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.
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.
Netherlands: our tap water is better than bottled spring water
Canada: our bottled water IS tap water…
I just drink water straight from the tap
Fuck Nestle!
I think tap water being bottled water is the same for pretty much the same for every country that has clean drinking water available from the tap.
Canada / BC. we use a gravity carbon filter for our water and since getting used to that i can usually taste the chlorine in regular tap water. what’s more is there is a pretty gross brown sludge that i have to clean off our filters about once a month. so that’s something too.
straight out of the garden hose.
If you can’t drink your tap water without boiling, your government has totally failed you.
I think temporary exceptions after storms or pipe breaks are acceptable. But I get what you’re saying as a general rule.
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.
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.
Also depends on what’s happening. I used to live in the US in Texas and when the power went out at all we would need to boil for a while. A lot depends on the local government and utilities in the US, every state and county seems to do stuff in a slightly different way.
Tap water in Brazil is supposed to be drinkable, but I use a filter anyways because I don’t trust the companies.
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.
Very true. However in the less urban areas there is often well water which varies by jurisdiction from drinkable to toxic (even flammable!) Also some places in the US have water that is unsafe to use even if it was boiled. Usually water is handled on the local level and can be different depending on the local government’s ability, wisdom, and funding.
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.
Great story
Germany, yes we do drink water without boiling it directly from the tap. Tap water must in general have drinking water quality across the country. However, even it may not be a health risk, some people don’t like the taste. Where I live, it tastes very good.
BC, Canada - our tap water is perfectly safe and delicious! My experience in North America has been generally safe to drink tap water, but there are areas where it is not safe. I find it similar to reviews - if nothing is wrong, people are less likely to leave a positive review.
In Germany tap water is considered “one of the most strictly controlled food products”
In Germany: tap water is drinkable without boiling, if you go to a restaurant you can even ask for a glass of tap water with your meal
Manila, Philippines: My drinking water comes from a delivery service that drops off a few blue containers of drinking water every few days. I’ve never swallowed tap water but I do use tap water when rinsing after toothbrushing. The sticker on the blue containers has the company name on it, contact details (obviously), and something about “18-stages latest US technology”.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think the EU has regulations that say tap water should be drinkable as-is.
That said, in some places it may taste a bit weird - and by place I mean even in the same city. I live in a city in Hungary, lived in four different buildings on different parts of the city. 3/4 the water was fine 99% of the time, though the fourth one was absolutely nasty. Didn’t live there long luckily.
Australia. My local water supply is sourced from a muddy river. Not ideal as there is agricultural runoff and occasional algal blooms but it is a semi-arid region and the only option. The towns water supply has sediments settled out then is filtered, treated with chloramine, then UV, then fluoridated for dental health. We mainly drink it chilled through an inline fridge filter. There is no need to boil as the chloramine and UV kill any microorganisms. The bigger concern is probably agricultural chemicals but I am sure the quality is monitored. Some people still buy bottled water because they are ignorant. We take water bottles filled with tap water to school and sports and the schools all have chilled tap water for refilling water bottles.
Hong Kong: safe to drink from the tap. I filter it for taste and do not boil it.
Here is a recent government test, which I think is a good complement to asking what people do or do not do.
