How Clean Is Your Tap Water?

We, as the trusting public, rarely look into the finer details of our everyday lives. We trust that the supermarket hasn’t put some indistinguishable meat into the sandwich we buy each lunchtime and we trust that our tap water isn’t harmful, but should we really be so trusting? Tap water is used on a daily basis and for many different aspects of our lives; from drinking to washing to cooking. But how clean is it really and should we spend the extra money on bottled water or is it improving our immune system?

For those looking for a more detailed answer to the question of tap water purity a little research is required. Depending on your water supplier and the individual water works, each process is slightly different from the next, but in general they all work in a similar way as they all have to conform to the same government regulations. Researching the water purification process is often enough to make people reconsider drinking from the tap as some are wary of drinking water that has had chemicals added. However, the process is watched carefully and tested throughout to ensure that no harmful levels ever reach your glass, whether the initial water supply is from rainfall or a reservoir.

If you are in any doubt why not add a filter to your plumbed water dispenser or drinking fountain, this will remove bad taste and contaminants from the water supply, MIW were one of the first water coolercompanies to add water cooler filters to their range of plumbed water coolers, recessed drinking fountains and under sink chillers.

There have been some claims that any residual impure water that passes through our lips could actually help to increase our levels of immunity, therefore protecting us in the future. It is difficult to ascertain just how true these claims are, but we rarely hear of illness caused by drinking tap water, so it makes you wonder just how much money you have wasted on bottled water. This is especially the case when you hear of corrupt water companies that are claiming to sell mineral water when it is actually sourced from a municipal supply, offering little difference to tap water.

It is so easy to let someone else do the hard work and hope that they were thorough in their research, especially when it comes to health and safety. If in doubt, reach for the bottled water, but in general the tap water will be perfectly safe to drink.

In the office scenario employers usually make a choice between investing in a bottled water cooler and a plumbed-in drinking fountain. The cost difference is minimal, and as the water is usually chilled the taste difference is nil, so when it comes down to it the decision is all about trust. Overall it is probably more important to ensure you stay hydrated than to worry about the purity of your water supply but it never hurts to question the norm.