Tap or bottled water?

[Applespider]

I've just finished reading this article about how much more bottled water than tap water is drunk in the UK - and wondered how it compared to other countries (obviously those where both are safe to drink)?

I always have bottled Scottish water in the house - but I use it in my kettle and my coffee machine since if I used tap water in those, they'd end up with so much limescale that within weeks, they'd be awful. My tap water is so 'hard' that when I wipe down my sink drainer, I get a very fine white layer left on it.

I'll drink tap water if it's cold (with ice) or in squash although I prefer my bottled Scottish variety (I grew up on 'soft' Scottish water after all) and I'll cook with it.

 

[Lau]

I did drink bottled for a while when I first moved to London, because it does taste better, but I was horrified by the number of plastic bottles I had to recycle. When I moved to Bath, the water here is the most disgusting I've ever come across, but I got one of those filter jugs and it tastes much better, and stops the kettle furring up (it's incredibly hard water here).

I found it really hard to justify using all those plastic bottles, even though it did taste the best. The filter jug seems like the best compromise for me.

 

[MACDRIVE]

I go to a water store. It's basically a place with a room full of machines that take the city's water and filters it down to something that tastes wonderfull. The other part of the time a drink Gatorade Propel - my favorite flavor is Grape.

 

[rdowns]

Bottled to drink and make coffee. To reduce the amount of plastic bottles, I buy these 2.5 gallon jugs. I do use the 1/2 liter bottles for work though.

 

[Nermal]

Tap. Bottled water has lower legal standards than tap water here.

 

[Queso]

Whatever's going. When I'm out and about Volvic (from volcanos apparently ), but at home we always keep a bottle of filtered tap water in the fridge.

In Spain though, always bottled. Tap water in Catalunya is quite safe to drink, but it's so hard it's like trying to drink chalk.

 

[Shamus]

I drink tap water most of the time, but it is purified. I have a stone purifier that filters out any impurities above a certain size, leaving a great tasting water.

But any water is fine...man I love water.

 

[kretzy]

Most of the time I just drink water out of the tap because the water here is actually really good to drink. I do drink bottled water as well though, normally when I'm out and about or at work.

I remember when I was on exchange in Germany, they thought I was crazy for drinking water from the tap. There was nothing wrong with it at all, but they always drank bottled and it was usually carbonated.

 

[PlaceofDis]

tap water for the most part.
but if i'm out and need something quick i won't hesitate to pick up a bottled water, i'll keep the bottle in reuse then for a few weeks too.

 

[Piarco]

Britta is my friend - neither me nor my housemate could do without it now. It really does make a difference. I think my next kitchen purchase may well be a Britta kettle.

But (in homage to Gekko) I do prefer Voss bottled water, from Norway. New York is to blame for that. If I can't get Voss, I'll have Evian. And is it just me or does Volvic just taste, well, wrong?

 

[UKnjb]

Tap water for me! Sometimes with Scotch to improve its taste, but that's another matter. UK tap water is, as you know, stunningly pure and high-quality. And bottled water is so expensive, more expensive than petrol on a v/v basis. Further, in some blind-tastings with friends, there was no detectable difference between the tap (Thames Water) and a range of bottled (not the fizzy varieties). Wasn't there something recently about a guy in Manchester who was selling tap water in bottles and was making a fortune?

As a side-line, there is a brilliant book, "The Man Who Ate Everything", where the issue of the "best" mineral water was examined. One of them was marketed with the claim that it had taken millions upon millions of years for this particular brand of water to filter through some volcanic strata to result in the purest of pure water. And there was a "best before end of" date on the bottle. Cracked me up.

 

[iGary]

We are actually wicked crazy about water.

We have a steam distiller for all of our drinking water, and a faucet filter for the plant's and cat water.
Otherwise, we drink this:

 

[Applespider]

But (in homage to Gekko) I do prefer Voss bottled water, from Norway. New York is to blame for that. If I can't get Voss, I'll have Evian. And is it just me or does Volvic just taste, well, wrong

My problem with Brita filters were that when I want water, I want it now and by the time I waited for it to filter through again, it was annoying. Then again, I had a flatmate then who rarely filled it up so perhaps I'd do better now! I do stick my empty bottles in the recycling box though.

And perhaps it's just you. Evian tastes 'flat' to me and that's not just because it's still. I prefer Volvic to it... but my Highland Spring tastes exactly like what I grew up with so it's my drink of choice.

Lau, how nice will it be when you're back in Edinburgh to just use the tap again. Tis one of the first things I do when I'm at Mum's house... have a nice glass of tap water!

 

[Queso]

Tis one of the first things I do when I'm at Mum's house... have a nice glass of tap water!

Wow, you're a cheap guest. I'd be straight in the old's vodka

 

[Piarco]

My problem with Brita filters were that when I want water, I want it now and by the time I waited for it to filter through again, it was annoying. Then again, I had a flatmate then who rarely filled it up so perhaps I'd do better now!

I have a now housemate who is fully trained in the art of Britta topping up - only took a couple of weeks with an electro-cattle prod. As she now prefers it, between us the Britta is always full.

Water tastes are strange. When I was growing up I would have said the water from the taps in north Liverpool was the best in the country (and I'm fairly convinced its Lake District in origin) but now I really don't like it. Even after filtering its got an odd taste.
Newcastle water I do like - straight from the tap. No probs there...
London water isn't too bad from the tap, but still benefits from filtering...

 

[iGary]

I have a now housemate who is fully trained in the art of Britta topping up - only took a couple of weeks with an electro-cattle prod. As she now prefers it, between us the Britta is always full.

Water tastes are strange. When I was growing up I would have said the water from the taps in north Liverpool was the best in the country (and I'm fairly convinced its Lake District in origin) but now I really don't like it. Even after filtering its got an odd taste.
Newcastle water I do like - straight from the tap. No probs there...
London water isn't too bad from the tap, but still benefits from filtering...

Don't you guys have the Brita filters that screw on the faucet? We lasted about a week with the fill it up as you go model and I nearly killed Rob within days.

 

[dcv]

Bottled water - I buy Evian. I also have a Brita water filter but given up on that recently as it seems to acquire general food tastes in the fridge and I prefer to drink chilled rather than room temperature water.

 

[kretzy]

We just got a new fridge actually, which has an ice dispenser and water filter/chiller, only problem is we need a plumber to come and hook it all up.

 

[iGary]

We just got a new fridge actually, which has an ice dispenser and water filter/chiller, only problem is we need a plumber to come and hook it all up.

I used to do construction, all it takes is s plane ticket.

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

We usually have very good tap water here in Norway and I used to drink 3-4 litres a day.

Then two years ago we had an outbreak of Giardia in the main water supply for part of Bergen. Of course I both lived and had an office at school in that exact area.

I'm pretty sure I got a light infection from those little b******. It actually took a long while from the first cases to the general warning against the water, and at the time I was actually convinced I was lactose intolerant because I had a constantly upset stomach...

I switched to diet soda in stead of water when all this happened, and just the last couple of weeks I've started drinking tap water again in any quantities... hopefully I can kick the diet soda habit and go back to water, which I really like better, soon...

But (in homage to Gekko) I do prefer Voss bottled water, from Norway. New York is to blame for that. If I can't get Voss, I'll have Evian. And is it just me or does Volvic just taste, well, wrong?

Hmmm... Voss is actually just an hour away from here, and I've never seen that brand before...

Do you know who produces it...?

 

[Lau]

Lau, how nice will it be when you're back in Edinburgh to just use the tap again. Tis one of the first things I do when I'm at Mum's house... have a nice glass of tap water!

I know!

 

[link92]

I drink Scottish water… from the tap

 

[MattG]

I use a Brita filter at home, and any other time I drink bottled water. Florida tap-water is gross

 

[miniConvert]

I live in Kent where the water is very hard. I use a block salt water softener to soften it, much nicer for showering etc, and a Royal Doulton 'Ultracarb' inline filter for drinking water - actively protecting against bacteria and even some viruses while removing pretty much everything else.

Water from the Ultracarb is faaaantastic, I prefer it to bottled. Not bad at all considering the mank that comes out of the taps here as standard.

Given all that filtration it'd probably be cheaper just to buy bottled...

 

[emw]

We always have bottled water in the house for when we're driving somewhere and want to have something to drink with us, and I bring bottled water with me to work since the water there is horrendous.

However, when drinking at home we have a Brita water filter which does a good job. Our house came with a reverse-osmosis water filter, which works pretty well if you change the filters a lot, but eventually it just got to be a pain to use. So now we're on the Brita.

But only to drink. For cooking, coffee, etc., we use straight tap water, which in general is reasonable. We have Lake Michigan water so do use a water softener.