is tap water bad for me now?

There was an article somewhere re in the US they are trialling putting antidepressants in the water... thin end of a very large wedge

Water is recycled of course; meds etc can have high levels.

Here am on a private well. Never seen such hard water. Took two new kettles back to Tesco as faulty before I read up and is it the limescale preventing them working after a very short while. They don't sell non automatic kettles any more so I am heating water in the gas or range

Also there is often a smell of sulphur...

Better than mains water however

seamus wrote: »

The water the comes into your toilet is cleaner than bottled water. Drink the tap water and stop listening to hysterical idiots on facebook.

Unless you live in Galway. Those poor bastards always seem to be on boil notice.

There's a similar piece of nonsense going around facebook at the moment claiming that microwaved water is less "watery" than water heated on a pan.

Quick tip: Anything you hear on Facebook which purports to be science, probably isn't. Actually, anything you see online which purports to be science has good chance of being the exact opposite.

We're off boil notice out in Galway! Although I do filter it, it tastes nasty.

CTYIgirl wrote: »

We're off boil notice out in Galway! Although I do filter it, it tastes nasty.

years ago when Cryptosperidium (sp?) was rampant down there i was living there and after a fairly serious houseparty there was nothing left to drink and a lot of thirsty people, shops were all closed so no booze or non alcoholic drinks could be got all we had was tap water.

5 including myself drank it, 4 ended up horribly sick (one even ended up with blood.. well you know the rest) me on the other hand, no problem. From that day on i just drank the tap water and never was affected.

Same on Tory Island. was only told probably a year after starting to go out with a girl from the island that tap water wasn't good and you had to use the well water. Every other weekend for a year nearly i was drinking it with no ill effects.

Either I'm invincible or extremely lucky

Prime Time are doing a piece on Fluoride shortly for whom it may concern.

What's the story with bottled water being dirty?

carzony wrote: »

Is it true tap water is bad for you? I heard something about fluoride in it or something.. If so what the **** are you supposed to drink? :mad:

robindch wrote: »

Will they be speaking with any scientists, or will they only be airing the views of a bunch of untrained, paranoid internet-based fruitcakes?

I heard that if you drink fluoridated water, your bum falls off.

Nononono.

Your bum stays on. It's the rest of your body that falls off.

1. I should be free to choose whether to consume fluoridated water or not.
2. Nothing should be added to our water that doesn't improve it's safety. This should be a principal above anything else.
3. Babies and old people don't benefit from fluoridated water as they don't have teeth.
4. RTE report said regions of the US with fluoridated water have a 50% higher incidence of hip problems than in areas without.
5. It costs 5 million euro per year. Put that money into improved dental health education and funding for dentists to go to schools and provide regular check-ups for all school children.
6. It may never be possible to quantify the adverse effects that fluoride has on certain parts of our brain, on how it may impair certain functions and so on. We know more about the workings of the universe than we do about the human brain.
7. We're one of the only countries in Europe that adds fluoride to our water supply. Since we copy pretty much everything Europe does why have we chosen not to follow suit with this?

I say this as someone who drinks tap water everyday, I use one of those filter jugs but that just gets out small bits of dirt/grit.
I honestly don't understand many people who are so in favour of it thrashing people who are against it as if it's some fringe looney hippy conspiracy crowd who only have issues with it. I kinda picture a type of Professor Frink (Simpsons) sitting there going glouben, nahh, did you realise that it occurs in some regions naturally and dentists say it helps some peoples teeth.
It's our public water supply, if I want the best quality water possible coming out of my tap a dentist wouldn't exactly be the first person I would consult on the matter.

One thing that has always baffled me however is:


Irish and British water has fluoride and US water does not.
Irish and British teeth lovely primrose shade, American teeth sparkly white.

This post has been deleted.

MadsL wrote: »

One thing that has always baffled me however is:


Irish and British water has fluoride and US water does not.
Irish and British teeth lovely primrose shade, American teeth sparkly white.

72% of the population of the US live in areas where the public water is fluoridated. Almost all bottled water contains fluoride, as does a lot of naturally occurring fresh water, so even those that are actively trying to avoid it are most likely still getting it.

I hope you're suitably un-baffled.

Femme_Fatale wrote: »

Would boiling not get rid of the tiny bit that's in tap water?

I'm happy to learn about concerns re fluoridation from a rational source, not a bunch of fruitcakes who go on about "sheeple".

Boiling the water increases the concentration of fluoride in it, unfortunately.
My biggest fear of having fluoride in the mains water is the possible potential for neurological diseases in later life from the cumalative effects of constant fluoride intake, Alzheimers would be my biggest fear, I'm always worried about this since my daily water intake needs to be higher than usual due to a complication from an eye disease that I have.

Does anyone have any idea or links on this to prove my fears on flouride intake=potential neuro diseases in later life unfounded?

PizzamanIRL wrote: »

What's the story with bottled water being dirty?

Bottled water isn't subject to the same stringent checks as the water in the supply. Unlike tap water, you're lucky if bottled water has had any more treatment than to be put through a filter to remove large particles. It's not necessarily "dirty", but you are many multiple times more likely to receive botulism or other food poisoning from drinking bottled water than you are from drinking tap water.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/3160644.stm

The companies of course test the product themselves, but not nearly as regularly or independently as the public supply. Fizzy drinks are actually safer than bottled water because they use water from the public supply and the acidic concentration helps keep the bacterial levels negligible.

MadsL wrote: »

Irish and British water has fluoride and US water does not.
Irish and British teeth lovely primrose shade, American teeth sparkly white.

One word: Orthodontists.
Americans like to spend lots of money making their teeth straight, white and properly shaped. And yes, US water is fluoridated.