Do you drink TAP WATER?
@western_valleygirl (1363)
United States
February 12, 2007 6:52pm CST
The report for tap water by the EPA (Environmental Potection Agency) in the U.S. came out, and it states the drinkability and taste of tap water in every state. And, even though the water in my area, is listed as reasonably clean, I do not drink tap water. I haven't since I was very young. Ever since buying bottled water became popular, my family always bought water bottles, and has always had watercoolers. And now, living with my hubby, I have begun to use even less, because he thinks that it gives a different taste to drinks also. I used to make my coffee or tea, etc, through the tap water, because it gets boiled, but then I also noticed that there was a different taste. Instead, I don't use the bottled water (because that is for going out, or drinking around the house), I use the filtered water, which we get from our fridge, for cooking. I am trying to use less and less...but as they said on the news, dentists believe fluoride is necessary, so it is good to have some tap water. And it should be drinkable. Do you believe that it is? Do you get grossed out by tap water? Or do you spend hundereds of dollars a year, like we do, buying bottled water?
12 people like this
54 responses
@xfallenxlostx (2074)
• United States
13 Feb 07
No, i do not drink tap water. i don't like the taste of it. i don;t even drink some bottled waters. i guess you could call me a wter snob, but it's not like i have to hae Evian or anyting...which, in case you have not noticed, it just naive spelled backwards.
1 person likes this
@western_valleygirl (1363)
• United States
13 Feb 07
Interesting...I never thought of that. Sometimes, I can become discouraged also, when bottled water tastes bad also. What are we going to have to do, live in the mountains to get fresh water? We are becoming more and more polluted and there is nothing left to do?
@vivasuzi (4127)
• United States
13 Feb 07
I drink tap water. At work we have free bottles of water, but at home or out I always drink tap water. I need to have it really cold though, either refrigerated or with ice. We also turn it on for a minute before drinking to clear out anything that may have been sitting in the pips.
Bottled water may taste different, but I've read articles that proved there's not much difference between tap and bottled water as far as health benefits go.
1 person likes this
@western_valleygirl (1363)
• United States
13 Feb 07
There is a big differnce in taste. When we go to restuarants, I try to always bring bottled water, because when they serve us the tap water, it has a strong pipey flavor. There have been times in my life, where the area I had been living in, they said that the water was clean, but upon closer inspection, there were certain things that were not supposed to be there...so I pretty much prefer bottled and filtered.
@cindyspassions (510)
• Lampe, Missouri
13 Feb 07
i use to only drink tap water nothing else. then our water started getting denggy so we stopped so much. then our youngest duatgher started showing lead in her blood and we then had our water tested whitch shows that we have 52 in it and 15 is the highest that they say is ok to have. so now bottle water only.
@western_valleygirl (1363)
• United States
14 Feb 07
That is terrible, I hope that she has not gotten anymore lead in her. The problem with lead, is that a little of it is ok, but too much lead will lead to lead poisoning (sorry about the play on words). And, this happens when there is not enough calicium and marrow in the bones, it settles in the bones instead.
@ksstormhunter (792)
• United States
13 Feb 07
We spend the money to buy fluoride enhanced water, even though they say the water is safe to drink, we stick with the bottled water.
1 person likes this
@western_valleygirl (1363)
• United States
13 Feb 07
That is a good idea. Which I am going to consider doing. Does it say that on the bottles? Because I do not have that on any of the bottled water that I drink. I have tried almost every kind. Where do you get it?
@Sawsen (793)
• United States
13 Feb 07
I think a lot of people drink tap water because it's cheaper. And because sometimes no one tells them it can be harmful. But sometimes it does pose health risks. Like in that movie with Julia Roberts, "Erin Brockovich." I think that was a sad movie because all that water just ruined their health. And they were unaware of it. So I think if you're going to drink tap water, drink at your own risk.
1 person likes this
@brandi_girl_16 (624)
• United States
13 Feb 07
I only drink bottled water...tap water grosses me out. The only time I'll put tap water in my mouth is to rinse after brushing because I don't swallow it! My cats get bottled water, my dog gets bottled water, my fish get bottled water...the only pet that doesn't get bottled water is my turtle because he lives in the sink so he gets tap water because we change his water so often!! And by the way, don't think I'm a weirdo for using bottled water for my animals!! They get the bottled water that was alredy opened and was going to go to waste anyway because one of my family members opened a brand new bottle of water, took one or two drinks, then left it to waste!
1 person likes this
@Marie2473 (8512)
• Sweden
13 Feb 07
I do not live in the states and here in sweden the water is very clean and also is controlled on a regular basis so here all peopler drink tapwater..
I would be poor if i had to buy water all the time since I drink ALOT!
@Shaun72 (15959)
• Palatka, Florida
13 Feb 07
I am alittle scared to drink my tap water around my house so I started buying my own in plus my house water is being checked for gas so there is no way that I want to drink it right now.
@mari61960 (4893)
• United States
13 Feb 07
Our water is pretty good where I live. I drink and use the tap water regularly. We do drink bottled water alot too but it's really just for convenience. It's nice to be able to grab a bottle on the way out the door. I like to drink water while driving..lol
@western_valleygirl (1363)
• United States
14 Feb 07
Yeah, you got the convenience factor down right...it helps during the summer months, and it is a necessity. I am glad that your water is clean.
@crazynurse (7482)
• United States
14 Feb 07
Since I drink so much water 9-10 glasses per day, I buy bottled water by the gallon. Our water is supposedly up to standard where I live, yet they just recently gave permission for a coal mine to dump more of their slude into the very river from which my water is retrieved. We also still have a lot of straight pipes (peoples toilets drain straight into the river) into the river that our drinking water comes from. I just can't bring myself to drink it!
@western_valleygirl (1363)
• United States
14 Feb 07
I agree with you, supposedly it cleans itself, but that seems unlikely when there is more dumping and less time. Also, do not listen to what they say, unless there are about a dozen scientists agreeing 100%, because you will never get a straight answer from politicans and public officials.
@AskAlly (3625)
• Canada
13 Feb 07
I drink tap water at home since my water comes from a well. If I go out I start off with a bottle of our tap water. When that is gone I will buy bottled water. I don't like the chlorine taste of city water.
I don't hold much store with the flouride thing.
@western_valleygirl (1363)
• United States
13 Feb 07
That is interesting...do you get your well water tested? I have studied about well water, in my environmental bio class, and it had turned out that there were toxins and organic matter in the water, coming from a cheese plant near by...my group and I did this project for our bio class last year, and boy was it eye-opening...especially when you think that you are safe, because there are rules and regs., but in reality, most companies don't care about a little lawsuit here and there, all they have to do is settle, or let it drag on and on...(and I am a business/econ major, lol, so I shouldn't be so flippant, but I have started to like busi law and ethics, especially after that bio class ;)
@Sawsen (793)
• United States
13 Feb 07
I don't drink from tap water. I only use it when I boil it for my coffee or tea, or if I'm boiling water for rice. I'm not grossed out by it, but I never know the risk I'm taking. Now I drink from bottled water, or I use my cooler.
@western_valleygirl (1363)
• United States
13 Feb 07
Yes, that is what I do. However, try using bottled water or filtered water for your coffee and tea, and you might actually notice a difference in the taste. I know I did...when my hubby told me, I did not believe him, but now that is all I do.
@LightninStrike (5915)
• Saint Vincent And The Grenadines
13 Feb 07
i drink tap water, its rather good in this part of the country...in others it's flavour is horrible so they mainly drink bottled water. I am lucky in that aspect.
@missprefect (4)
•
13 Feb 07
Yes, I do drink tap water, but it has to be extremely cold. I often run the water until it is cold enough to hurt my hand (saving the excess to help with the washing-up!), then fill a bottle with it. When I still lived with my parents we had a filter jug, but couldn't really afford the filters after a time.
@western_valleygirl (1363)
• United States
14 Feb 07
Yes, that does happen occasionally. As long as the water is clean in your area, then you should be fine.
@wandale (95)
• United States
13 Feb 07
I have a filter that snaps right onto my faucet so that all of the tap water in my house gets filtered. This is substantially less expensive than buying bottled water, and has cost me less than one hundred dollars all year. Even more importantly, having a filter on the tap is better for the environment than using bottled water. The process of making filters doesn't cause as much landfill waste as the proccess of creating plastic bottles does. I reccommend getting a filter for your tap; then you can re-fill some of your bottles with filtered water so that you always have convenient, clean-tasting water ready to go!
@usmcprincess (299)
• United States
13 Feb 07
I currently live on a military base where we are forewarned not to drink too much of the tap water around here. I have put it into a glass and watched the stuff in it settle and the water still isn't completely clear. Our water also smells like chlorine and not just a little. I have had bottled water since I was younger and I have had the water that comes from the fridge. I like both of those but I wish I could just drink the tap water. So at this point we will continue to spend money on bottled water.
@ladymoonstone143 (1507)
• United States
13 Feb 07
When we were in Missouri, we drink water from the tap because it was good tap water. When we had a baby, then we started buying bottled water eversince for drinking. But for cooking, I usually use the tap water but we check the source and the possible contents of the water we are having.
@Michele21 (3093)
• United States
13 Feb 07
I don't mind drinking it at all! My husband won't drink it, he says it taste funny but it doesn't bother me. We have a water filter on our refrigerator though so we all drink the "good" water =)
