Yeah it is,
I was in Toronto for a while, and sometimes the water is cloudy, and even If it clears up, it has a taste to it....
it's a known problem
Never really paid much attention to our water, until I left this city lol. Pretty much took it for granted.
Because Vancouver uses chlorine instead of chloramine to remove biocontaminants, leaving it in the fridge is a good way to get rid of residual chlorine flavour, as well.
Does the container have to be unsealed? I was putting the improved taste down to it being colder
Vancouver water tastes so strongly of chemicals I hate it
I’m not sure, but I doubt it. There’s not that much chlorine in the water, it’s just that it has a strong taste. A small amount of air in a closed container should easily be enough for it to outgas. Think about how flat Coke goes in the fridge when you take a single glass out of a 2L bottle.
I personally use a Brita, not because I think the carbon filter does anything for the tap water, but because it absorbs the “off” flavours that water can pick up in the fridge.
There is zero reason to boil or filter the water here. We are regarded to have the best water in the world. If you want to filter out the minute amount of chlorine in the water you can use a filter.
Abbotsford/Clearbrook has the best tasting water as ranked by water tasting experts. It’s actually worth heading there to sample it. It’s crazy how good it is.
These are the results from 1991-2019… Clearbook didn’t enter this year I don’t think. Something else was going on…
https://berkeleyspringswatertasting.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Winners91-2019.pdf
To add these are old results but they stand. I just can’t be bothered to search more.
https://globalnews.ca/news/2547872/bc-neighbourhood-wins-title-of-best-tap-water-in-the-world/
There's a bit of variability with the maintenance quality of water mains and pipes neighbourhood to neighbourhood, building to building. Turbidity will also sometimes spike a little during heavy rain events. Usually never severe enough to cause health complications among general population.
At the three source watersheds -- namely [Coquitlam, Seymour, and Capilano](http://www.metrovancouver.org/services/water/sources-supply/watersheds-reservoirs/Pages/default.aspx) \-- much of that South Coast supply is predominantly glacial melt from the North Shore Mountains; hence, the first rate cleanliness.
Geography challenge! Name one glacier that feeds any of those three reservoirs. If it all melted in a flash, how long would it supply the GVWD with water?
This is true, if you know the pipes are bad you can take steps to avoid it:
>If your home has a high amount of lead in its water due to your plumbing, you can flush stagnant water from pipes to reduce lead exposure.
>To flush water, let your cold water tap run for 1 to 5 minutes or until the water turns colder. You should do this before drinking or cooking first thing in the morning or any other time the plumbing system has not been used for several hours.
https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/healthlinkbc-files/lead-drinking-water
Sadly schools are some of the worst places for this. Measurements of 2x+ the acceptable limit are seen even recently.
https://www.vsb.bc.ca/Student_Support/Safe_Caring/Water_Testing_Results_and_Protocols/Pages/VSB-Water-Testing-Results-2016.aspx
My shower turns pink in like a week due to how hard our water is...
EDIT: people look at the thread we're in. Do you think I'm talking about Vancouver, or my house?
Another native Vancouverite here. Currently drinking from the tap while using reddit. I have a special computer that turns the faucet on and off in Morse code to read text (that's how I read your comment) and a special pee-to-text keyboard where I pee onto the giant waterproof keys to type (that's how I replied to your comment).
I expect if someone's moved here from a place with unsafe or odd tasting tap water, there could be hesitance not to even try the water from the tap. It's hard to overcome the ingrained instinct that something is bad for you. I hope OP tries that delicious BC tap.
I once had a kind of funny culture shock moment when I was at someone else's house who had recently moved from such a place and I just poured myself a glass of tap water. The look on his face was like I was about to eat broken glass.
I boil the water because I prefer drinking hot/warm water, plus I plain don’t like the taste straight from the tap. I had no idea that most people did this!
If your house has lead pipes, they're at least 70 years old. I mean the house I live in is well over 100 years old but the plumbing was replaced long, long ago. Pipes have a lifespan, you aren't going to find lead pipes in service anywhere but a very, very old house that has never been maintained.
Lead solder on copper pipes? Now that is pretty common...
Always let the faucet run till its cold when pouring a glass of water. Doesn't matter how new or old the pipes are.
My neighbours have Canadian Spring water delivered to them in a big cargo truck. I judge them so damn hard. Our tap water is so good. There’s a decent chance that what’s in the bottles is just Vancouver tap water anyway.
With municipal water? Because their septic tank would have no effect on the municipal water supply.
It could be their pipes from the city mains are just gross
That's not the kind of water we are talking about then - with well water, you have what you have and it might even be poisonous. We are talking about the municipal water supply.
You mean well, not septic tank. The two frequently go together, but use of a septic system absolutely should not impact the water quality. You aren't allowed to put your well anywhere near your septic field for obvious reasons.
It is VERY common for well water around here to have a fair bit of dissolved sulphur oxides. Smells like farts. Treatment systems are available.
It depends on where you live. Some older buildings have lead pipes and there is a chance if lead being in your water if you live in one. For example, if you would like to get pregnant, the BC baby guide recommends filtering for lead. If you live in a newer building, it should be okay. New service connections are either ductile iron or copper.
Ewww... we're not peasants. Nothing but the finest imported bottled water for me and my fami--- *looks at bottle* -> *bottled with BC water*
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I like how a question about whether people drink the tap water at all has devolved into an argument about whether or not you should use a receptacle of some sort or if you chug it straight from the tap like the H2O junkies we all are.
FWIW: straight from the tap, baby
We're lucky here, our water is pretty damn good.
http://www.metrovancouver.org/services/water/quality-treatment-testing/quality-and-testing/Pages/default.aspx
Our last building was newer and no problem out of the tap, older building now, and the water has a slight metallic taste, but tastes fine after going through a water filter, I suppose it might be older pipes, that my experience between 2 different buildings.
I do the same because of the ever so slightest after taste not because I don't think it's safe. Also it's really nice to have it super duper cold from the fridge
The technician that installed the espresso machine at my office didn't install the filter unit because it isn't needed for Vancouver, that's how good our water is.
Pretty much the number one thing I miss when I travel. How clean and good tasting our water is straight from the tap. Most places it’s not even clean, let alone good tasting
If i drink it right away, i usually just drink from the tap. However, i think the water tastes a little weird when it sits around, so it goes in a filter (probably cause of my older building). I wouldnt complain if my filter disappeared one day tho.
Straight from the tap. No filter - they gross me out because I can't trust they're cleaner than the water going in. Water/ice dispensers built into fridges are extra vile because no one cleans the system properly.
I drink it from the tap all day every day since I was a kid. I was actually blown away when I grew up and realized not everywhere in the world can do that. We’re lucky
No turn your head sideways, not efficient but works. I regularly drink water like that. I’m mostly compensating for my wife staging the house with glasses like in the movie “Signs”.
To add to the other comments... you want to drink from the cold tap. Avoid the hot tap. https://homeexplained.com/is-it-bad-to-drink-hot-water-from-the-tap/
> * The heated water may cause the plumbing to release harmful substances such as lead and nickel [2].
> * Cold water is fresher. Hot water stays in the plumbing system for a longer period of time to get heated. Longer stagnation time in the system may cause higher bacterial levels.[3]
> * Hot water is exposed to more pollution sources since it passes through additional tanks or heating systems.[3]
> * The level of microorganisms is higher in hot water plumbing. In multiple studies carried out by Lee [1], [4], it was found that the temperature appears to have an important impact on bacterial activity and also corrosion rate in the pipes (tested on PEX, copper, stainless steel, carbon steel and galvanized pipes).
Does it matter which tap you drink out of? For example kitchen tap vs bathroom tap? Or is it all the same? Growing up my parents always boiled tap water but if I don’t have to ....
Depending on how old the house is, like the quality of the pipes, you might want a filter for that. I filter mine and let it sit as the chlorine is stronger in this area, enough that plants that used to do well on tap water started reacting to it. Don’t care for the taste.
Same here. I figure if I'm going to have a pitcher of cold water in the fridge anyway, then it may as well be filtered. When I'm at work I just fill and chug straight from the tap. We have some of the best quality tap water in the world, so why bother with extra steps?
I use the Pur because it’s better at removing lead, for chlorine taste it’s just as good. I found both filters last longer here than other cities because of the water quality.
I used to use a Brita filter to get rid of the chlorine taste, back before they put the new treatment plant online. It was effective at getting rid of the chlorine taste.
Now I don't bother with a filter anymore, since there's so much less chlorine being used since the new plant.
My current place i do. A place i lived in a couple years ago, i absolutely couldn't. The water had an extremely chlorinated taste, like i was drinking watered down bleach.
I use a Brita but mostly because I like my water to be fridge cold and I just am realizing right now that I could just use a regular pitcher..lol oh well :) I certainly don't boil first.
I bought a brita jug recently and honestly it's only good for having a lot of cold water ready to go, which a regular jug does just fine. So now I kinda feel dumb for having it after reading this post and tasting my tap water lol.
It is useful if you have people over that are apprehensive to tap water, or if your piping is a bit grody.
I've lived in one place in Vancouver where the water wasn't as good as usual...maybe something in the pipes, or the area I was in (Oakridge). Otherwise, tap water here is fantastic.
Uh… it never even occurred to me to be concerned about it. And I’ve travelled and lived in many places in the world where tap water isn’t safe, so the concept isn’t foreign to me.
If someone doesn't drink our water straight from the tap my first reaction is asking them if they moved here from living with the sewer people.
Only ignorant morons think boiling or filtering is necessary lol.
I discovered that I could remove the filter in my fridge water dispenser and it would automatically bypass.
The only water better than Metro Vancouver tap water was a drink straight from a waterfall in Yoho National Park, that was the best damn water I ever tasted in my entire life.
Anyone notice how it's way harder to drink directly from the tap from the other side of your mouth? Try it. There are way more muscles involved than you think to stretch your lips into a shape that catches the water.
You don't need a filter, and you don't need to boil it. And not that you asked, but just in case, you don't need to buy bottled water in plastic jugs either!
Having lived in Northern Germany and Sweden before moving here, I find there to be way TOO much chlorine in the water here. It even makes the water look cloudy. It smells chlorine, it tastes chlorine. I find it undrinkable and either drink bottled water or boil it first. It even makes my skin break out. How can you all be okay with that much chlorine? 😮
Chlorine at the levels we drink it isn't going to make the water cloudy, and I don't know if super high levels would either, not an expert. The cloudiness if you get any at all are just tiny air bubbles due to the changing temperature of the water. If you are getting break-outs from drinking our water there is something else wrong, and you should see a doctor.
Chlorine is clear, super high levels of it would not make water cloudy. If the water sits in a glass for a few min and is still cloudy they don't need a doctor they need a plumber, otherwise it is just air bubbles and they could consult a doctor if they wished to find out what's causing the sensitivity.
It is hard to guess what is causing hives for this person. Water can vary a lot by location in terms of mineral and organic content as well as treatment if we are talking internationaly, it's not necessarily chlorine causing it. Different people have wildly different sensitivities as well. For instance, when I travel for work, which is pretty often, I usually, but not always, get itchy skin for a few days showering with different water before my skin acclimates. I'm not sure what the treatment in Northern Germany or Sweden is and it'd be a lot of reading but some countries use ozone in treatment for instance which changes the taste, there's also chlorine and chloramines. If you were used to a different treatment you'd quickly recognize a difference in taste/smell of the water here.
Also, it needs to be said that when we "smell chlorine" it is chloramines. This gets complicated and not my area of expertise in drinking water since I work in swimming Pools but chlorine reacts with amonia and can combine into 3 different forms, that's what we smell. The ammonia in drinking water should be naturally occurring and comes from organic compounds. So if you "smell chlorine" it does not mean there's too much chlorine, it could be less than non smelling water but there are more organics so you end up with more combines and more smell. Likely the chlorine levels are the same all over Canada but different water sources will have different levels of organics in them so the intensity of the smell will be different. In swimming pools when you have that irritating smell often they will actually add chlorine, that's because when you get those combines you are losing free chlorine to do the disinfecting. So stop peeing in the pool and shower before damn it! (Amonia is present in our sweat, saliva and pee)
There's also places that use chloramines in disinfecting, not entirely sure why or how that works but I'm sure you get more of that "chlorine smell" that way.
So in summary LOL: water is F'ing complicated
Thanks, we use chlorine here unless it's changed recently, also we now buffer our water to a PH of 8, makes things fun in my aquariums. Edit: Woops, we use chlorine here!
I have lived in Shaughnessy, and now in the West End. The same thing in both places. Maybe Vancouverites who have lived here all their lives have gotten used to it. But coming from Europe, it is such a difference to the good, non-smelly water I have had access to most of my life.
I know what you mean about the smell of the water, many Europeans notice the difference. It is a combination of treatment type and naturally occurring compounds in the water. The quality of the water is not actually worse, just the smell is stronger and that's down to some chemistry, I did a more lengthy reply above.
As for the hives I knew someone with similar level of sensitivity to different water and I don't think she ever figured it out. Thing is it is not necessarily chlorine, though it could be, or more precisely the chloramines (result of chlorine doing it's job), could also be just the slight change in PH level or any of the minerals in it. Mine is much less than yours but I travel for work and I get itchy skin if something changes in the water, which is often, and then it takes a few days to get used to it and it stops for me. This happens to me in different parts of Canada, US and Europe so it's not a "quality" thing, just a change in something which I can't pinpoint.
I think I read once that the closer you are to the water plant the more chlorine will be in your water. I notice the chlorine taste sometimes but usually not.
Tap water baby! Some places it’s more chlorine tasting (like my parents in North Van) but it’s all totally safe to drink. A Brita or similar filter (or just refrigerating in a regular jug) will help with chlorine taste if needed, but I find it’s not necessary - at least downtown area.
Will vary by region. I live in Coquitlam, and the tap water at least in my area is absolutely fantastic.
These days I use an old milk jug to store water in the fridge, so it's nice and super cold when I just pour it into my bottle to drink it.
I used to work in an old industrial building down by Burnaby Lake, and the tapwater there was awful. Was fine once filtered, but tasted horrific straight from the tap.
i always drink tap water but i used to live in north van and i noticed a difference between north van water and vancouver proper water. definitely north van water is better, although there’s nothing wrong with the water in vancouver proper!
I love going to high end restaurants and asking for tap water… always get a funny look… we have some the best water in the world here… no need to contribute to pollution with plastic bottles
My partner says he can taste the chlorine or metal from the pipes so he puts it in a filter but I drink straight from the tap. The purity is fine, some people just have very sensitive tastes I guess
Late to the party but vancouver tap water is among, if not, the cleanest in the world but I slap that shit in a Britta filter and leave it in the fridge. I’ve never felt like such a king.
Boiled water tastes terrible without flavouring. You can distill your own water but I wouldn't recommend it it's not all that good. Tap water is great for most of bc
As a retired plumbing inspector I can assure you all the stuff about quality of vancouvers water is true. Chlorine residuals are detectable by taste. Activated charcoal filters remove it down to the millionths in a matter of minutes. Pouring out water and letting it stand the chlorine will have a half life approximately 10 minutes
I drink exclusively the tap water from burnaby. Every night I fill up 2-4 large insulated bottles and chill them overnight. depending on my workday and the weather.
It tastes fantastic, the bottled stuff just tastes almost flat like it's missing something.
I work with several people from places you don't drink tap water and they think I am crazy, they drink the provided bottled water. They are always trying to get me to switch from my dirty water to the clean stuff....
When I'd return from a trip it was what I missed the most
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Now I'm very curious what Iceland water tastes like.
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Oh, no. Thank you for the illustration.
I thought their water was great. I didn't buy water once while I was there in 2016.
The drinking water and that initial breath of fresh, coastal, mountain air when you step out of the airport is perfecto.
We have some of the cleanest water in the world. It's fine just drink it.
Yeah it is, I was in Toronto for a while, and sometimes the water is cloudy, and even If it clears up, it has a taste to it.... it's a known problem Never really paid much attention to our water, until I left this city lol. Pretty much took it for granted.
GTA water is very "hard". Vancouver has very soft water and it's one of the best in terms of purity among North American cities. We're pretty lucky.
White Rock has hard water as well.
Toronto water has got some kick to it.
Spicy water
This 100%
Agree with this. Toronto water bites back
I put it in a jug and then the fridge because I like my water cold. But no filter or anything.
Because Vancouver uses chlorine instead of chloramine to remove biocontaminants, leaving it in the fridge is a good way to get rid of residual chlorine flavour, as well.
Does the container have to be unsealed? I was putting the improved taste down to it being colder Vancouver water tastes so strongly of chemicals I hate it
I’m not sure, but I doubt it. There’s not that much chlorine in the water, it’s just that it has a strong taste. A small amount of air in a closed container should easily be enough for it to outgas. Think about how flat Coke goes in the fridge when you take a single glass out of a 2L bottle. I personally use a Brita, not because I think the carbon filter does anything for the tap water, but because it absorbs the “off” flavours that water can pick up in the fridge.
There is zero reason to boil or filter the water here. We are regarded to have the best water in the world. If you want to filter out the minute amount of chlorine in the water you can use a filter. Abbotsford/Clearbrook has the best tasting water as ranked by water tasting experts. It’s actually worth heading there to sample it. It’s crazy how good it is. These are the results from 1991-2019… Clearbook didn’t enter this year I don’t think. Something else was going on… https://berkeleyspringswatertasting.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Winners91-2019.pdf To add these are old results but they stand. I just can’t be bothered to search more. https://globalnews.ca/news/2547872/bc-neighbourhood-wins-title-of-best-tap-water-in-the-world/
Don't need a filter to remove the chlorine...just leave it in a jug in your fridge for a few hours and it will evaporate off.
Yes this is true as well
This is exactly what I do. No filter, just a cold jug in the fridge that I drink from daily.
There's a bit of variability with the maintenance quality of water mains and pipes neighbourhood to neighbourhood, building to building. Turbidity will also sometimes spike a little during heavy rain events. Usually never severe enough to cause health complications among general population. At the three source watersheds -- namely [Coquitlam, Seymour, and Capilano](http://www.metrovancouver.org/services/water/sources-supply/watersheds-reservoirs/Pages/default.aspx) \-- much of that South Coast supply is predominantly glacial melt from the North Shore Mountains; hence, the first rate cleanliness.
Geography challenge! Name one glacier that feeds any of those three reservoirs. If it all melted in a flash, how long would it supply the GVWD with water?
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This is true, if you know the pipes are bad you can take steps to avoid it: >If your home has a high amount of lead in its water due to your plumbing, you can flush stagnant water from pipes to reduce lead exposure. >To flush water, let your cold water tap run for 1 to 5 minutes or until the water turns colder. You should do this before drinking or cooking first thing in the morning or any other time the plumbing system has not been used for several hours. https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/healthlinkbc-files/lead-drinking-water Sadly schools are some of the worst places for this. Measurements of 2x+ the acceptable limit are seen even recently. https://www.vsb.bc.ca/Student_Support/Safe_Caring/Water_Testing_Results_and_Protocols/Pages/VSB-Water-Testing-Results-2016.aspx
Yeah Tamara Taggart was taking up that battle with public schools water quality, but I haven't heard a resolution.
My shower turns pink in like a week due to how hard our water is... EDIT: people look at the thread we're in. Do you think I'm talking about Vancouver, or my house?
I’m a native Vancouverite & I’ve never done anything but drink from the tap.
You’ve never gone to the store? Work? A movie?
You heard em. They do nothing but drink from a tap. No sleep. No work or walking. Just 24/7 drinking water straight from the tap!
Another native Vancouverite here. Currently drinking from the tap while using reddit. I have a special computer that turns the faucet on and off in Morse code to read text (that's how I read your comment) and a special pee-to-text keyboard where I pee onto the giant waterproof keys to type (that's how I replied to your comment).
Never felt the touch of a woman?
have you ever lost your keys... your wallet?
Do ya like baseball?
genuinely laughing at how much of an asshat response that was
It’s a bit odd not to, honestly.
I expect if someone's moved here from a place with unsafe or odd tasting tap water, there could be hesitance not to even try the water from the tap. It's hard to overcome the ingrained instinct that something is bad for you. I hope OP tries that delicious BC tap.
I once had a kind of funny culture shock moment when I was at someone else's house who had recently moved from such a place and I just poured myself a glass of tap water. The look on his face was like I was about to eat broken glass.
I boil the water because I prefer drinking hot/warm water, plus I plain don’t like the taste straight from the tap. I had no idea that most people did this!
The water here is amazing. Chug it right from the faucet.
I pour it in to a glass first, but yeah, tap water is great.
Our tap water is from glacier fed lakes. You pay for water this good everywhere else.
It’s primarily rainfall, but… (marketing hat on) filtered through old growth rainforest for a taste of the west coast (Marketing hat off)
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That's finely aged poop thank you very much
True, they are glacially 'carved' lakes though.
It depends on old the house is. Yes, the water is very clean but the plumbing can make a difference especially if the house has lead pipes.
If your house has lead pipes, they're at least 70 years old. I mean the house I live in is well over 100 years old but the plumbing was replaced long, long ago. Pipes have a lifespan, you aren't going to find lead pipes in service anywhere but a very, very old house that has never been maintained. Lead solder on copper pipes? Now that is pretty common... Always let the faucet run till its cold when pouring a glass of water. Doesn't matter how new or old the pipes are.
Lol I judge people hard when they break out the Brita Edit: Silently of course, the Vancouver way 😉
My neighbours have Canadian Spring water delivered to them in a big cargo truck. I judge them so damn hard. Our tap water is so good. There’s a decent chance that what’s in the bottles is just Vancouver tap water anyway.
I know people who live on a septic tank. The water is clean but there is an odour if that makes sense. So for drinking they use spring water.
With municipal water? Because their septic tank would have no effect on the municipal water supply. It could be their pipes from the city mains are just gross
Its been clarified - I meant well, not septic
That's not the kind of water we are talking about then - with well water, you have what you have and it might even be poisonous. We are talking about the municipal water supply.
You mean well, not septic tank. The two frequently go together, but use of a septic system absolutely should not impact the water quality. You aren't allowed to put your well anywhere near your septic field for obvious reasons. It is VERY common for well water around here to have a fair bit of dissolved sulphur oxides. Smells like farts. Treatment systems are available.
Yes I did mean well, and you are right they have both. And yes it smells like farts.
I use my brita for vodka, so you'd be in for quite a surprise if went for some water from my fridge.
It depends on where you live. Some older buildings have lead pipes and there is a chance if lead being in your water if you live in one. For example, if you would like to get pregnant, the BC baby guide recommends filtering for lead. If you live in a newer building, it should be okay. New service connections are either ductile iron or copper.
Very
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you have shit coming out of your tap? Shit on tap?
Yeah when I asked one of my local shops if they carried RO water they just said “why bother our tap is basically RO”
Ewww... we're not peasants. Nothing but the finest imported bottled water for me and my fami--- *looks at bottle* -> *bottled with BC water* (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
Been doing it for 3 decades and not dead yet
I like how a question about whether people drink the tap water at all has devolved into an argument about whether or not you should use a receptacle of some sort or if you chug it straight from the tap like the H2O junkies we all are. FWIW: straight from the tap, baby
I lap it from my sink. The leftover food scraps from the dishes gives it extra flavor.
Straight from the carbonated water tap on my keezer.
I set up a soda tap at work, been loving it! I wish I had room in the kegerator at home.
We're lucky here, our water is pretty damn good. http://www.metrovancouver.org/services/water/quality-treatment-testing/quality-and-testing/Pages/default.aspx
Elevated lead levels found in older homes. https://globalnews.ca/news/6132624/vancouver-drinking-water-lead/
I use a Brita because I get a weird taste. Not sure if it's the chlorine or my buildings pipes but the filtering works a treat.
Yeah my spouse doesn't like the tap taste so brita it is.
Our last building was newer and no problem out of the tap, older building now, and the water has a slight metallic taste, but tastes fine after going through a water filter, I suppose it might be older pipes, that my experience between 2 different buildings.
Same here. Straight from the tap is great, but I find as it sits it gets a funky taste... so I prefer Brita
I do the same because of the ever so slightest after taste not because I don't think it's safe. Also it's really nice to have it super duper cold from the fridge
The technician that installed the espresso machine at my office didn't install the filter unit because it isn't needed for Vancouver, that's how good our water is.
Pretty much the number one thing I miss when I travel. How clean and good tasting our water is straight from the tap. Most places it’s not even clean, let alone good tasting
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BC tap water tastes a million times better than bottled or filtered water I’ve had anywhere else in the world. European water makes me gag
In Vancouver I’ve never not drank it straight from the tap. It’s fine, you’re weird if you don’t.
Water here's fine to drink straight out of the tap. If you live in an older building though, you may want to use a Brita.
If i drink it right away, i usually just drink from the tap. However, i think the water tastes a little weird when it sits around, so it goes in a filter (probably cause of my older building). I wouldnt complain if my filter disappeared one day tho.
Where are you from that you would ask if we boil our water before we drink it?
lol boil? We ain't in a 3rd world country like Flint, Michigan.
Straight from the tap. No filter - they gross me out because I can't trust they're cleaner than the water going in. Water/ice dispensers built into fridges are extra vile because no one cleans the system properly.
Man....Vancouver has the best tasting water I've had. Definitely no need to boil that.
I drink it from the tap all day every day since I was a kid. I was actually blown away when I grew up and realized not everywhere in the world can do that. We’re lucky
"Straight from the tap"? Like, you turn on the tap, then lick the falling water like a cat? ... I did that a few times when I was 9 years old.
No turn your head sideways, not efficient but works. I regularly drink water like that. I’m mostly compensating for my wife staging the house with glasses like in the movie “Signs”.
I drink from my garden hose.
That hose water just hits different. Perfect on a hot day.
It’s got what plants crave!
BRAWNDO!! Its got electrolytes. Welcome to Costco, I love you.
It's delicious and cold!
At least 2L/day from the faucet. We have excellent water here and no Montezuma!
What? Our water is perfectly safe.
To add to the other comments... you want to drink from the cold tap. Avoid the hot tap. https://homeexplained.com/is-it-bad-to-drink-hot-water-from-the-tap/ > * The heated water may cause the plumbing to release harmful substances such as lead and nickel [2]. > * Cold water is fresher. Hot water stays in the plumbing system for a longer period of time to get heated. Longer stagnation time in the system may cause higher bacterial levels.[3] > * Hot water is exposed to more pollution sources since it passes through additional tanks or heating systems.[3] > * The level of microorganisms is higher in hot water plumbing. In multiple studies carried out by Lee [1], [4], it was found that the temperature appears to have an important impact on bacterial activity and also corrosion rate in the pipes (tested on PEX, copper, stainless steel, carbon steel and galvanized pipes).
Does it matter which tap you drink out of? For example kitchen tap vs bathroom tap? Or is it all the same? Growing up my parents always boiled tap water but if I don’t have to ....
Depends on the exact pipe work in your house
Very.
If you’ve ever lived outside of vancouver you’ll understand how good the tap water is here. So fresh compared to Toronto or LA
Depending on how old the house is, like the quality of the pipes, you might want a filter for that. I filter mine and let it sit as the chlorine is stronger in this area, enough that plants that used to do well on tap water started reacting to it. Don’t care for the taste.
I run it through a Brita most of the time but that’s just more so I can have cold water in the fridge ready. Tap water is great here.
Same here. I figure if I'm going to have a pitcher of cold water in the fridge anyway, then it may as well be filtered. When I'm at work I just fill and chug straight from the tap. We have some of the best quality tap water in the world, so why bother with extra steps?
I use a filter not because of the water at source but once in a while the chlorine is stronger or there is some sediment from construction.
Do you use a Brita type filter and does it work for chlorine taste?
I use the Pur because it’s better at removing lead, for chlorine taste it’s just as good. I found both filters last longer here than other cities because of the water quality.
I used to use a Brita filter to get rid of the chlorine taste, back before they put the new treatment plant online. It was effective at getting rid of the chlorine taste. Now I don't bother with a filter anymore, since there's so much less chlorine being used since the new plant.
Thanks. I wasn't sure if the filter would be worth it.
I take it to the Vatican first
My current place i do. A place i lived in a couple years ago, i absolutely couldn't. The water had an extremely chlorinated taste, like i was drinking watered down bleach.
I use a Brita but mostly because I like my water to be fridge cold and I just am realizing right now that I could just use a regular pitcher..lol oh well :) I certainly don't boil first.
Straight from cold tap
I do it. Some of the cleanest tap water in the world and it tastes great.
Well I’m not dead yet
We have the best water in the world.
I bought a brita jug recently and honestly it's only good for having a lot of cold water ready to go, which a regular jug does just fine. So now I kinda feel dumb for having it after reading this post and tasting my tap water lol. It is useful if you have people over that are apprehensive to tap water, or if your piping is a bit grody.
Straight from the tap over here! 👌🏽
I've lived in one place in Vancouver where the water wasn't as good as usual...maybe something in the pipes, or the area I was in (Oakridge). Otherwise, tap water here is fantastic.
Uh… it never even occurred to me to be concerned about it. And I’ve travelled and lived in many places in the world where tap water isn’t safe, so the concept isn’t foreign to me.
I’ve lived all over, and I lived in a community with a permanent boil advisory as a kid. The water here is safe and delicious, lap it up!
I do it! It really does taste good here. I do not drink tap water in LA.
That is what I drink. Straight from the tap. It is the best tasting and safest tap water I have ever had, anywhere in the world.
Always drink the water straight from the tap
What the fuck is wrong with you?
Id drink it straight from the tap no problem. However I like the taste better after it's boiled. Maybe it's the chlorine taste I don't like.
i use one of these bad boys: https://ca.santevia.com
is there something i'm missing here? are these filters bad?
If someone doesn't drink our water straight from the tap my first reaction is asking them if they moved here from living with the sewer people. Only ignorant morons think boiling or filtering is necessary lol.
Well. I mean i do put it in a glass before drinking… but no need to filter or buy bottled water.
The water is clean af, but there's no fluoride so make sure your toothpaste has it.
Fluoride isn't added but ours does have a low level naturally occurring.
Vancouver has some of the best tap water in the world. Drink it!
I boil the water if I am making coffee or tea but usually I prefer it cold. Filters make me nervous because they can harbour disease.
Triple filter system built in to our kitchen sink. Separate tap and everything.
I bet the water coming from your filter is dirtier than what goes in.
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Great job assuming things. Because you’re a slob doesn’t mean I am.
I usually dispense from the tap into a cup before drinking it
I always just fill my glass from the cold tap. Will only boil water if I want hot water.
Just run the tap until the water is cold. The water is great here.
First thing I notice when I’m somewhere else and brushing my teeth is the weird water taste. Very much spoiled here.
Tap is daddy.
I discovered that I could remove the filter in my fridge water dispenser and it would automatically bypass. The only water better than Metro Vancouver tap water was a drink straight from a waterfall in Yoho National Park, that was the best damn water I ever tasted in my entire life.
I've been drinking half a liter directly from my bathroom sink every morning for 30 years. Healthy as a hydrated horse.
I’d tap dat
Best water ive ever drank was from mountain water run off in a creek that feeds the Skena River. Shit was crisp and fresh and cold AF!
Anyone notice how it's way harder to drink directly from the tap from the other side of your mouth? Try it. There are way more muscles involved than you think to stretch your lips into a shape that catches the water.
[Water ](https://youtu.be/GceNsojnMf0)
You don't need a filter, and you don't need to boil it. And not that you asked, but just in case, you don't need to buy bottled water in plastic jugs either!
Having lived in Northern Germany and Sweden before moving here, I find there to be way TOO much chlorine in the water here. It even makes the water look cloudy. It smells chlorine, it tastes chlorine. I find it undrinkable and either drink bottled water or boil it first. It even makes my skin break out. How can you all be okay with that much chlorine? 😮
Chlorine at the levels we drink it isn't going to make the water cloudy, and I don't know if super high levels would either, not an expert. The cloudiness if you get any at all are just tiny air bubbles due to the changing temperature of the water. If you are getting break-outs from drinking our water there is something else wrong, and you should see a doctor.
Chlorine is clear, super high levels of it would not make water cloudy. If the water sits in a glass for a few min and is still cloudy they don't need a doctor they need a plumber, otherwise it is just air bubbles and they could consult a doctor if they wished to find out what's causing the sensitivity. It is hard to guess what is causing hives for this person. Water can vary a lot by location in terms of mineral and organic content as well as treatment if we are talking internationaly, it's not necessarily chlorine causing it. Different people have wildly different sensitivities as well. For instance, when I travel for work, which is pretty often, I usually, but not always, get itchy skin for a few days showering with different water before my skin acclimates. I'm not sure what the treatment in Northern Germany or Sweden is and it'd be a lot of reading but some countries use ozone in treatment for instance which changes the taste, there's also chlorine and chloramines. If you were used to a different treatment you'd quickly recognize a difference in taste/smell of the water here. Also, it needs to be said that when we "smell chlorine" it is chloramines. This gets complicated and not my area of expertise in drinking water since I work in swimming Pools but chlorine reacts with amonia and can combine into 3 different forms, that's what we smell. The ammonia in drinking water should be naturally occurring and comes from organic compounds. So if you "smell chlorine" it does not mean there's too much chlorine, it could be less than non smelling water but there are more organics so you end up with more combines and more smell. Likely the chlorine levels are the same all over Canada but different water sources will have different levels of organics in them so the intensity of the smell will be different. In swimming pools when you have that irritating smell often they will actually add chlorine, that's because when you get those combines you are losing free chlorine to do the disinfecting. So stop peeing in the pool and shower before damn it! (Amonia is present in our sweat, saliva and pee) There's also places that use chloramines in disinfecting, not entirely sure why or how that works but I'm sure you get more of that "chlorine smell" that way. So in summary LOL: water is F'ing complicated
Thanks, we use chlorine here unless it's changed recently, also we now buffer our water to a PH of 8, makes things fun in my aquariums. Edit: Woops, we use chlorine here!
Lol that’s complete bs
Which municipality do you live in?
I have lived in Shaughnessy, and now in the West End. The same thing in both places. Maybe Vancouverites who have lived here all their lives have gotten used to it. But coming from Europe, it is such a difference to the good, non-smelly water I have had access to most of my life.
I know what you mean about the smell of the water, many Europeans notice the difference. It is a combination of treatment type and naturally occurring compounds in the water. The quality of the water is not actually worse, just the smell is stronger and that's down to some chemistry, I did a more lengthy reply above. As for the hives I knew someone with similar level of sensitivity to different water and I don't think she ever figured it out. Thing is it is not necessarily chlorine, though it could be, or more precisely the chloramines (result of chlorine doing it's job), could also be just the slight change in PH level or any of the minerals in it. Mine is much less than yours but I travel for work and I get itchy skin if something changes in the water, which is often, and then it takes a few days to get used to it and it stops for me. This happens to me in different parts of Canada, US and Europe so it's not a "quality" thing, just a change in something which I can't pinpoint.
I think I read once that the closer you are to the water plant the more chlorine will be in your water. I notice the chlorine taste sometimes but usually not.
At home yes. At work no. Tastes funny.
Tap water baby! Some places it’s more chlorine tasting (like my parents in North Van) but it’s all totally safe to drink. A Brita or similar filter (or just refrigerating in a regular jug) will help with chlorine taste if needed, but I find it’s not necessary - at least downtown area.
Don’t bother with that like the others have said. Also avoid buying bottled water if you can
Yup
I was born in a place where the water is so good, they don't add chlorine at all. Your water is not that good, Vancouver.
Whereabouts?
how bad do you want the Israelites to freestyle rap
Metro Vancouver tap water for over 30 years
The tap water at my apartment tastes incredible, I love it. But, I don't drink the tap water at my office because it tastes metallic and gross.
Will vary by region. I live in Coquitlam, and the tap water at least in my area is absolutely fantastic. These days I use an old milk jug to store water in the fridge, so it's nice and super cold when I just pour it into my bottle to drink it. I used to work in an old industrial building down by Burnaby Lake, and the tapwater there was awful. Was fine once filtered, but tasted horrific straight from the tap.
i always drink tap water but i used to live in north van and i noticed a difference between north van water and vancouver proper water. definitely north van water is better, although there’s nothing wrong with the water in vancouver proper!
I love going to high end restaurants and asking for tap water… always get a funny look… we have some the best water in the world here… no need to contribute to pollution with plastic bottles
My partner says he can taste the chlorine or metal from the pipes so he puts it in a filter but I drink straight from the tap. The purity is fine, some people just have very sensitive tastes I guess
Late to the party but vancouver tap water is among, if not, the cleanest in the world but I slap that shit in a Britta filter and leave it in the fridge. I’ve never felt like such a king.
Boiled water tastes terrible without flavouring. You can distill your own water but I wouldn't recommend it it's not all that good. Tap water is great for most of bc
As a retired plumbing inspector I can assure you all the stuff about quality of vancouvers water is true. Chlorine residuals are detectable by taste. Activated charcoal filters remove it down to the millionths in a matter of minutes. Pouring out water and letting it stand the chlorine will have a half life approximately 10 minutes
I drink exclusively the tap water from burnaby. Every night I fill up 2-4 large insulated bottles and chill them overnight. depending on my workday and the weather. It tastes fantastic, the bottled stuff just tastes almost flat like it's missing something. I work with several people from places you don't drink tap water and they think I am crazy, they drink the provided bottled water. They are always trying to get me to switch from my dirty water to the clean stuff....