generally trust our tap water (although there have been notable incidents of water infrastructure failures, such as major lead contamination in Flint, MI), to the extent that if you get a drink in a restaurant here, 99% of the time it's going to be mixed or made using tap water, with ice made from tap water.

Some folks will use a filter (Brita brand filter pitchers used to be popular at one time, with TV ads and everything) but that's more for filtering out chemicals/toxins/minerals than anything else.

In rural places, every now and then the local government or water company (yes, a lot of places here have privatized water infrastructure which is not super great) will put out a 'Boil Water Notice' but this is generally considered outside of the norm, and you usually expect to see that kind of stuff resolve within a couple of days unless it's a result of a major disaster (we were under a Boil Water notice for 2 weeks after hurricane Katrina in my area, the longest stretch I ever remember). Boil Water notices are usually a result of either a breach of the infrascture (a pipe collapsing and the water supply getting dirty), or a water supply failing its regular quality/safety tests. Our water (can't speak for everywhere in the US, and don't really know the specifics of how they do it) is chemically treated and filtered before it goes into the tap, and the supply mechanisms are usually regularly tested to make sure they're within safe standards.

All of that being said, I know people who refuse to drink tap water, mostly because it tends to have a distinct taste from treatment and from having minerals in it, but also because they've heard horror stories like in Flint. Two things: those folks normally drink bottled water, which is usually just bottled-up tap water from some other place; and I usually see those folks gladly drinking fountain drinks/tea/etc at a restaurant, which is made with un-boiled tap water and served on tap-ice.

TL;DR - the tap water in the US is generally considered safe to drink, in most places, with notable exceptions, and for now (our mostly-privatized infrastructure is getting worse and worse, and very public failures have started to appear in not only water infrastructure, but everywhere)

[-] ShadowAether@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago

Canada - Many people here put water in the fridge or a britta jug to get rid of the chlorine taste

[-] Oort@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

I live in Seattle WA in usa. We have some of the cleanest water. This is because of the great fire of 1889. An entire district and most of the waterfront went up in flames. The reason is that the fire department had no water pressure because of all the demand from the attempt to put out the fire.

After that they got the cedar river shed. A huge amount of land that is owned by Seattle and kept pristine.

So yes you can drink the tap water in Seattle.

But I only drink la croix, lol

[-] Iron_Lynx@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

NL here. Tap water here is a very well managed substance, and as a result, it's not only hella safe, but hella tasty as well.

[-] bobroundpants@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago

Spain here, tap water is safe for drinking everywhere, though you might have some issues in small old towns. But generally you will not contract any illnesses nor have any health issues, 100% guarranteed

[-] Mat66@eslemmy.es 1 points 1 year ago

Yes. It is true. We have very good water in general with only in few exceptions

https://eslemmy.es/

[-] ElkanNixed@programming.dev 1 points 1 year ago

Yep, in the Netherlands we drink tap water all the time. No reason to boil it, except for tea of coffee of course.

[-] matricaria@feddit.de 1 points 1 year ago

I’ve been to Iceland a few years ago. The tap water often had a strong smell of sulfur, especially in the capital, Reykjavik.

Maybe it’s still safe to drink, but the taste was not great. Even showering was not awesome.

[-] boopdepop@lemmy.fmhy.ml 1 points 1 year ago

I visited australia and we had to drink from the tap.

[-] truami@programming.dev 1 points 1 year ago

Netherlands, yes we drink straight from the tap. We're in the top 5 of safest drinking water in the world. Buying bottles of water is a marketing trick for fools out here.

[-] closure1170@beehaw.org 1 points 1 year ago

Eastern US here. Definitely can drink without boiling. I do filter it, though. I'm more concerned about metals and particulates than pathogens.

[-] soulBit@lemmy.fmhy.ml 1 points 1 year ago

You can drink the tap water in most places in Iceland without boiling it (especially in Reykjavik), but if you're further into the countryside then I would check first!

[-] TheHerno@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago

Argentinian here, depends on the region of the country, in most places it's safe to drink tap water although it usually has too much chlorine or in small rural cities like mine sometimes there's a bacteria leak on the water so we prefer to buy bottled water

[-] ema_sideproject@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago

Italy here: tap water is drinkable BY LAW, at least inside houses and public places.

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[-] CAPSLOCKFTW@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago

Important:

Despite the overall quality of the water in the region, the water pipes can ruin it. If you got lead pipes you should avoid drinking the water or using it for cooking. Boiling won't change it.

In Germany, landlords are legally required to tell you if there are lead pipes in your house, don't know about other countries. Typically, the risk of having lead pipes is higher if the house is older.

TL;DR: lead pipes are very bad

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[-] Grishaix@feddit.de 1 points 1 year ago
[-] leanleft@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

good quality water is an underappreciated factor in quality cuisine.

< deleted. pls find info on fb/yt > ..

[-] hendrik@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Yes. And i'm always stunned by how many people buy loads of bottled water at the Getränkemarkt. Just drink it from the tap or get one of those machines that make sparkling water if you like that?! There is no chlorine in ordinary german water and it tastes just fine.

[-] s0phia@beehaw.org 1 points 1 year ago

Tap water in Brazil is supposed to be drinkable, but I use a filter anyways because I don't trust the companies.

[-] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 1 year ago

The further I searched, the more it seems to me that in developed countries (like US, Canada and the above examples), tap water is safe to drink directly. Is that true? Do you drink tap water without boiling?

Yes. It's a bit of a scandal when that's not true. (Canada here)

And to my surprise, I checked the Water Supplies Department website and notice it asserts that tap water in Hong Kong is potable, like many well-developed countries and regions.

Boiling it has to be "force of habit", then. I wonder how long it's been potable. I'm guessing mainland China is mostly boil-first.

[-] jflorez@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 year ago

I live in Melbourne Australia and we drink water straight out of the tap. Even restaurants give you tap water

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this post was submitted on 26 Jun 2023
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