Does water go off?

[Calva dosser]

They insist on Perrier in the whisky here. Then whack in ice-cubes straight off the water mains. Ok Whisky kills bacteria, but a sign of muddled, discontinuous (not to say heretical) thinking.

JC2's reference to 'backwash', I believe is his slightly squeamish colonial way of describing people who accidently gob back into the bottle when drinking out of it.

Thus loading the water with saliva, mucopolysaccharides and epithelial cells which are an ideal environment for microbial growth.

Especially in bottled water, which (should) contain no chlorine.

For those who enjoy a graphic account of the symptoms experienced from drinking bottled water from a previously opened bottle, may I recommend Tim Moores' 'French Revolutions'?

He is not the most reliable of chroniclers, but;

It contains an account of his attempt to ascend Mt Ventoux (by bicycle) with said symptoms.

 

[Orang Utan]

I wish tap water tasted like Evian

 

[Orang Utan]

Can you buy bottled tap water?

 

[fishfinger]

Yes, quite a lot of bottled water is tap water.

 

[chymaera]

No one 'needs' bottled water in the UK or just about anywhere else in the developed world.

Whilst this is true, the rubbish that the filter jug removes from the local water supply is worrying at times. (Big project to replace all the water main in the area for the next few months)

 

[London_Calling]

Some might remember this from a while back: Coca-Cola's bottled water straight from the mains supply:

Coca-Cola is facing an investigation by trading standards officers over claims it has made about its new Dasani brand of bottled water.

It emerged yesterday that the source for Dasani, which was launched in the UK last month, is the main water supply at Coca-Cola's factory in Sidcup, south-east London.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has contacted the local authority covering Coca-Cola's headquarters in West London to request that it investigates whether the term "pure", which is used on Dasani labelling, is in breach of guidelines.

Genius. Says all you need to know about so much.

 

[Disaster]

If it smells OK, then drink it. It won't do you any harm.

 

[editor]

I wish tap water tasted like Evian

Welsh tap water tastes better than Evian.

 

[hiccup]

I wish tap water tasted like Evian

Get an empty water bottle and fill it with tap water. Leave it in the fridge overnight. £5 says you can't taste the difference between that and Evian.

 

[gentlegreen]

Compared with the totally over-the-top obsession with "workstation assessment" for even the most casual PC users where I work, I'm amazed at the phenomenon of the office water cooler - there is no signage whatsoever about how to safely handle awkward heavy bottles and who is to do it.... quite apart from the aesthetic challenge of the full and empty bottles.

A couple of slightly built colleagues recently managed to empty an entire bottle all over the carpet.

One would have thought someone like Brita would be forcefully marketing reverse osmosis systems that simply made tap water palatable ....

 

[Orang Utan]

Get an empty water bottle and fill it with tap water. Leave it in the fridge overnight. £5 says you can't taste the difference between that and Evian.

You're on - I've done it before

 

[Blagsta]

I'm sorry but that's baloney - bottled water is far, far purer than tap.

I have distilled both, and seen the solid residue left over. Hardly anything for bottled water - evil, foul smelling putrid greeny-brown slime from tap water.

I fancy you have fallen for a rather crafty piece of official 'spin' which goes like this - tap water is tested more to meet 'stringent' guidelines (stringently crap)

This is bollocks. Tap water has far less bacteria in. Bottled water has been sitting around for months, sometimes years. It's why safer injecting advice is to never ever use bottled water. Tap water is safer.

 

[lil-Pixie]

I'm sorry but that's baloney - bottled water is far, far purer than tap.

I have distilled both, and seen the solid residue left over. Hardly anything for bottled water - evil, foul smelling putrid greeny-brown slime from tap water.

I fancy you have fallen for a rather crafty piece of official 'spin' which goes like this - tap water is tested more to meet 'stringent' guidelines (stringently crap)

Urgh to greeny brown slime. How often have you done this experiment and were the results always the same?

 

[Herbsman.]

From MY lips? So what does it matter?

Because bacteria from your lips is not necessarily thhe kind of bacteria that you'd want to consume in large quantities. Just because it came from your lips doesn't mean it's safe


and Jazz, you're full of shit, stop spreading misinformation

 

[Orang Utan]

Well, with regards to the OP, I drank them and I'm still here

 

[subversplat]

Some might remember this from a while back: Coca-Cola's bottled water straight from the mains supply:



Genius. Says all you need to know about so much.

Coca-cola's Dasani wasn't just tap water though - it was tap water with added cancer:

Less stringent

The Food Standards Agency describes bromate as "a chemical that could cause an increased cancer risk as a result of long-term exposure".

 

[London_Calling]

Coca-cola's Dasani wasn't just tap water though - it was tap water with added cancer:

Outstanding. I liked this part:

Thames Water, which supplies the Dasani factory, said the bromate had absolutely nothing to do with its mains water.

Thames Water were clearly worried the reputation of their tap water would be sullied by association

 

[geminisnake]

Tap water's even cheaper

Have you ever drunk London tap water We need a vomit smiley!!

Must admit I've heard about the plastic bottle problem. No idea of how true it is.

 

[Blagsta]

London tap water's fine.

 

[Stobart Stopper]

If you want real amusement, try swigging from a smoothie bottle and leave it in the office fridge all weekend :-

That looks like the fridge in Pig's office.

 

[ScallyWag II]

Backin up a little bit to this:

Compared with the totally over-the-top obsession with "workstation assessment" for even the most casual PC users where I work, I'm amazed at the phenomenon of the office water cooler - there is no signage whatsoever about how to safely handle awkward heavy bottles and who is to do it.... quite apart from the aesthetic challenge of the full and empty bottles.<snip>

I have a little "lol" whenever I think about how my workmate (now dead ) used to change the water bottles...he'd forcefully push the seal in before lifting the fucking heavy bottle up and onto the cooler thingy. Water would go everywhere and he'd curse the thing for soaking him.

 

[Psychonaut]

London tap water's fine.

not on the west side it isnt (3 valleys plc) not straight from the tap anyway.

 

[editor]

not on the west side it isnt (3 valleys plc) not straight from the tap anyway.

So you're saying it's unsafe for public consumption, yes?

 

[Psychonaut]

So you're saying it's unsafe for public consumption, yes?

something that REEKS of chlorine can hardly be considered healthy.

 

[gentlegreen]

I have a little "lol" whenever I think about how my workmate (now dead ) used to change the water bottles...he'd forcefully push the seal in before lifting the fucking heavy bottle up and onto the cooler thingy. Water would go everywhere and he'd curse the thing for soaking him.

I'm still having difficulty working out how my colleagues got it so wrong.
Seeing as they got the bottle on far enough to push in the bung, I can't see how they managed to lift it back off and jam it on the thin part of the tapered pipe so the water flowed out.
Being generous to them, I wonder if the bottle collar had worked loose and was letting air in ....
.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

Well, with regards to the OP, I drank them and I'm still here

But you have diarrhea, don't you?

 

[subversplat]

something that REEKS of chlorine can hardly be considered healthy.

Leave it for two minutes and the chlorine evaporates, but still, I'd imagine that it was still OK to drink - nobody's ever died of drinking a mouthful of swimming pool have they?

 

[editor]

something that REEKS of chlorine can hardly be considered healthy.

You can't actually back up your claim, can you?

Talking of which where's Jazzz gone?

 

[Psychonaut]

Leave it for two minutes and the chlorine evaporates, but still, I'd imagine that it was still OK to drink - nobody's ever died of drinking a mouthful of swimming pool have they?

Its not death tho - quality of life is important.

Every few years, i find myself unable to drink tap water without feeling slightly ill for a few hours - headachey and what i imagine high blood pressure feels like. Ive no idea what the problem is, but its not chlorine or something you can obviously taste. Othertimes the taste will change dramatically over a few days and taste vile, but ill feel ok on it.

btw, some UK suppliers have switched to chloramine which i dont think evaporates - it stays put even after boiling. It poisons fish, even if it seems 'ok' to us.

 

[Flashman]

But, I like fizzy water