Drinking a gallon of water.

[Flabbergasped?]

This is such a simple part of a proper diet, but I think I need some advice/clarification.

Do you guys actually get gallon jugs of water from a store and consume that? That seems really expensive to me.

As it stands, I drink way too little water. I'm thirsty as we speak. The problem is, my only good source of water is my fridge, and it is crappy. Filter needs change, and it doesn't pump out the water. I'm not about to spend money to fix that thing though (as you can tell, I'm broke).

Is a gallon of tap water acceptable? US taps are better than the third-world tap water I knew as a kid, but I don't know if they're good for such high consumption.

Sorry if these questions seem dumb, but I've always been curious about this stuff.

 

[Throttle]

1 gallon/person/day is well within the expectations used to set water safety standards.

there is nothing inherently more safe about bottled water than tap water, especially since most low- and mid-grade bottled waters come from the same source as someone else's tap.

googling "is tap water safe" (without quotes) will give you everything from consumer reports & the EPA to cranks who peddle fear (& expensive filters). they report, you decide.

 

[Create Reality]

I dont know about you guys but I can taste the difference between tap, drinking, spring, and distilled water. I go for distilled and I drink at least a half gallon a day.

 

[simon]

I can definitely tell the difference between filtered and unfiltered water.

Did a quick test the other day; filtered vs unfiltered. The filtered was much clearer, didn't have a noticeable smell and tasted much cleaner. The filters are hardly expensive though, and definitely worth it for the difference in taste.

But if you can't afford filters, just drink tap water.

 

[shaunuk]

When I'm at college/school, I buy big bottles of mineral water, and I'll usually drink 2 of these during the day. Obviously they're more expensive than tap water, £1.00 (1 GBP), but no probs, they're convenient

At home, I just go to the tap in the kitchen and fill up my pint glass every now and then. I live in North-east England, and the water seems fine to me...Yup, I can definitely taste the difference between bottled water and our tap water, but I find both pretty reasonable tasting. Paying for all those bottles mounts up, so if you're watching the pennies, just drink tap water. It's fine AFAIK.

-shaun

 

[simon]

These corporations want to you to think the water from your own tap is polluted.

Which it pretty much is, but at 'safe levels'.

Though you can't escape pollutants now, they're everywhere. Woohoo.

 

[md3sign]

why dont you just boil tap water, then put it in a pitcher and drink as needed. I drink a lot of milk which hydrates me as well. I dont know many people who walk around with a gallon jug of water .. that's just OCD.

 

[Throttle]

boiling it removes certain organisms, but by decreasing water volume, also concentrates any other impurities.

while nearly all tap water in the US is safe, not all of it tastes very good. if this bothers you, get a tap filter, or if you hate waiting for them to put out any significant volume (as i do) you might try by-the-pitcher system.

the easiest way to get your gallon (which I would view as an upper limit) is to fill either a 32 oz water bottle twice (or have 2 in the fridge every morning) or 2 32 oz cup-fulls.

cue the "plastic will kill you" contingent, your turn!

 

[md3sign]

except you barely decrease the volume at all, yet you end up killing all of the bacteria.

 

[Create Reality]

If it really bothers you, go all the way and buy a Reverse Osmosis system. You can then drink tap water. Or buy bottled water.