Tap or bottled water - which is best for you?

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A you one of the many who regularly buy & consume bottled water, rather than drinking water straight from the tap?
Do you believe that bottled water is superior in quality, maybe?
Or that it tastes better?
I'd be interested to hear what you believe the benefits are.

A recent Australian study has concluded that bottled water may well be a waste of money, in fact may be detrimental to dental health. Seems (in Australia, at least) that bottled water is not necessarily all it's cracked up to be:

Bottled water found to be money down the drain:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,12657970%5E23289,00.html

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Where I live there's no problem with the tap water at all. Not foul tasting, nor full of impurities, so I see no reason to avoid it in favour of the bottled variety. In fact, it tastes good!
So I often wonder how come there's been such a boom in the sale of bottled water. Some folk even preferring the imported variety! I've also wondered if bottled water is something of a fad ... I really don't know.

I see every good reason, when travelling in places with impure water supply, like say, India or Indonesia, to resort to bottled water. But in Melbourne, Oz? No ... no need. So how come everyone seems to be doing it? Confused

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We've talked about this on another thread somewhere. What I found funniest was that some bottled water (one of the Coke branded ones) is actually tap water.

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Didn't know there was a similar thread here, ehBeth. Surprised

And that doesn't surprise me at all! Very big bucks, though, in this market!

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Mineral water (in bottles) from some sources is nearly as cheaap as tap water (in some regions) here.

Tap water must have the same quality as mineral water - only, some of what you find in the bottles would be illegal from the tap.*

Usually, I prefer medium non-sparkling bottled mineral water.

<The Coke water thing happened last year in England.>

*

Quote:

Water for human consumption, whether in its original state or after treatment, regardless of origin is covered by Directive 98/83/EC It includes water used in the food industry. However, the Directive does not apply to:

(a) natural mineral waters recognised as such by the competent national authorities

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I'm quite leary of bottled water since I discovered it is not, generally, tested for bacteria etc. as rigorously as tap water.

I do occasionally buy a case of bottled water, simply to get new bottles to refill with home-filtered tap water for myself and the dogs.

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Walter Hinteler wrote:

...Usually, I prefer medium non-sparkling bottled mineral water....

So this would be your main source of drinking water, Walter?

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In Florida, the water is very hard. I have a reverse osmosis system, in my home, which filters out the minerals. It tastes fine.

My system reacts badly to caffeine, and I don't want to buy regular soda, because I sure don't need the calories. I have found that there are many places, and soda machines, who do not stock caffeine free diet products. If I am outside, in a pinch, I will buy a ridiculously priced bottle of water, out of necessity. In a restaurant, I will drink regular water.

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Right, I usually don't drink tap water - if I can get mineral water.

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It wasn't its own thread, MsOlga. It was in the middle of the "Quit Picking on France" thread.

there's some research in my post there

http://able2know.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1106378#1106378

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ehBeth wrote:

I'm quite leary of bottled water since I discovered it is not, generally, tested for bacteria etc. as rigorously as tap water.

I do occasionally buy a case of bottled water, simply to get new bottles to refill with home-filtered tap water for myself and the dogs.

Interesting, that. That no rigorous testing seems to be required required. Surprising, given the heavy consumption of the stuff.

Laughing

Yes, that's the reason I buy bottled water, too, eh Beth. To replenish my supply of containers for tap water!

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Phoenix32890 wrote:

In Florida, the water is very hard. I have a reverse osmosis system, in my home, which filters out the minerals. It tastes fine.

My system reacts badly to caffeine, and I don't want to buy regular soda, because I sure don't need the calories. I have found that there are many places, and soda machines, who do not stock caffeine free diet products. If I am outside, in a pinch, I will buy a ridiculously priced bottle of water, out of necessity. In a restaurant, I will drink regular water.

Yes, filter systems have become a lot more common here, too, Phoenix. Though (to my taste) the unfiltered variety of tap water is fine. Melbourne's water is pretty good, as is.

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This is a worrying aspect of the report above (link):

Bottled water might be no better for you than tap water, but when it comes to teeth, it might actually be worse. This is due to the fact it excludes fluoride, which helps protect against tooth decay and is pumped into many municipal water supplies.

After two decades of decline, tooth decay among children began rising again in the late 1990s. There is no firm evidence linking the rise to the growth of bottled water, but the Australian Dental Association's Don Wilson said it could be a factor. If people were swapping "sugary, acidic, caffeine-laden" soft drinks for tap water then it was good, he said.

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msolga- It isn't just the taste of the hard water. In my mother's place, which has no filtration system, I have to change the flappers in her toilet tank about every six months. The minerals eat the hell out of the rubber.

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Mineral water contains here (usually) more fluorides than any tap water.

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OH!

Not good, Phoenix!

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The fluoride debate is an interesting one. Maybe hamburger will weigh in on it - it's been a matter of some discussion in my hometown.

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Interesting, Walter. Here in Oz the problem appears to be that there isn't any fluoride in bottle water.

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ehBeth wrote:

The fluoride debate is an interesting one. Maybe hamburger will weigh in on it - it's been a matter of some discussion in my hometown.

Oh, there was a HUGE bunfight here about the initial introduction of fluoride to the water supply, ehBeth!

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Tap or bottled water - which is best for you?

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