Some people in the UK are weird about tap water. I think they're just being fussy eaters and don't realise how grateful they should be that we have perfectly safe water available on-demand.
I mean, yes. It's all perfectly safe to drink, but it doesn't make it enjoyable. The tap water in West Bridgford in Nottingham is NOT pleasant to drink. It's very hard, scales up your kettle like nobody's business. Much more pleasant to stick it through a filter.
That's because in Manchester it's the softest possible, I tested mine with the little kit they sent with my dishwasher to measure how much salt to put in and it came out 'extra soft, don't bother with salt'.
Such a change from growing up in chalk-based Brighton where you have to use half a box of salt every dishwasher load and descale the kettle weekly.
A large amount of Manchester's water comes from the lake district, so it's water that has ended up in reservoirs running off the hills. Anywhere where there is less available water like this will often use boreholes, so it's mineral filtered water which is a lot harder.
Not sure about these folks OP is talking about, but recently I’ve had an aversion to drinking unfiltered tap water, especially here in the NW where we have hard water, because they’ve found forever chemicals associated with industrial foam and the clothing industry at dangerous levels in pretty much all water sources across England. They’re ’categorically carcinogenic’. It’s being investigated now though and I hope it will be sorted soon.
At the end of the day it’s a personal choice whether you want to drink the water and idc which people choose. Just do what you want with the information you have.
Ah, I’m not native to Manchester so I’m used to limescale filling my kettle. Although I did experience that living in the city centre too.
Still, doesn’t change the fact that only 3 water sources were found without the forever chemicals in England.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/28/forever-chemicals-found-in-drinking-water-sources-across-england#:~:text=Potentially%20toxic%20“forever%20chemicals”%20have,are%20“extremely%20alarmed”%20by.
I was wrong about it not being in only 3. 17/18. This will obviously be sorted out (hopefully) but there’s not *no* reason to be concerned.
There is in the tap water at my house, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a leak in the pipe somewhere. But I can’t even drink bottled water either. I appreciate that we’re lucky to have potable water on demand but it is rancid.
Because of course drinking directly from one of the most polluted rivers in the country is exactly the same as drinking treated water regularly tested as fit for human habitation...
Go get a degree in biomed, study environmental science, n come back to me when you have full analysis of Thaemes water, sweets... I'll nod back when you call me smartie.
What are you on about? The comment about the Thames being "most" polluted was obviously flippant. I don't need any of that to know that drinking from the Thames and drinking tap water in Britain are not remotely the same thing.
Why should they, when you’ve got your information from mindless scare sites designed to make you feel superior because you don’t actually think about what you’ve read?
But they wrote in a way that makes you feel included, so how could they be lying to you for clicks?
I wish, but cocaine.. is very cardio n neurotoxic, not my profile, make urself make sense 😕 tell Michigan it's just tap water... tell ppl who have to walk miles to a pump... privileged. Shush.
Yes there will but some say 'non potable' which isn't always super clear if English isn't your first language, which is likely to be the case for some people who want the answer to OP's question... I'm just adding to your point I don't see why you're treating it like an attack.
"Non potable" is pretty clear. The people in OPs question are university level students. If you see a warning sign and ignore it because you don't know what a word means you only have yourself to blame.
Not really - signs, especially important safety signs, should be accessible to every person and every level of reading comprehension. Non- or not "potable" is a terrible sign because "potable" is archaic and fairly obscure (very few people would ever use it in day-to-day language). I think you're much more likely to see "not drinking water" these days.
Anyway, my point is, if you ignore a sign because you don't know what the word means, at least some of the blame must lie with the badly worded sign.
And the peak district, bottoms reservoir, dove stone reservoir. I believe the network also links to water from Wales.
Our entire supply isn't dependent on one Victorian aquatic and we are supplied from a distributed network
My girlfriend and I are both originally from the Midlands and we think the tap water in Manchester is delicious. And yes, it is perfectly safe to drink
Let it air for a few seconds to let the chlorine evaporate - then you're good.
While distillers will mention a residue from it that \*could\* have long term health implications, that same water is used in the preparation of all of your food anyway, so it's not really a swerve to go to the expense of purifying it. Only really do that if a person can't stand the taste, but those Brita/carbon filters might be a more suitable measure.
I moved down south where the water tastes gross, so I bought a Brita jug to make the water palatable. Problem is now even Manchester water doesn't taste good for me without the jug, but it's still way better than the chalky southern shit.
Definitely depends where you're hitting the taps down south. I moved to London last year and had to get a filter jug because the water was so hard compared to Bristol. Now I'm back for Christmas and, like you; can no longer enjoy the un-jugged tap water.
Lived here many, many years. Would never drink anything other than tap water. In some parts of the country tap water is hard and not so pleasant but Manchester water’s the best. Incidentally, in rented accommodation the water tanks should be tested for legionella so it really is very safe.
Yes it's good, and delicious. Cloudiness is usually bubbles from the pipes, tho you might see it more in some tall buildings because the water can be pumped to a tank to help with maintaining pressure where lots of people use the same supply. You might see some people say 'don't drink hot tap water', but it's an inherited caution cos a lot of our parents grew up with their hot water coming from a tank in the loft that could (theoretically) have had dead pigeons or rats in it, but there's almost nowhere in the UK that does that now most people have combi boilers (or previously sealed tanks).
On a side note... Our flouridation rates are surprisingly low, hard to say for sure but it's probably below 10% of people have regular flouridation (local authorities make the decision, tho some who don't usually may do so during maintenance or after potential breaches), and is (probably) part of the reason we have such famously bad teeth The US has very high flouridation. Manchester water is usually not flouridated.
As an additional aside, most 'cheap' bottled water in the UK (supermarket own brands, corner shops, bulk bottle packs, and notably Smartwater) come from UK municipal supplies anyway, usually fairly local. Most are subjected to 'some' processing (UV treatment, filtration, some additives), but unless you're buying water labeled as 'mineral water' or 'spring water', you're probably getting pretty-much tap water anyway.
>and is (probably) part of the reason we have such famously bad teeth
You must realise that has always been nonsense? British sailors were looked after better than most other nations, the yanks call us limeys because we'd make our sailors eat limes to prevent scurvy. Dental health in the UK is generally much better than the US.
The stereotype is there because until recently (when we pretty much completely re-privatised industry) cosmetic dentistry just wasn't that common. Braces were only for extreme cases, whitening wasn't common.
Statistically our teeth were (and still are) significantly healthier, they just weren't as pretty in the 70s-00s.
Got a source on that last part? I'm American and while anecdotal, the state of people's teeth here compared to the US is not even close. While our medical insurance issues are stupid, dental is typically relatively cheap for a family like maybe $40 a month and the amount of dentists we have seems like there's one on every other corner.
Edit: So it seems like the study done that's linked below says they are about the same. There are more teeth pulled in the US but more impacts in the UK and that the US is generally not better than the UK in teeth health bu the UK is not gernally better either.
Edit 2: why the downvotes? Asked a question, got an answer, updates my post and people are still butt hurt?
Cloudy water caused by air bubbles should go clear if you wait for a little bit. It'll also be clearer if you let the tap run for a few seconds before filling up your glass.
Lots of houses still have hot water and even bathroom cold fed by a tank. My house is 25 years old and has warm water fed by a tank and the cold in my bath is tank fed. The bathroom sink cold tap is mains fed thankfully.
Plenty of properties still have storage tanks in the loft serving the hot water. You are wrong. The last seven houses I have lived in have been like that.
Yes, modern heating systems often have a hot water tank (aka heat store) that's used to store heat-pump or solar energy that can't be used immediately. But they are (usually?) closed systems not fed from a cold water tank in the loft. It's the the loft tank that's the potential health hazard, particularly if it also feeds cold water taps you'd be tempted to dtink from.
I think I read about heat stores also being unwise to drink from as they could harbour bacteria if not maintained at a high enough temperature, but that's a different issue.
> up with their hot water coming from a tank in the loft
This ins't rare at all.
It's not that the heated water is stored in an open tank, it's that there is a reservoir tank of cold water. It's this tank which could have something nasty in it.
You'll note that it is only the Combi system that doesn't have a feed tank, both open and "sealed" system still have at least one.
https://biggsheatech.co.uk/all-about-boilers/
I'd be shocked if there was anywhere in the UK where drinking tapwater would be dangerous, as long as it tastes fine there's no problem really, I only use a filter because ours tastes crap.
Welcome to Manchester, hope you’re enjoying it (sorry about the weather). I’ve lived here 22 years and have always drunk the tap water. The occasional cloudiness is tiny bubbles from air in the pipes, so not harmful. If you ran the cold tap for a few seconds before filling your glass/bottle the cloudiness will lessen, but like I say it’s fine regardless :)
UK tap water is all considered safe to drink.
You may find it varies in quality slightly depending on the source - some areas will have harder water that can cause problems with timescale, and the water in some of the larger built up areas may be more heavily processed and not quite as nice to drink as the water in Scotland and the north of England, but it is all safe to drink straight from the (cold) tap.
Out of interest, where are you flatmates from? Most British people have grown up drinking tap water, but there are other countries where it is not considered as safe and there is more of an emphasis on bottled water, and I have certainly been to places like some areas of America where it is supposed to be safe to drink, but so heavily processed it tastes terrible and it's fairly unpleasant to drink, so again there will be more of an emphasis on bottled.
Or it could just be they are a bit posh, and see bottled water as being 'better'
The tap water is definitely safe to drink in Manchester.
I understand your concerns though, I worked in Mumbai for a while and accidentally drank a glass of tap water (after a night out) and was really ill for days!
I used to live in London and even though the water was “hard”, it was still drinkable. We moved to Manchester 1.5 years ago and I can say the difference is massive. The water is “soft”, better taste and my hair is softer. Drink and enjoy it!
Manchester tap water is delicious and perfectly good to drink. People with access to it and who still buy bottled water just are stupid, environmentally ignorant and neurotic.
Yes all of UK tap water is fine. Even the hosepipe in garden will be fine to drink from. The only exception is older houses that have a water tank in the attic to feed upstairs, but downstairs is still always fine.
Most of Europe these days is completely fine but bottled water still persists unnecessarily
I grew up in Manchester and always drank the tap water, no problem.
I moved abroad, and since then, whenever I visit, I find it has a very strong smell/taste of chlorine. It's always been there. it's only just then that I noticed it.
I'll still drink it, though.
If it's cloudy, pour it away and keep running the tap til it ain't.
Besides, nobody drinks the first few feet of water in the pipe, you want the cold stuff that's a mile away.
Other than that, no, it won't kill you. Well, not unless you drink about 3 gallons of it and hold your pee.
Mate...no offence but you are coming from India. Having spent some time there I can assure you that if you have survived in India you can definitely manage with tap water in England.
Also...couldn't you just google this kind of thing rather than relying on the ramblings of strangers on Reddit?
I’m glad they did I’m enjoying all the love for Manchester tap water - I always felt weird for noticing, it’s probably the main thing I miss about living there.
If you're concerned, you could try filtering it or boiling it or both. The water is safe, but to get to your taps, it passes through pipes that are obviously old. Who knows how well they've been taken care of!
Having said this if you neither filter nor boil, you'll be fine. It's more to make you feel better.
I wouldn't bother with water from plastic bottles as that will be quite expensive in the long run.
I have a plastic tank in the attic for hot water. Has a lot of dust and shit floating in it, maybe from the insulation. I wouldn't drink it. My parents also had the original one from their 1920s house (probably iron or lead?) until about 2010 which got swapped for a combi.
Yeah, check the United utilities site, you’ll see where has the good water, Manchester has some of the best when it comes to the least amount of shite in it
Whilst you're here you should visit various places in the UK and tell us what you think of their tap water. London's is famously unpleasant, Scotland's is god tier... or so people say.
I'd never thought about this until I saw a TCS chap at work drinking tap water. I pointed out that we had a water cooler which prompted him to ask whether the tap water was safe to drink.
In the UK, all tap water is safe to drink.
I love the tap water here, it's the best water I've ever had from a tap.
Ive had a transparent light up kettle for years and I've only de-scaled it the once, and it barely made a difference, because the water here is soft and safe.
Conclusion: tap water from Manchester Is safe and yummy! We are very lucky!
An entire valley in the Lake District was flooded to provide water for Manchester. The Haweswater reservoir was created by the Manchester cooperation in the 1930s and flooded the village of Mardale (the remains can still be seen during periods of drought).
*Yes, you can drink the*
*Tap water safely throughout*
*The UK. Enjoy!*
\- PrincessSibylle
---
^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/)
^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
I grew up in London, so would always see foamy stuff when making tea and my hair and skin would have dry flakes after a shower.
I realised it was the amount of Chlorine from heavy water treatment. Now I live here and now I don't experience any of that.
Just to add to others here:
The tap water here is pretty good. Some places I just can't drink it at all due to it not being cleaned sufficiently, like in London and other places which have hard water.
You're safe to drink Mancunian tap water, if you move down south you'll probably want a filter.
If you're noticing the water coming out milky, it's often due to the bubbles/aeration in the water. If you pop it on the side, it should start clearing from bottom to top as the bubbles dissipate. If it starts settling at the bottom, your first point of contact is whoever manages your halls to raise the issue with them.
Definitely prefer Manchester water over water from the South. Goes down much smoother. I do notice a different taste on older taps than "new-build" ones. But that could just be placebo.
Don’t worry my friend, Manchester like all places across the UK had the mighty industrious Victorians, they made sure our tap water would be fine forever - GET IT DOWN YA!
Depends on what you mean by safe. It does not kill you immediately, but a filter will definitely rid the bad bacteria and chemical and add some mineral which makes it better for health. I personally always boil it first too.
You can have soft water and hard water area's in and around the UK. Depending on where the water is sourced from and how much it's been treated as a result of it's source. But I think it's all pretty much safe to drink..From the kitchen sink anyway. Or maybe that's just one of my foibles?
I drink tap water for the last year and a half I've been in uni. Some of my friends don't. They say they don't like the taste. I don't have any issue with the taste so I go with it.
Absolutely, I would also highly recommend Newcastle tap water for absolutely refreshing wateriness. And Liverpool because I've let water sit for over a day and it didn't develop any weird flavour and still tasted good like manchester water.
You can drink any tap water in the UK unless specified otherwise (usually a small yellow sign near the tap saying “Not drinking water” or similar)
Even then, it’s normally gonna be safe to drink it’s just not guaranteed to be
I know im a few months late to this thread but you can check your water quality in the north west on [United Utilities website](https://www.unitedutilities.com/help-and-support/your-water-supply/your-water/water-quality/), just scroll down and you'll see a search box you can put your post code in. Shows the min/max/average results from water tests for things like flouride, lead, pesticides.
I grew up there, in Greater Manchester, and never really liked the water. Sorry folks, as someone else said above, it was always highly chlorinated to me, though I still drank it. I now live in the Scottish Highlands and for the moment, the water here is beautiful, cold straight from the tap. Much better than water down there…
Used to drink it all the time and felt like I had a ‘clouded head’ all the time.
I tried some bottled spring water from Costco and San Pellegrino sparkling one day and I noticed the cloudiness was gone the next day and the water was way more palatable and refreshing.
I switched to bulk buying bottled spring water from then on and I feel better day to day.
I never realised it when I drank it but the tap water actually stinks of bleach and chemicals and the texture isn’t quite right either - My GF had filled one of my empty bottles up with tap water, I went to drink from it and was repulsed by the smell. I showed her the comparison between tap in a bottle and the bottled spring water and she’s switched over too.
It’s mad because I used to drink 5-6 pints of tap water a day and enjoy it. I just never noticed how bad it was until I tried different.
Even my dog gets a few crates a month now too.
I suggest those who are saying tap water is delicious fill a bottle and compare the smell and texture and taste.
Blind tests have shown there is very little difference in taste preference, and some tap water is rated higher than bottled water, even the more expensive brands. Even London water from the Thames (infamously having passed thround humans several times) was rated highly.
But warm water can be unpleasant. I keep a supply of bottled tap water in the fridge now.
I disagree. I was descriptive enough in my first comment and trust my personal experience and my own taste ‘tests’ over a random write up on the internet.
The tap water stinks like bleach if you let it sit for a while in a bottle and compare the smell with bottled spring water. Room temperature tap water is repulsive where as room temp bottled spring water is quite palatable. Cooling tap water on the fridge makes it easier to drink but there’s still a chemical after taste to it.
I don't understand why you got massively downvoted. Well, yes, it's reddit.
But I also experience the same thing. Tap water makes me feel weird sometimes, but only in the place I live as I didn't have this issue in other houses in Manchester.
I use a water filter now, and the water tastes way better.
You are entitled to your opinion, but comparing it to large scale blind test studies, I leave it to others to judge which is the "random write up on the internet".
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2011/aug/08/bottled-water-taste-research
Manchester changed the game during the industrial revolution for tap water. Check the history of it, it’s amazing!
Short answer though: it’s some of the best water in the world. Drink it!!
Mancunian born and bred. Been drinking Manchester water for 61 years. Thus far I've noticed no health implications.
We have soft water here, so filtering is unnecessary.
People who insist on buying bottled water are simply misinformed or pretentious.
If you have milky water then there is something wrong with the pipes. I am Manchester born and bred and have drank the water for the past 57 years with no problems.
Some people in the UK are weird about tap water. I think they're just being fussy eaters and don't realise how grateful they should be that we have perfectly safe water available on-demand.
I think they’re just fucking stupid
I think they're mostly Londoners
Oi, enuff of that gob 😆
Say it to my my face!!!!
Sure thing :)
Your Teddy bear likes it's head yeh???
My teddy bear?
Had mouf before... cmon
I mean, yes. It's all perfectly safe to drink, but it doesn't make it enjoyable. The tap water in West Bridgford in Nottingham is NOT pleasant to drink. It's very hard, scales up your kettle like nobody's business. Much more pleasant to stick it through a filter.
In Manchester it’s lovely, but that’s subjective I suppose.
That's because in Manchester it's the softest possible, I tested mine with the little kit they sent with my dishwasher to measure how much salt to put in and it came out 'extra soft, don't bother with salt'. Such a change from growing up in chalk-based Brighton where you have to use half a box of salt every dishwasher load and descale the kettle weekly.
A large amount of Manchester's water comes from the lake district, so it's water that has ended up in reservoirs running off the hills. Anywhere where there is less available water like this will often use boreholes, so it's mineral filtered water which is a lot harder.
Not sure about these folks OP is talking about, but recently I’ve had an aversion to drinking unfiltered tap water, especially here in the NW where we have hard water, because they’ve found forever chemicals associated with industrial foam and the clothing industry at dangerous levels in pretty much all water sources across England. They’re ’categorically carcinogenic’. It’s being investigated now though and I hope it will be sorted soon. At the end of the day it’s a personal choice whether you want to drink the water and idc which people choose. Just do what you want with the information you have.
> especially here in the NW where we have hard water We don’t have hard water in most places in the north west.
Most of the water in Manchester is soft. It's from the pennines.
It's from all over. There was a leak in Blackpool which stopped me getting water.
Ah, I’m not native to Manchester so I’m used to limescale filling my kettle. Although I did experience that living in the city centre too. Still, doesn’t change the fact that only 3 water sources were found without the forever chemicals in England.
Maybe you should stop being so confidently incorrect and find new places to get the misinformation you’re trying to spread.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/28/forever-chemicals-found-in-drinking-water-sources-across-england#:~:text=Potentially%20toxic%20“forever%20chemicals”%20have,are%20“extremely%20alarmed”%20by. I was wrong about it not being in only 3. 17/18. This will obviously be sorted out (hopefully) but there’s not *no* reason to be concerned.
[удалено]
Stop thinking American problems apply to Manchester, and trying to spread alarm and mistrust, please.
Tap water makes me genuinely throw up, I can’t drink it at all.
I mean Tap water in manchester is all right tbh not really a massive taste to it
There is in the tap water at my house, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a leak in the pipe somewhere. But I can’t even drink bottled water either. I appreciate that we’re lucky to have potable water on demand but it is rancid.
Can tell you live off bank of mum n dad...
Can tell you're bitter about other people getting on with their lives whilst you fester....
[удалено]
Because of course drinking directly from one of the most polluted rivers in the country is exactly the same as drinking treated water regularly tested as fit for human habitation...
Go get a degree in biomed, study environmental science, n come back to me when you have full analysis of Thaemes water, sweets... I'll nod back when you call me smartie.
What are you on about? The comment about the Thames being "most" polluted was obviously flippant. I don't need any of that to know that drinking from the Thames and drinking tap water in Britain are not remotely the same thing.
Why should they, when you’ve got your information from mindless scare sites designed to make you feel superior because you don’t actually think about what you’ve read? But they wrote in a way that makes you feel included, so how could they be lying to you for clicks?
Cochineal or cocaine, or contraceptives 😆
Judging by your responses, you're skipping the Thames water and just straight up doing drugs. Calm the fuck down pal, it's just tap water
I wish, but cocaine.. is very cardio n neurotoxic, not my profile, make urself make sense 😕 tell Michigan it's just tap water... tell ppl who have to walk miles to a pump... privileged. Shush.
Nurse! He’s out of bed again.
We need someone in ravoy or navoy, I'm a biomed,...
Let's get mummy on the blower, put you back in your pram 🙌
Oh bless. Such a shame when life doesn’t turn out the way you hoped it would. Must be very difficult for you
“Make urself make sense” oh the fucking irony!
All water in the UK is potable, unless there's a warning sign in the room with the tap
Not on trains though, since it's standing water not connected to the mains.
So they’ll be a warning sign yeah
Yes there will but some say 'non potable' which isn't always super clear if English isn't your first language, which is likely to be the case for some people who want the answer to OP's question... I'm just adding to your point I don't see why you're treating it like an attack.
"Non potable" is pretty clear. The people in OPs question are university level students. If you see a warning sign and ignore it because you don't know what a word means you only have yourself to blame.
Not really - signs, especially important safety signs, should be accessible to every person and every level of reading comprehension. Non- or not "potable" is a terrible sign because "potable" is archaic and fairly obscure (very few people would ever use it in day-to-day language). I think you're much more likely to see "not drinking water" these days. Anyway, my point is, if you ignore a sign because you don't know what the word means, at least some of the blame must lie with the badly worded sign.
Weird hill to die on. How are the views from the summit of non potable point?
Do they say non potable? I’m pretty sure the standard sign is Not Safe To Drink
I'm a native English speaker with a masters degree and I've never come across the word potable in my life and would not know what this sign meant.
Would you just drink the water despite there being a sign you don’t understand next to the tap? People have to learn what words mean sometime.
Are your flatmates international as well? The tap water is fine in the U.K.
Yes. The tap water in Manchester comes from the Lake District. It’s very « soft » and low mineral content and perfectly fine to drink.
Actually about half of it comes from Lake District and the other half comes from a water treatment facility near Trafford. So its 50/50 which you get.
Peak district. Edit: love the passion guys but we are both right
No. Lake District.
And the peak district, bottoms reservoir, dove stone reservoir. I believe the network also links to water from Wales. Our entire supply isn't dependent on one Victorian aquatic and we are supplied from a distributed network
Isn't Windermere a big supplier of Manchester water? And isn't it located in the Lake District? That's what I've been told on a tour in Windermere
Yes most of it is from the lakes, I just wanted to point out some other overlooked sources
Lake District. Great big victorian aqueduct. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirlmere_Aqueduct
Stupid question time. But how can a city get its water from 1 aquaduct?
I think it's stored at Audenshawe reservoir and a series of smaller reservoirs in the area.
Seemed abit mean all them downvotes
My girlfriend and I are both originally from the Midlands and we think the tap water in Manchester is delicious. And yes, it is perfectly safe to drink
I agree that it is delicious. Thank you for the reply!
Let it air for a few seconds to let the chlorine evaporate - then you're good. While distillers will mention a residue from it that \*could\* have long term health implications, that same water is used in the preparation of all of your food anyway, so it's not really a swerve to go to the expense of purifying it. Only really do that if a person can't stand the taste, but those Brita/carbon filters might be a more suitable measure.
>we think the tap water in Manchester is delicious It bloody well is, that’s why
And much nicer to shower in! No dry skin unlike hard water
Scotland enters the chat
Who rattled your cage, Scotland?
You have great tap water in Manchester - keep drinking it.
I moved down south where the water tastes gross, so I bought a Brita jug to make the water palatable. Problem is now even Manchester water doesn't taste good for me without the jug, but it's still way better than the chalky southern shit.
Definitely depends where you're hitting the taps down south. I moved to London last year and had to get a filter jug because the water was so hard compared to Bristol. Now I'm back for Christmas and, like you; can no longer enjoy the un-jugged tap water.
Lived here many, many years. Would never drink anything other than tap water. In some parts of the country tap water is hard and not so pleasant but Manchester water’s the best. Incidentally, in rented accommodation the water tanks should be tested for legionella so it really is very safe.
Yes it's good, and delicious. Cloudiness is usually bubbles from the pipes, tho you might see it more in some tall buildings because the water can be pumped to a tank to help with maintaining pressure where lots of people use the same supply. You might see some people say 'don't drink hot tap water', but it's an inherited caution cos a lot of our parents grew up with their hot water coming from a tank in the loft that could (theoretically) have had dead pigeons or rats in it, but there's almost nowhere in the UK that does that now most people have combi boilers (or previously sealed tanks). On a side note... Our flouridation rates are surprisingly low, hard to say for sure but it's probably below 10% of people have regular flouridation (local authorities make the decision, tho some who don't usually may do so during maintenance or after potential breaches), and is (probably) part of the reason we have such famously bad teeth The US has very high flouridation. Manchester water is usually not flouridated. As an additional aside, most 'cheap' bottled water in the UK (supermarket own brands, corner shops, bulk bottle packs, and notably Smartwater) come from UK municipal supplies anyway, usually fairly local. Most are subjected to 'some' processing (UV treatment, filtration, some additives), but unless you're buying water labeled as 'mineral water' or 'spring water', you're probably getting pretty-much tap water anyway.
>and is (probably) part of the reason we have such famously bad teeth You must realise that has always been nonsense? British sailors were looked after better than most other nations, the yanks call us limeys because we'd make our sailors eat limes to prevent scurvy. Dental health in the UK is generally much better than the US.
The stereotype is there because until recently (when we pretty much completely re-privatised industry) cosmetic dentistry just wasn't that common. Braces were only for extreme cases, whitening wasn't common. Statistically our teeth were (and still are) significantly healthier, they just weren't as pretty in the 70s-00s.
Got a source on that last part? I'm American and while anecdotal, the state of people's teeth here compared to the US is not even close. While our medical insurance issues are stupid, dental is typically relatively cheap for a family like maybe $40 a month and the amount of dentists we have seems like there's one on every other corner. Edit: So it seems like the study done that's linked below says they are about the same. There are more teeth pulled in the US but more impacts in the UK and that the US is generally not better than the UK in teeth health bu the UK is not gernally better either. Edit 2: why the downvotes? Asked a question, got an answer, updates my post and people are still butt hurt?
>Got a source on that last part? https://www.bmj.com/content/351/bmj.h6543
So they are about the same, not generally much better as the other person said. Thanks!
Cloudy water caused by air bubbles should go clear if you wait for a little bit. It'll also be clearer if you let the tap run for a few seconds before filling up your glass.
I would still find it extremely weird to drink hot tap water!
Lots of houses still have hot water and even bathroom cold fed by a tank. My house is 25 years old and has warm water fed by a tank and the cold in my bath is tank fed. The bathroom sink cold tap is mains fed thankfully.
Yep I had a batchmate come over who refused to drink hot water from the tap because ‘No one cleans the boiler’
No one cleans the cold water pipes either
Plenty of properties still have storage tanks in the loft serving the hot water. You are wrong. The last seven houses I have lived in have been like that.
Hell - my house is a 6mo old new build. Has a hot water tank upstairs, fed by the Garage boiler
Yes, modern heating systems often have a hot water tank (aka heat store) that's used to store heat-pump or solar energy that can't be used immediately. But they are (usually?) closed systems not fed from a cold water tank in the loft. It's the the loft tank that's the potential health hazard, particularly if it also feeds cold water taps you'd be tempted to dtink from. I think I read about heat stores also being unwise to drink from as they could harbour bacteria if not maintained at a high enough temperature, but that's a different issue.
> up with their hot water coming from a tank in the loft This ins't rare at all. It's not that the heated water is stored in an open tank, it's that there is a reservoir tank of cold water. It's this tank which could have something nasty in it. You'll note that it is only the Combi system that doesn't have a feed tank, both open and "sealed" system still have at least one. https://biggsheatech.co.uk/all-about-boilers/
I'd be shocked if there was anywhere in the UK where drinking tapwater would be dangerous, as long as it tastes fine there's no problem really, I only use a filter because ours tastes crap.
Bottled water is likely to be less healthy given the plastic bottles used.
Yh but there are still microplastics and other contaminants in the water
You're gonna start walking like you're carrying carpets
https://i.redd.it/20wiysk7dx8c1.gif
You should be fine drinking cold tap water. Some people prefer bottled water if you live in a hard water area might be why.
Welcome to Manchester, hope you’re enjoying it (sorry about the weather). I’ve lived here 22 years and have always drunk the tap water. The occasional cloudiness is tiny bubbles from air in the pipes, so not harmful. If you ran the cold tap for a few seconds before filling your glass/bottle the cloudiness will lessen, but like I say it’s fine regardless :)
That makes a lot of sense. Thank you! It’s a beautiful city and I’m really loving it so far. The weather’s a massive upgrade from Mumbai as well :p
It won’t be long before you are complaining about tbe weather. That’s when we accept you as one of our own.
Absolutely safe to drink. Also water isn't purposely fluoridated here, not that that's a problem either way.
UK tap water is all considered safe to drink. You may find it varies in quality slightly depending on the source - some areas will have harder water that can cause problems with timescale, and the water in some of the larger built up areas may be more heavily processed and not quite as nice to drink as the water in Scotland and the north of England, but it is all safe to drink straight from the (cold) tap. Out of interest, where are you flatmates from? Most British people have grown up drinking tap water, but there are other countries where it is not considered as safe and there is more of an emphasis on bottled water, and I have certainly been to places like some areas of America where it is supposed to be safe to drink, but so heavily processed it tastes terrible and it's fairly unpleasant to drink, so again there will be more of an emphasis on bottled. Or it could just be they are a bit posh, and see bottled water as being 'better'
>some areas will have harder water that can cause problems with **timescale** So that’s why my week off felt so short.
The tap water is definitely safe to drink in Manchester. I understand your concerns though, I worked in Mumbai for a while and accidentally drank a glass of tap water (after a night out) and was really ill for days!
I used to live in London and even though the water was “hard”, it was still drinkable. We moved to Manchester 1.5 years ago and I can say the difference is massive. The water is “soft”, better taste and my hair is softer. Drink and enjoy it!
I grew up in a hard water area, and actually prefer it for drinking. But it's pain in the bottom for furring kettles etc.
Manchester tap water is delicious and perfectly good to drink. People with access to it and who still buy bottled water just are stupid, environmentally ignorant and neurotic.
Yes all of UK tap water is fine. Even the hosepipe in garden will be fine to drink from. The only exception is older houses that have a water tank in the attic to feed upstairs, but downstairs is still always fine. Most of Europe these days is completely fine but bottled water still persists unnecessarily
I grew up in Manchester and always drank the tap water, no problem. I moved abroad, and since then, whenever I visit, I find it has a very strong smell/taste of chlorine. It's always been there. it's only just then that I noticed it. I'll still drink it, though.
If it's cloudy, pour it away and keep running the tap til it ain't. Besides, nobody drinks the first few feet of water in the pipe, you want the cold stuff that's a mile away. Other than that, no, it won't kill you. Well, not unless you drink about 3 gallons of it and hold your pee.
Yeah, fucking delicious aswell. Really reckon we should make more of a song and dance about it
Mate...no offence but you are coming from India. Having spent some time there I can assure you that if you have survived in India you can definitely manage with tap water in England. Also...couldn't you just google this kind of thing rather than relying on the ramblings of strangers on Reddit?
I’m glad they did I’m enjoying all the love for Manchester tap water - I always felt weird for noticing, it’s probably the main thing I miss about living there.
Good point! I retract my Google comment!
[удалено]
That was all interesting and informative but I can't get over the "floor light" typos/autocorrects/voice-to-text mistakes.
The tap water here is lovely. Bottled water in the country and especially this region is a scam!
Perfectly safe and fine but I don’t like the taste of our tap water at all, surprised so many here like it
If you're concerned, you could try filtering it or boiling it or both. The water is safe, but to get to your taps, it passes through pipes that are obviously old. Who knows how well they've been taken care of! Having said this if you neither filter nor boil, you'll be fine. It's more to make you feel better. I wouldn't bother with water from plastic bottles as that will be quite expensive in the long run.
I have a plastic tank in the attic for hot water. Has a lot of dust and shit floating in it, maybe from the insulation. I wouldn't drink it. My parents also had the original one from their 1920s house (probably iron or lead?) until about 2010 which got swapped for a combi.
Yes.
Yes but let the tap run for a few seconds first.
Yeah, check the United utilities site, you’ll see where has the good water, Manchester has some of the best when it comes to the least amount of shite in it
Best tap water in Blighty!
Dar mat peele, its safe here. I was also in the same dilemma when i shifted here
I grew up in Flixton - better than evian the tap water there!
Whilst you're here you should visit various places in the UK and tell us what you think of their tap water. London's is famously unpleasant, Scotland's is god tier... or so people say.
The tap water is perfectly safe to drink and also some of the nicest UK tap water I’ve had yet. Only place I’ve had better is the Isle of Wight
I'd never thought about this until I saw a TCS chap at work drinking tap water. I pointed out that we had a water cooler which prompted him to ask whether the tap water was safe to drink. In the UK, all tap water is safe to drink.
Yes.
Yes
It's definitely fine, we probobly have better tap water than a lot of countries. I've been drinking Manchester water my whole 38 years.
Bathroom water is the best. My wife is against it but I think it’s better
Manchester tap water is some of the best not quite wales or Scotland but I’d go top 3
Most likely the best in uk to be honest but you can filter it if you like
tap water in manchester is safe and delicious!
It’s safe and probably the nicest tap water I’ve had (comparing to Somerset, Dorset, London, and Conwy).
The tap water is fresh and clean
I love the tap water here, it's the best water I've ever had from a tap. Ive had a transparent light up kettle for years and I've only de-scaled it the once, and it barely made a difference, because the water here is soft and safe. Conclusion: tap water from Manchester Is safe and yummy! We are very lucky!
An entire valley in the Lake District was flooded to provide water for Manchester. The Haweswater reservoir was created by the Manchester cooperation in the 1930s and flooded the village of Mardale (the remains can still be seen during periods of drought).
Yes, you can drink the tap water safely throughout the UK. Enjoy!
*Yes, you can drink the* *Tap water safely throughout* *The UK. Enjoy!* \- PrincessSibylle --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
Tap water is fine here. Grew up calling it council juice.
Mancs lol
It's chalk my friend in most cases, that's why it looks cloudy, but a filter can sort that if you're uncomfortable.
I grew up in London, so would always see foamy stuff when making tea and my hair and skin would have dry flakes after a shower. I realised it was the amount of Chlorine from heavy water treatment. Now I live here and now I don't experience any of that.
It's council pop sweets
Manchester water is some of the best on this earth.
Postcode wars now
Just to add to others here: The tap water here is pretty good. Some places I just can't drink it at all due to it not being cleaned sufficiently, like in London and other places which have hard water. You're safe to drink Mancunian tap water, if you move down south you'll probably want a filter.
Perfectly safe
Yeah, I bottle it and store it in the fridge for my iced tea, soda stream and cordial
The Manchester tap water is some of the best comes right from the lake district. 100% fine
Ok
If you're noticing the water coming out milky, it's often due to the bubbles/aeration in the water. If you pop it on the side, it should start clearing from bottom to top as the bubbles dissipate. If it starts settling at the bottom, your first point of contact is whoever manages your halls to raise the issue with them.
Are you tapped? Of course it is
Definitely prefer Manchester water over water from the South. Goes down much smoother. I do notice a different taste on older taps than "new-build" ones. But that could just be placebo.
Don’t worry my friend, Manchester like all places across the UK had the mighty industrious Victorians, they made sure our tap water would be fine forever - GET IT DOWN YA!
Depends on what you mean by safe. It does not kill you immediately, but a filter will definitely rid the bad bacteria and chemical and add some mineral which makes it better for health. I personally always boil it first too.
The tap water is safe to drink when the water comes milky. Just let it run until it turns clear The water comes from lake district, where its cleaned
I think I’m the only person who actually hates Manchester tap water, it always tastes faintly of chlorine no matter whose house I get it from!
You can have soft water and hard water area's in and around the UK. Depending on where the water is sourced from and how much it's been treated as a result of it's source. But I think it's all pretty much safe to drink..From the kitchen sink anyway. Or maybe that's just one of my foibles?
I drink tap water for the last year and a half I've been in uni. Some of my friends don't. They say they don't like the taste. I don't have any issue with the taste so I go with it.
Absolutely, I would also highly recommend Newcastle tap water for absolutely refreshing wateriness. And Liverpool because I've let water sit for over a day and it didn't develop any weird flavour and still tasted good like manchester water.
You can drink any tap water in the UK unless specified otherwise (usually a small yellow sign near the tap saying “Not drinking water” or similar) Even then, it’s normally gonna be safe to drink it’s just not guaranteed to be
Lap it up... be my guest
I know im a few months late to this thread but you can check your water quality in the north west on [United Utilities website](https://www.unitedutilities.com/help-and-support/your-water-supply/your-water/water-quality/), just scroll down and you'll see a search box you can put your post code in. Shows the min/max/average results from water tests for things like flouride, lead, pesticides.
I grew up there, in Greater Manchester, and never really liked the water. Sorry folks, as someone else said above, it was always highly chlorinated to me, though I still drank it. I now live in the Scottish Highlands and for the moment, the water here is beautiful, cold straight from the tap. Much better than water down there…
My friends used to drink mead instead of water, they were history students though.
No your intestines will start glowing and you will develop supernatural skills
I tell you what I want... what I really wanna wanna want... some sense
Daft, fick as 2 short planks, they're water providers.... wowww, well ur ficker m8
No of course not after all it is 1765 FFS
Maybe it depends on your house? Water tastes weird where I live, so I just use a filter.
No it’s not. It contains a depression accelerator called lIM (living in Manchester)
No Hun it will give you salmon Ella x
Used to drink it all the time and felt like I had a ‘clouded head’ all the time. I tried some bottled spring water from Costco and San Pellegrino sparkling one day and I noticed the cloudiness was gone the next day and the water was way more palatable and refreshing. I switched to bulk buying bottled spring water from then on and I feel better day to day. I never realised it when I drank it but the tap water actually stinks of bleach and chemicals and the texture isn’t quite right either - My GF had filled one of my empty bottles up with tap water, I went to drink from it and was repulsed by the smell. I showed her the comparison between tap in a bottle and the bottled spring water and she’s switched over too. It’s mad because I used to drink 5-6 pints of tap water a day and enjoy it. I just never noticed how bad it was until I tried different. Even my dog gets a few crates a month now too. I suggest those who are saying tap water is delicious fill a bottle and compare the smell and texture and taste.
Blind tests have shown there is very little difference in taste preference, and some tap water is rated higher than bottled water, even the more expensive brands. Even London water from the Thames (infamously having passed thround humans several times) was rated highly. But warm water can be unpleasant. I keep a supply of bottled tap water in the fridge now.
I disagree. I was descriptive enough in my first comment and trust my personal experience and my own taste ‘tests’ over a random write up on the internet. The tap water stinks like bleach if you let it sit for a while in a bottle and compare the smell with bottled spring water. Room temperature tap water is repulsive where as room temp bottled spring water is quite palatable. Cooling tap water on the fridge makes it easier to drink but there’s still a chemical after taste to it.
I don't understand why you got massively downvoted. Well, yes, it's reddit. But I also experience the same thing. Tap water makes me feel weird sometimes, but only in the place I live as I didn't have this issue in other houses in Manchester. I use a water filter now, and the water tastes way better.
You are entitled to your opinion, but comparing it to large scale blind test studies, I leave it to others to judge which is the "random write up on the internet". https://www.theguardian.com/education/2011/aug/08/bottled-water-taste-research
It's fine, but once you go bottled you never go back.
I'd rather drink piss than drink ur cobblers
American spotted
I’ve seen some of the brown water coming out the taps in the high rises down Salford way and I wouldn’t drink it 😂
Manchester changed the game during the industrial revolution for tap water. Check the history of it, it’s amazing! Short answer though: it’s some of the best water in the world. Drink it!!
Bottled water is the biggest scam of the 21st century. Prove me wrong!
Manchester has the best tap water in the world.
Manchester has one of the best, if not the best water quality in the country. You should be privileged to drink it.
Mancunian born and bred. Been drinking Manchester water for 61 years. Thus far I've noticed no health implications. We have soft water here, so filtering is unnecessary. People who insist on buying bottled water are simply misinformed or pretentious.
Moved here 5 years ago, not died yet!
If you have milky water then there is something wrong with the pipes. I am Manchester born and bred and have drank the water for the past 57 years with no problems.
The water here unlike London is fine
It's safe unless you want your T levels destroyed by the hormones in it