People around the world, do you drink tap water without boiling?

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.

Pat12,

When i lived in hongkong i never boiled the water, i just drank it from the tap

ricecake,

I read a research paper that tested water throughout Ukraine, showing that lead, mercury and other toxic stuff were within standards, but even so I buy bottled water as does everyone I know

Kauzig,

At home I exclusively drink tap water. I only boil it for tea sometimes :) I‘m from Germany.

skiba,

In the United States, it is a little bit different.

There are “standards” that water quality has to live up to. Do these standards actually meet the criteria for safe drinkable tap water? Not always. This is evident in places like Flint, Michigan and other poorer urban areas.

Some of the tap water can be so bad that people wouldn’t dare to drink it even after boiling.

In some areas, the tap water quality is wonderful.

Here is a relatively decent source about the topic as it pertains to the USA. wisevoter.com/…/best-tap-water-in-the-us/#:~:text….

The long story short here, is certain places like Hawaii have extremely clean tap. Other places, like Texas, are notorious for having numerous water quality violations.

It falls down to each individual State and City for maintaining the standards that were set. In my opinion, it it just an easy way for them to waive liability at the end of the day.

X.

matricaria,

I’ve been to Iceland a few years ago. The tap water often had a strong smell of sulfur, especially in the capital, Reykjavik.

Maybe it’s still safe to drink, but the taste was not great. Even showering was not awesome.

SaltySalamander,
@SaltySalamander@lemmy.fmhy.ml avatar

If you can’t drink your tap water without boiling, your government has totally failed you.

loehwe,
@loehwe@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

Yes I’m drinking untreated tap water in Germany, got a SodaStream to add bubbles sometimes. When we were recently visiting the US (NYC) I drank tap water, too, but my wife didn’t like it because of a distinct chlorine smell and taste but I didn’t mind

fugepe,

What is it about germ*n men being so effeminate.

Tankton,

Netherlands: our tap water is better than bottled spring water

bionicjoey,

I live in the great lakes region of Canada and our tap water is totally safe

pinkfloyd,

Here in the Netherlands (and I’m pretty sure most Western European countries) its perfectly safe to drink tap water without boiling

soulBit,
@soulBit@lemmy.fmhy.ml avatar

You can drink the tap water in most places in Iceland without boiling it (especially in Reykjavik), but if you’re further into the countryside then I would check first!

VonVoelksen,

Germany here. My family and I drink tap-water all the time. No problems. Sometimes the Water could be contaminated with certain bacteria, but thats rare and the local government will warn you.

StingyAsian88,

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.

JaneDoe,

In France tap water is drinkable and good almost anywhere, the exceptions being in some cities during drought or due to unusual pollution. I actually dislike most mineral bottled water because I find it tastes like something.

I used to live in Thailand, while the authorities say the water is good you’ll likely get sick if you drink water straight from the tap. I used to buy my water from a filtering machine near my condo.

BendyLemmy,
@BendyLemmy@lemmy.ml avatar

This is crazy - for sure, in many countries it can be taken straight from the tap depending on the reliability of infrastructure… but to waste energy boiling it??? No thanks.

In England, I moved a few times - some places have great tasting water - others not so great - meaning it’s always safe (and ok for brewing or cooking) but not so good for drinking from the tap.

In Scotland (a couple of places I stayed and worked) it’s a toss up whether you should drink the tapwater, or go to your local and take another dram from the top row… those Single Malt Whiskeys made with water from Scotland are amazing… but both are safe in moderation.

In Bangkok, if I don’t clean my shower out monthly, it ends up with brown gunge building up, so I certainly don’t drink the stuff… and it’s hard to know how clean it is (though we’re told it’s certainly drinkable at source, it has a long way to come to my house - and the pressure of the system is low… another red flag). Visiting tropical islands, you see some resorts are connected via long plastic pipes which are often on the surface (in the sun) and so definitely not the best candidate for anything more than a shower.

In Bangkok too, unless you can test it yourself you shouldn’t drink it - but I fail to see why you’d decide to boil dirty water and drink it, seeing as most countries with inadequate tap water have drinking water.

I wouldn’t use ‘boiled tap water’ to make my pasta either.

I have six large bottles which gets topped up each week, to make sure I have plenty of water to cook and drink with… If I didn’t, then I’d invest in a good water filtration system.

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