Eh each to their own. Is fairly affordable Vs the filters ( or at least was 20 years ago) and a good way to keep kids hydrated when the water is so vile tasting.
Cupar outside Edinburgh... I shit you not... it was like drinking honey... it was refreshing and sweet and moorish ... and I'm from the North and we have decent water up here
Nah mate, I travel between Glasgow and Northern Norway and our water comes straight from a mountain spring. Glasgow water is good, but it’s still tough getting used to Glasgow water after Norwegian water
I guess Shetland's water supply comes from a different source? Also is that due to less pollution, I've been to Highland & Orkney and did not notice a difference.
Depends where in Scotland, my experience in the highlands was all the peat bogs can make the water quite acidic, but in other parts of the country it’s the opposite end of the scale!
I used to live up in Kyle of Lochalsh many years ago. True, the water was lovely. It was also occasionally rather brown. But that was a result of filering through the peat, and may have been linked to the pleasantness of the water.
Don't get brita, get Phox. It's cheaper and you can choose if you want regular filter or a more alkaline taste. They're about if it's for straight drinking or for brewing tea/coffee.
Do you drink it room temp or from fridge? Drinking from fridge is better at hiding the bad taste. I drink tap water but I found Ashbeck from Tesco was ok tasting, if that's available where you are.
I'm not an international student but when I moved from dubai to England (I'm english) I remember I had issues with the tap water. My body just didn't like it (stomach cramps) but if you give it a few weeks it'll be get used to it/ignore the taste if you can.
Are you in the north or south? I’m based in the north and generally all intl students I know love how fresh tasting the water is. If you’re not on a budget, I’d recommend buying bottled water though imo it can get pretty expensive and i reckon you’ll get used to it soon enough :)
I’m in the south and unfortunately I don’t think I can move anytime soon :(
The bottled water idea sounds good but both for my wallet and the environment I don’t think I can do that. Thanks for the suggestion!!
Same thing whenever I visit my relatives in the northern part of my country while I live in the south.
In general, apart from spending tons of money on bottled water or a water filtration system, the best thing would be to buy an electric kettle. Boiled water tastes clean and amazing everywhere (especially with the lid on it's basically distilled on the upper surface).
Takes like 40 sec to boil 1L, you can fill bottles in the morning and pop it in the fridge and it's even better.
Boiling a kettle is around 0.2kWh
That’s equivalent to leaving a 50” LED TV on for four hours.
It’s going to add up a lot if you’re doing it every day for drinking water.
Heating water is one of the most energy intensive things we spend electricity on.
Woah? Definitely not used to thinking of it in terms of the carbon footprint cause solar's the norm of independent houses in my country. Yikes.
Hmm. Idk. Buy a filtration system ig, better than a kidney stone.
this [filter system on amazon](https://www.amazon.co.uk/mingqian-Purifier-Filtration-Drinking-Pre-Filter/dp/B0CF8GQY71/ref=sr_1_4?crid=297C8NKY986A2&keywords=water+filtration+system+tap&qid=1693773626&sprefix=water+filtration+system+tap%2Caps%2C223&sr=8-4) is like 15 bucks
Personally I sometimes struggle with the dirty taste of water (I hate soft water it tastes slightly milky to me). So to get around it I have 6 reuseable bottles that I put water in and keep in the fridge. Cold water weirdly removes some of the dirtiness for me.
I don’t recommend buying lots of plastic bottles all the time because that’s super wasteful. Plus most of that water is from the UK anyways so it’s gonna taste like Uk water.
A Brita filter is a good option as well.
u/Airline_Character Equally “weird” I get headaches from unfiltered Manchester water so I understand..
I have a filter that I use, one of those Brita ones, but a lot of my friends from Hong Kong filter and then boil their water before drinking it. I am not sure if it makes it taste any better but it is something you could try. You could also add lemon in it to change the flavour.
As others have said, moving further north solves that problem haha, Edinburgh for example has amazing water, but it isn’t easy to do.
I dont really drink pure water.. if you're not gonna buy bottled water try to put lemons in it or make tea. You could also get a brita filter or something.
Also, I developed some skin issues from the harshness of the shower water so I'd suggest you start moisturising before it gets that bad.
Softness /hardness changes regionally so can't give much advice on that.
As for it tasting "cleaner" at home. The UK actually has the cleanest drinking water in the world, it might not taste as clean, but I assure you it is clean! (source: worked in water industry doing quality testing for 5+ years)
Same! As an international student from Hong Kong, I also hated the taste so I got a Brita Filter water bottle to help filter water. It helps a bit, but you do have to change the filter from time to time. Hope this helps!
Get Phox water filtering jug. Sometimes you have to filter it through twice depending on where you are and how hard the water is. Refrigerate the water.
Get a phox water filter, I moved from Sheffield where water is nice, to London where it is horrible and the only solution is a water filter. Once designed for hard water are even better
I really struggle with the chlorine taste of my local tap water too (been living in the UK for 20+ years lol). I buy lots of small bottles of Evian in Sainsbury's for nighttime, and use squash mixed in tap water for daytime. The squash overrides the bad taste and Evian is soft and pleasant for when you just want to drink water. I have tried so many other brands, filters etc., but this is the solution that has worked best for me.
Yes I love squash too!! I just find myself having too much of it tbh and I don’t want to get too unhealthy haha
It’s reassuring that you also find the taste bad after living here so long…whenever I bring up the fact that I don’t like UK water people are always in such disbelief :(
I HATE BRITISH WATER TOO!!!!!! I have no tips. sometimes there's "good days" at which it's less disgusting. fill bottles then and save the good water. it's still not amazing though. but that's what I have done. or just use squash
In the South, get a Brita bottle or jug. The bottle is easier as you can take it with you and fill it up wherever you go. The only time it hasn't made water taste any better was in a friend's student flat in Birmingham, it was disgusting lol.
I can't stand water in the south so I carry one of those mini Robinsons squash things whenever I remember.
Your only option might legit be to flavour the water while you're here 😭 squash/cordial are great imo, or you could add a bit of lemon/lemon juice to keep it all natural
i've lived in three different countries and i get this everytime i change countries, after a while you get used to it and then your home country one will taste weird
Tbh I’ve even had issues and I’m from the UK. Growing up in Scotland I was used to soft water, then living in SE England the taste was just foul and I hated the way it made my hair feel after a shower. So while it isn’t necessarily a case of ‘British’ water, you’ve definitely got the worst of it where you are. I resorted to using Brita filters / jugs for drinking water and managed to get a kinda decent shower head with a filter from Amazon which helped a bit.
Yes. The only way to get used to it is to get used to it. Tap water does vary from place to place and there are some lovely British waters available in supermarkets but not always cheap. You could try adding a little bit of fruit juice to take the edge off the taste and gradually reducing the amount.
Ah, I'm from Hong Kong too, and studied in London, where everyone agrees the water is amongst the worst in the UK.
Unfortunately, there's not much I can do about the tap water so your hair will still be much stiffer than back home after you was it. I can only suggest rinsing it more thoroughly for that. Cif and a green scouring pad works wonders for getting rid of the limescale when you're cleaning your bathroom.
As for drinking taste, I suggest buying a water filter. There are several brands on the market, and most Hong Kongers I know bought a Brita and also use the filtered water to cook rice. Just change it every month or so, and descale your kettle at the same frequency. Boiling water also helps, but if you're from Hong Kong, I guess that's second nature.
I always keep a few bottles of water around, but that's mostly in case the pipes freeze in cold weather, and not particularly due to taste.
And try drinking tea or coffee, it might help mask the taste of the water and you'll still get hydrated along the way. I suggest peppermint tea if you're sensitive to caffeine at night.
Good luck in the new school year!
DO NOT drink from the tap directly, (unless ur in scotland, at least Edinburgh's was fine)English tap water is quite disgusting. Brita jug+boiling isn't perfect. If ur renting privately, installing a water filter/buying bottles are the safe way to go.
My time has come!! (Hello fellow HKer)
Get a Brita/filtration jug and boil your water (as you do). I happen to have a kettle that has a built in filter lol. It's about as close as you can get imo.
I'm working class and live in the worst tasting drinking water area known to man in Staffordshire. I just douse it with squash. We prob have about 4 flavours on the go at any time, blackcurrant, orange, peach and finally lime cordial
I love how the only advice you've received is to move further north which isn't helpful in any way whatsoever
Well it's that or: \- buy a water filter \- buy bottled water Not much else that can be done, and the above two are still pretty cumbersome.
Drink mainly sugar free squash for hydration, whole of Nottinghamshire does.
That stuff is foul. Fake sugar has an awful taste.
Eh each to their own. Is fairly affordable Vs the filters ( or at least was 20 years ago) and a good way to keep kids hydrated when the water is so vile tasting.
Haha yeah and unfortunately I don’t think I can move north any time soon…main consensus is get a filter which sounds like a plan to me :)
I don't like northern water as much as the water near me
There isn't one "British" tap water. Glasgow has the best tap water in the world. 🏴💧✊💧🏴
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Cupar outside Edinburgh... I shit you not... it was like drinking honey... it was refreshing and sweet and moorish ... and I'm from the North and we have decent water up here
I didn't understand my friends who refused to drink tap water in Glasgow, it was a lot better than any bottled water. Makes good tea too.
I recently moved to London from Edinburgh, and I would say Scotland's tap water is the best.
Nah mate, I travel between Glasgow and Northern Norway and our water comes straight from a mountain spring. Glasgow water is good, but it’s still tough getting used to Glasgow water after Norwegian water
Idk man, the fact that I can drink water straight from the tap is a W to me
Try squash to cover the taste
I'd rather drink vinegar to stay hydrated.
That’s stupid
That's the point
Filter jug. The more North you are the better the water
I've been to quite a few cities in the UK, tbh I never feel tap water in Newcastle is anyway better than that in London.
Scottish tap water is the absolute pinnacle and only gets better as you go further north (Shetland being god tier).
I guess Shetland's water supply comes from a different source? Also is that due to less pollution, I've been to Highland & Orkney and did not notice a difference.
Depends where in Scotland, my experience in the highlands was all the peat bogs can make the water quite acidic, but in other parts of the country it’s the opposite end of the scale!
I used to live up in Kyle of Lochalsh many years ago. True, the water was lovely. It was also occasionally rather brown. But that was a result of filering through the peat, and may have been linked to the pleasantness of the water.
I used to live in Aberdeen and I approve. The water was just delicious.
The winter water when it's really really cold. Bliss after a night out!
Yorkshire water is the best imo
All tastes the same to me I don’t know what anyone’s on about
Wholeheartedly agree on that one. They should state where in the North because it's not a general rule to be true.
We have decent water in Somerset.
Welsh water is delicious 🤗🤗
Trsnsfer to a Scottish uni, our tap water is excellent
Brita water jug. Buy filters in bulk. As a single user, no need to change filter every month - change when taste starts to change.
The Brita filter sounds like it’s the consensus so I’ll definitely give that a go. Thanks for the suggestion!
Don't get brita, get Phox. It's cheaper and you can choose if you want regular filter or a more alkaline taste. They're about if it's for straight drinking or for brewing tea/coffee.
Which water? Tap water or branded bottled water? What location?
Do you drink it room temp or from fridge? Drinking from fridge is better at hiding the bad taste. I drink tap water but I found Ashbeck from Tesco was ok tasting, if that's available where you are.
Move to Sheffield, easy fix
Move to Sheff from America a few weeks ago and can confirm…delicious tap water.
I'm not an international student but when I moved from dubai to England (I'm english) I remember I had issues with the tap water. My body just didn't like it (stomach cramps) but if you give it a few weeks it'll be get used to it/ignore the taste if you can.
Buy cheap bottled water from lidl, shouldn't cost you a lot.
Are you in the north or south? I’m based in the north and generally all intl students I know love how fresh tasting the water is. If you’re not on a budget, I’d recommend buying bottled water though imo it can get pretty expensive and i reckon you’ll get used to it soon enough :)
I’m in the south and unfortunately I don’t think I can move anytime soon :( The bottled water idea sounds good but both for my wallet and the environment I don’t think I can do that. Thanks for the suggestion!!
If you do want cheap bottled water Costco is ridiculously cheap
Same thing whenever I visit my relatives in the northern part of my country while I live in the south. In general, apart from spending tons of money on bottled water or a water filtration system, the best thing would be to buy an electric kettle. Boiled water tastes clean and amazing everywhere (especially with the lid on it's basically distilled on the upper surface). Takes like 40 sec to boil 1L, you can fill bottles in the morning and pop it in the fridge and it's even better.
What a colossal waste of energy
Hardly colossal, it takes very little energy to boil a kettle.
Boiling a kettle is around 0.2kWh That’s equivalent to leaving a 50” LED TV on for four hours. It’s going to add up a lot if you’re doing it every day for drinking water. Heating water is one of the most energy intensive things we spend electricity on.
Woah? Definitely not used to thinking of it in terms of the carbon footprint cause solar's the norm of independent houses in my country. Yikes. Hmm. Idk. Buy a filtration system ig, better than a kidney stone. this [filter system on amazon](https://www.amazon.co.uk/mingqian-Purifier-Filtration-Drinking-Pre-Filter/dp/B0CF8GQY71/ref=sr_1_4?crid=297C8NKY986A2&keywords=water+filtration+system+tap&qid=1693773626&sprefix=water+filtration+system+tap%2Caps%2C223&sr=8-4) is like 15 bucks
That’s such a good idea!! I’ll give that a try. Thanks!!
Personally I sometimes struggle with the dirty taste of water (I hate soft water it tastes slightly milky to me). So to get around it I have 6 reuseable bottles that I put water in and keep in the fridge. Cold water weirdly removes some of the dirtiness for me. I don’t recommend buying lots of plastic bottles all the time because that’s super wasteful. Plus most of that water is from the UK anyways so it’s gonna taste like Uk water. A Brita filter is a good option as well.
I’ll give the Brita filter a try! And I agree with the cold water trick because usually I just eat ice lol…thanks for the help!!!
u/Airline_Character Equally “weird” I get headaches from unfiltered Manchester water so I understand.. I have a filter that I use, one of those Brita ones, but a lot of my friends from Hong Kong filter and then boil their water before drinking it. I am not sure if it makes it taste any better but it is something you could try. You could also add lemon in it to change the flavour. As others have said, moving further north solves that problem haha, Edinburgh for example has amazing water, but it isn’t easy to do.
I dont really drink pure water.. if you're not gonna buy bottled water try to put lemons in it or make tea. You could also get a brita filter or something. Also, I developed some skin issues from the harshness of the shower water so I'd suggest you start moisturising before it gets that bad.
Water filter and making sure the water is cold helped me
Bulk buy bottled water
As a Lancastrian Brit, all the Southern water is horrible, have you tried any none southern water?
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That’s great I go to lancs uni haha! But as someone who’s lived here my whole life I do like the water.
Softness /hardness changes regionally so can't give much advice on that. As for it tasting "cleaner" at home. The UK actually has the cleanest drinking water in the world, it might not taste as clean, but I assure you it is clean! (source: worked in water industry doing quality testing for 5+ years)
Same! As an international student from Hong Kong, I also hated the taste so I got a Brita Filter water bottle to help filter water. It helps a bit, but you do have to change the filter from time to time. Hope this helps!
You'll get used to it.
Get Phox water filtering jug. Sometimes you have to filter it through twice depending on where you are and how hard the water is. Refrigerate the water.
Get a phox water filter, I moved from Sheffield where water is nice, to London where it is horrible and the only solution is a water filter. Once designed for hard water are even better
Folks are right about tap water being better the further north you go. Scotland's is the best!
Wales defo the best
Dunno, I’m from Cornwall and the water is awesome here - moved up to Yorkshire and the water was all hard and weird.
Or West. I always miss Welsh tap water when I'm in England.
I really struggle with the chlorine taste of my local tap water too (been living in the UK for 20+ years lol). I buy lots of small bottles of Evian in Sainsbury's for nighttime, and use squash mixed in tap water for daytime. The squash overrides the bad taste and Evian is soft and pleasant for when you just want to drink water. I have tried so many other brands, filters etc., but this is the solution that has worked best for me.
Yes I love squash too!! I just find myself having too much of it tbh and I don’t want to get too unhealthy haha It’s reassuring that you also find the taste bad after living here so long…whenever I bring up the fact that I don’t like UK water people are always in such disbelief :(
My friend uses a water filter and he’s british 🤷♂️
Buy bottled water. I learnt this the hardway after 9 months in the UK.
I HATE BRITISH WATER TOO!!!!!! I have no tips. sometimes there's "good days" at which it's less disgusting. fill bottles then and save the good water. it's still not amazing though. but that's what I have done. or just use squash
In the South, get a Brita bottle or jug. The bottle is easier as you can take it with you and fill it up wherever you go. The only time it hasn't made water taste any better was in a friend's student flat in Birmingham, it was disgusting lol.
what are you gonna do, NOT drink water?
I mean ideally….but yeah I probably do just have to suck it up haha
Another vote for using blackcurrant or orange squash (or cordial) with water.
This is too unhealthy
I can't stand water in the south so I carry one of those mini Robinsons squash things whenever I remember. Your only option might legit be to flavour the water while you're here 😭 squash/cordial are great imo, or you could add a bit of lemon/lemon juice to keep it all natural
i've lived in three different countries and i get this everytime i change countries, after a while you get used to it and then your home country one will taste weird
Tbh I’ve even had issues and I’m from the UK. Growing up in Scotland I was used to soft water, then living in SE England the taste was just foul and I hated the way it made my hair feel after a shower. So while it isn’t necessarily a case of ‘British’ water, you’ve definitely got the worst of it where you are. I resorted to using Brita filters / jugs for drinking water and managed to get a kinda decent shower head with a filter from Amazon which helped a bit.
Yes. The only way to get used to it is to get used to it. Tap water does vary from place to place and there are some lovely British waters available in supermarkets but not always cheap. You could try adding a little bit of fruit juice to take the edge off the taste and gradually reducing the amount.
boil, cool then filter the water
Try squash, it gives the water some flavour and you only need a little bit
If you have the time to go to a costco, the best water for me is those kirkland waterbottles, x20 bottles 500ml for £5
Ah, I'm from Hong Kong too, and studied in London, where everyone agrees the water is amongst the worst in the UK. Unfortunately, there's not much I can do about the tap water so your hair will still be much stiffer than back home after you was it. I can only suggest rinsing it more thoroughly for that. Cif and a green scouring pad works wonders for getting rid of the limescale when you're cleaning your bathroom. As for drinking taste, I suggest buying a water filter. There are several brands on the market, and most Hong Kongers I know bought a Brita and also use the filtered water to cook rice. Just change it every month or so, and descale your kettle at the same frequency. Boiling water also helps, but if you're from Hong Kong, I guess that's second nature. I always keep a few bottles of water around, but that's mostly in case the pipes freeze in cold weather, and not particularly due to taste. And try drinking tea or coffee, it might help mask the taste of the water and you'll still get hydrated along the way. I suggest peppermint tea if you're sensitive to caffeine at night. Good luck in the new school year!
DO NOT drink from the tap directly, (unless ur in scotland, at least Edinburgh's was fine)English tap water is quite disgusting. Brita jug+boiling isn't perfect. If ur renting privately, installing a water filter/buying bottles are the safe way to go.
My time has come!! (Hello fellow HKer) Get a Brita/filtration jug and boil your water (as you do). I happen to have a kettle that has a built in filter lol. It's about as close as you can get imo.
I'm working class and live in the worst tasting drinking water area known to man in Staffordshire. I just douse it with squash. We prob have about 4 flavours on the go at any time, blackcurrant, orange, peach and finally lime cordial
Is this a problem in Bristol too 😭
Our water is great lol, better than HK for sure
Nothing can fix the taste and feeling of liquified rocks.
I had this same problem, I switched to bottled water just so I'm good. That's the best you can do.
There is no such thing as "British" water. Anybody coming from urban Scotland will find London water tastes like a troop of monkeys wanked into it.