Water: Tap Vs. Bottled

keiarawr

So I'm purely curious as my last drink of tap water tasted slightly of chlorine. Or at least to me it does.

Which is better for you? Tap or bottled?
I'm sure both is fine as long as you're drinking it, but what is the pros and cons of each?

daigneault2313

i personally prefer bottled water to me it tastes a little more pure

ladyhawk00

Well, quite often, bottled IS tap. Many of the major brands are simply filtered tap water. IMO, tap is FAR better in most cases if you live in the US and are on some kind of municipal water source. Better for your pocketbook and on the environment.

If you have trouble with a bad taste in your tap, I'd recommend getting a filter. Brita and Pur (and I'm sure some other brands) make ones for either your faucet or a pitcher. Still a fraction of the cost of bottled, and just as good, if not better.

TaraMaria

My water in my house is totally chlorinated. When I ran my first sink full of dishes I told my husband...it smells like a pool in here. My neighbors are convinced that the water is killing our city. I didn't point out to them that A, our city is less then 250 people and B, the 250 people are composed of senior citizens. lol!

However Yahoo! had this to say about bottled water:

Researchers have now examined the plastic the holds the water, and the have found some chemicals certain types of plastic contain, like phthalates and bisphenol A, may seep into the water. These toxins can disrupt the endocrine system, messing with your hormone balance. This can cause fatigue and even weight gain. Defeating the purpose of your workout/playing outside/ etc... heck it defeats the whole idea of drinking water to be healthy. Found here: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/291452/dangers_of_bottled_water.html?cat=5

SO! The solution? Ha ha! That link tells you how to look for different bottles that are the made from the safest plastics. But then again, using bottles isn't exactly the "greenest" thing we can do! We just recently bought a $20 dollar filter that you put right on your faucet. It tastes amazing! The filters are cheap and you don't have to replace them very often. We've also had the filters that are containers that you fill with water and you put directly in your fridge to keep cold. Handy dandy!

There you have it! )

MyaPapaya75

i drink tap..I dont like bottled water LOL

crbevers

I like bottled water usually. Though there have been many studies showing PBH a chemical in the plastic which eventually leaks into the bottled water. PBH has been linked to causing cancer. Some nalgines are promoted as PBH free. I am from Seattle though and our tap water is delicious. There are good things that they put in tap water that you don't find in the bottle, for example: Floride. For your teeth. Hope some of this information was helpful....
Carolee

NightOwl1

Tap water is subject to much stricter testing and regulation than bottled water is. It's considered to be cleaner than bottled water. The best thing you can do is get a filter to put directly onto your tap which filters the water even more for a fraction of the cost of bottled water.

NoAdditives

To me, most bottled water tastes strongly of plastic, which makes me want to throw up. At home, our water is slightly chlorinated and we use a Pur water filter pitcher. The water tastes great, much better than bottled. We buy a new filter every 2-3 months.

Mission4Life

This has been in the news lately, thought I would add this to the discussion.


http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/212079.php

Larry7995

I refill my bottled water bottles from the tap and keep them in the frig, the ones that originally cost the most taste the best

nicoleben

i am tired of paying the high prices of bottled water so i went and bought a brita water filter from walmart, you just have the switch out the filter every 3 months.. It works amazing and takes the chlorine taste out of the water. Its the one you just put into the fridge and fill back up.. hope this helps. it was only like 10$

sweetiekayk

My tap water isn't bad tasting but has a funny smell. And i live in a town known for high water bills...it's the reason most people move. But it's also a "hippie" town and everyone is very into natural living so I know our water is good. I usually buy a case of water and then refill the bottles. I do want to buy a filtered water bottle. I guess where you live determines if you should buy water or not.

aaddaammggoolleeaaffss

I used to drink a ton of bottled water but bought a Brita 1 month ago so thats all I drink water out of now

rosebarnalice

Water quality is my profession, and the answer is, "it depends on where you live." FOR THE MOST PART, if you live in the US and your water comes from an approved water treatment system (and you'd know if it didn't), then the water that leaves the plant is FINE and there's no reason to spend money on bottled water OR pollute the planet with all the extruded plastic necessary to bottle that water.

BUT. . . .water has to travel from the plant to your tap, and sometimes this can be an issue. If you live in an older city or in a kart-prone or geologically-active area, there is SOME potential that your water could be picking up metals, mold, and even bacteria and other nasties somewhere along the distribution lines, or the lines could be cracked somewhere along the route which could introduce some untreated groundwater seep into your tap lines (very rare, but it does happen.)

But if you can smell chlorine, then, even if it's unpleasant, your water is probably quite safe because chlorine basically kills anything of any real damage. Even the heavy metals from corroding distribution lines don't pose THAT much of a threat because the pipes are most likely cast iron or ceramic tile, and if there isn't enough to discolor the water (iron stains would be brownish orange) or make it smell funny, then you'll just pass it through your digestive system with little trouble.

Knowing WAAAAAAAY too much about all of this and living in an area where the distribution system is very very old and, in fact, there are days the water fountains at my office spurt a lovely orange goo, I have an at-source water filter on my kitchen home tap--the kind under the sink where you replace the cartridge every 6 mos to a year. Then, at work, I keep a pitcher-style Brita filter.

Mission4Life

I would get a Brita or Pur filter system. The article I posted above mentions that 83% of cities tap water in America has Chromium 6 (cancer causing, think Erin Brockavic (sp?)) in it so running your water through a charcoal particle type filter (as mentioned) takes care of this or lowers it.

ltlemermaid

I drink tap water most of the time and refill my reusable water bottle at work with bottled water that is free to me.

I am also planning on getting a water filter soon for the house since the water there isn't as pure as it should be...

T0RIEELIZABETH

I would get a Brita or Pur filter system. The article I posted above mentions that 83% of cities tap water in America has Chromium 6 (cancer causing, think Erin Brockavic (sp?)) in it so running your water through a charcoal particle type filter (as mentioned) takes care of this or lowers it.

I absolutely refused to drink tap water until I tried brita. I am so picky about my water and how it tastes, but I love the brita!

KatieBa82

I drink bottled spring water. I can not stand tap water. I buy the large jugs and they are recyclable.

My problem with tap water is that you really don't know what's in it. Yes, it is treated, but then you are drinking chemicals which can be just as bad for you as the other crap. Also, someone mentioned floride. That can actually be dangerous to get too much floride. It's trading one evil for another, IMHO.

Fliters can only filter out so much. I figure it's better I spend my $ on that and actually drink water than to not drink it.