tap water or bottled spring water

bexley5200
bexley5200 Posts: 692
edited August 2009 in Training, fitness and health
i wonder in diferent parts of the country do you drink the tap water,mine in northamptonshire is poor,so i drink mainly spring water
going downhill slowly

Comments

  • stevenmh
    stevenmh Posts: 180
    Forgive me for asking but how do you know if it is poor or not? Do you test it?
  • hopper1
    hopper1 Posts: 4,389
    I normally use council water, but, having just forked out £70 for new bottle cages, I think I should use posh mineral water, now... :roll:
    Start with a budget, finish with a mortgage!
  • bexley5200
    bexley5200 Posts: 692
    i put some in a glass and there are bits in it,also,when in tea there is a sort of oil on the top. cant be good.
    going downhill slowly
  • Pokerface
    Pokerface Posts: 7,960
    bexley5200 wrote:
    i put some in a glass and there are bits in it,also,when in tea there is a sort of oil on the top. cant be good.

    Maybe you should wash the glass first! :lol:
  • bexley5200
    bexley5200 Posts: 692
    thank you pokeface ill try that
    going downhill slowly
  • owenlars
    owenlars Posts: 719
    Tap water.....as long as it's been passed :lol:
  • sneakerfreaker
    sneakerfreaker Posts: 7
    Having used filtered water for years I can't stand water straight out the tap. If you don't filter already, get on it :)
  • whyamihere
    whyamihere Posts: 7,715
    My brother had a Brita filter jug at one point, which was kept in the fridge.The taste of the water was amazing - Exactly the same as tap water which had been left in the fridge.

    I always use taps, wherever I am.
  • Escargot
    Escargot Posts: 361
    Peckham Spring every time :wink:

    I live in Bucks and it's chalky round here. Don't think it's a big problem tbh.
  • Gavin Gilbert
    Gavin Gilbert Posts: 4,019
    I use Rapha Spring Water. Sourced from an Alpine Col. Only £49.99 for a litre, and it comes in a cool looking black frosted bottle.
  • bexley5200
    bexley5200 Posts: 692
    been looking at a filter that fits the mains tap
    going downhill slowly
  • hopper1
    hopper1 Posts: 4,389
    owenlars wrote:
    Tap water.....as long as it's been passed :lol:

    I personally wouldn't drink any water that you'd passed! :shock: :shock:
    Start with a budget, finish with a mortgage!
  • antfly
    antfly Posts: 3,276
    hopper1 wrote:
    I normally use council water, but, having just forked out £70 for new bottle cages, I think I should use posh mineral water, now... :roll:
    £70 for cages! You must have got them from www.i saw you coming.com
    Smarter than the average bear.
  • chrisw12
    chrisw12 Posts: 1,246
    whyamihere wrote:
    My brother had a Brita filter jug at one point, which was kept in the fridge.The taste of the water was amazing - Exactly the same as tap water which had been left in the fridge.

    I always use taps, wherever I am.
    :lol:


    Very good,
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    Tap water actually is subject to more rigorous quality standards than spring water. In any case, much spring water is identical to tap water anyway - eg, if you live south of London, and by 464 mineral water, it will be exactly the same as the stuff coming out of your tap only it will cost about 1000 times more.

    Your water company website should have info on the quality of water in your area - if there are bits, or oilyness, then you should be calling out your water company to investigate or, as has been suggested, cleaning your glasses more carefully!

    Taste does vary - upland reservoir water or sandstone groundwater is likely to be the nicest straight from the tap. Either way, pour some into a jug, stick it uncovered in the fridge (uncovered allows chlorine to evaporate if you can taste it) and, drunk chilled, it should taste as good as the environmentally embarrassing bottled stuff. The Brita filters do very little - letting the chlorine evaporate off will cover most of it. They do soften water but that is only going to help if your water is from a chalk or limestone source (always find it funny when we get calgon adverts on TV around here - nobody would benefit from them!)

    Incidentally, if you like the very lightly flavoured bottled waters, by something like a bottle of Oasis (whatever such drink you like) and leave a little in the bottom. Refill with chilled tapwater and you have a free bottle of the lightly flavoured stuff :D
    Faster than a tent.......
  • bexley5200
    bexley5200 Posts: 692
    clean the glases what with the greasey water that i used in the first place
    going downhill slowly
  • softlad
    softlad Posts: 3,513
    sneakerfreaker wrote:
    Having used filtered water for years I can't stand water straight out the tap. If you don't filter already, get on it :)

    that's fine for townies where you all end up drinking each other's pi55 - a lot of people down here are on springs or boreholes anyway. We are on mains, but the water quality is good...
  • hopper1
    hopper1 Posts: 4,389
    antfly wrote:
    hopper1 wrote:
    I normally use council water, but, having just forked out £70 for new bottle cages, I think I should use posh mineral water, now... :roll:
    £70 for cages! You must have got them from www.i saw you coming.com

    :shock: :shock: ... But, they where a steal in a sale... They would have been £90!! :shock: :shock:
    Start with a budget, finish with a mortgage!
  • xRichx
    xRichx Posts: 63
    Rolf F wrote:
    by something like a bottle of Oasis (whatever such drink you like) and leave a little in the bottom. Refill with chilled tapwater and you have a free bottle of the lightly flavoured stuff :D

    Free apart from the fact that you've just bought the oasis that was probably more expensive than the flavoured water!?!
  • stevenmh
    stevenmh Posts: 180
    I thought Rolf F's post made for interesting reading.

    In Thailand it is quite common now to get Distilled water as you would not want to drink the tap water here unless it has been purified in some way. I read a report that distilled water through osmosis or some such thing contains very few nutrients.

    Tap water in places like the uk is supposed to be full of nutrients, so I would do as suggested and find out why your water is oily.
  • JJDLD
    JJDLD Posts: 75
    I very much doubt that the water is oily - can you see oil on the surface of a glass of water? Do you get the oil on the surface of a cup of coffee? I'm guessing not. What you're probably seeing something associated with the tea-leaves - tannin perhaps? I see a similar effect when I make a cuppa.

    If you're worried about oil in your water I'd speak to you water company and get it checked.

    JJ.
  • hammerite
    hammerite Posts: 3,408
    Have you asked your neighbours for a glass of water to compare?

    9 miles SW of Northampton - is that out Stoke Goldington way?
  • Finbar Saunders
    Finbar Saunders Posts: 299
    Tap water quality in the UK is very good. Taste will vary but that is also a personal thing. When I was a student I worked for Thames Water for my industrial year, doing micobiological testing. They had a panel of staff who did taste testing if anyone complained about the taste of their water. Some of the complaints were genuine and the cause was usually a rupture in a pipe somewhere on the property allowing soil, oil and crap to seep in. Call your water company if you have oily water.

    Bottled water is a rip-off. If you can afford it and prefer the taste then buy it. But don't believe that you have to or that it is better for you. And water stored in glass will taste better. I can't stand the taste of water out of my bike bottles, except if it is hot and I have no choice. But if I put an orange or raspberry flavoured effervescent vitamin C tablet in it I can drink 750ml in about an hour just sitting at my desk!
    No-one wanted to eat Patagonia Toothfish so they renamed it Chilean Sea Bass and now it's in danger of over fishing!

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