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.
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
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.
My wife’s old house was on well water and surrounded by farms. Due to the nitrate levels it was unhealthy to drink without an expensive filtration system.
It is safe in most parts of the EU. If you can’t, they tell you, usually.
Iceland has one of the cleanest water in the world.Netherlands: our tap water is better than bottled spring water
If you can’t drink your tap water without boiling, your government has totally failed you.
Finland
Yes. Our tap water is among the cleanest on earth
I lived in Finland for a semester as an exchange student in Ylivieska, I remember the tap water was very fresh
My wife boils it… to make tea
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.
German here. Yes, constantly. The only reason to not do it would be taste (personal preference) or sometimes due to pollutants entering the system, which is explicitly communicated by the city.
In France we drink it straight without boiling it. But water quality control is pretty strict here in France and more generally in Europe
Doesn’t France also have public fountains that put out sparkling water in some places?
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
I don’t know if it’s actually true, but some have said that the Roman empire collapsed because the lead in waterworks and aquaducts made people lose their sanity slowly.
Likewise, the crime wave of the 70s in the US has been directly linked to leaded gasoline putting lead in the air, and leaded paint. You can map the crime wave literally block-by-block to correspond with areas that have not done lead mitigation efforts or those that have.
Also makes you think about the pathologically evil governmental policies the older generation have enacted, and how those people have also been influenced by lead in the air.
I’m of the understanding that lead poisoning effects the ability to engage in theory of mind (thinking about what someone else is thinking— also, empathy) and future planning, consideration of consequences, first before influencing other mental faculties. Which is why it can be linked to crime so easily.
I’m from Germany and I always drink Tap water without boiling it first. Well to be fair, I turn my tap water into sparkling water with my beloved SodaStream.
Bang bang Sodastream gang
All hail the great SodaStream! 🙏 🙌
German person here.
Tap water is very regulated here in Germany. It’s legally classified as food. The community and your landlord are obliged to make sure the water stays within the regulations. You can also always contact the water company and have your water checked if it is within the regulations.
Usually it’s absolutely save to drink directly from the tap if there isn’t one of those. It may not always taste great, though.
Berlin. About two years ago or so, I noticed that the limescale (Kalk) on my teapot and even on tap itself had become much more severe. Since then, I have started using a filter.
Fyi most filters aren’t going to do anything to calcium in the water. You’d need a special ion exchange filter.
But the calcium is not a health problem. I grew up with very calcium rich water (a well in suburban New Jersey, USA). We had to buy a new coffee maker every few years because it would just kill them, even if we washed it with vinegar regularly.
It’s not unhealthy, though. It’s actually slightly towards the healthy side.
yeah, i’m not considering this as unhealthy too, but frustrating a bit. Have you noticed the same thing last years in your place?
In Germany tap water is even more regulated than bottled water so it’s actually safer to drink than bottled water
Here in the Netherlands (and I’m pretty sure most Western European countries) its perfectly safe to drink tap water without boiling
Interestingly it’s perfectly safe to drink tap water in Hong Kong. But tradition and fear of the government keeps water boiling alive.
https://www.mychinainterpreter.com/china-travel-guide/can-you-drink-tap-water-in-hong-kong/
As opposed to say parts of the US where you really shouldn’t drink tap water but everyone does anyway. Flint Michigan looking at you.
The problem in Flint is not quite the same: their water has a lot of lead in it, not microbes. At least, after an incident in 2014 where they weren’t putting enough chlorine in the water.
Boiling can’t remove lead.
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.