Can i boil my tap water and drink it?

[GirvanaWantsBinnieBalls]

So... odd question indeed, but i need to know if i can drink tap boiled water... Dont ask why , or say ''just go down to the nearest... blah blah'' Just say some cautions and a simple ''yes'' or ''no'' would actuallly be much more helpful. 

Location : greece , athens . So yeah my tap water here is running through ''advanced'' pipes so i dont rly have to worry about anything as if i was living in africa or sth . 

In essence now... can i drink tap boiled water? ( I allready have it boiled  i just need the yes so that i can pour it in a bottle and freeze it )

[Radioactive Snowman]

boiling it kills all bacteria so you should be fine

[NumLock21]

Yes, just put in fridge when it has cool to room temp.

[AshleyAshes]

Uhh... Unless there's been some kind of warning issued by your municipality, you can also drink unboiled tap water.

[kelvinhall05]

11 minutes ago, AshleyAshes said:

Uhh... Unless there's been some kind of warning issued by your municipality, you can also drink unboiled tap water.

 

16 minutes ago, GirvanaWantsBinnieBalls said:

So... odd question indeed, but i need to know if i can drink tap boiled water... Dont ask why , or say ''just go down to the nearest... blah blah'' Just say some cautions and a simple ''yes'' or ''no'' would actuallly be much more helpful.

5

You really have a thing for doing anything and everything that ISN'T what is written in the post, don't you?

[AshleyAshes]

Just now, kelvinhall05 said:

 

You really have a thing for doing anything and everything that IS'"T what is written in the post, don't you?

Shhh, I want to find out if he suspected that some how boiling water made it poisonous. :3

[dalekphalm]

14 minutes ago, GirvanaWantsBinnieBalls said:

So... odd question indeed, but i need to know if i can drink tap boiled water... Dont ask why , or say ''just go down to the nearest... blah blah'' Just say some cautions and a simple ''yes'' or ''no'' would actuallly be much more helpful. 

Location : greece , athens . So yeah my tap water here is running through ''advanced'' pipes so i dont rly have to worry about anything as if i was living in africa or sth . 

In essence now... can i drink tap boiled water? ( I allready have it boiled  i just need the yes so that i can pour it in a bottle and freeze it )

The answer isn't a simple yes or no.

 

Generally speaking, boiling tap water will kill most types of bacteria and pathogens that you should be worried about. There's nothing inherently unsafe about boiled tap water - it's safer than unboiled tap water, certainly.

 

However, unless your local government has issued a boil drinking water warning, this should probably be unnecessary.

 

If you're worried about gross local water from a well or something, you should consider purchasing a water purification system that includes UV lights for killing pathogens.

 

Also: Certain things will still be dangerous after boiling the water, including heavy water, lots of minerals, heavy alkali or heavy acid, or certain types of algae. Boiling water under these conditions will NOT keep you safe.

[mariushm]

Yes, you can.

 

You shouldn't drink distilled water (which you can obtain by boiling water and letting the vapors condense in another bottle) because it lacks minerals and other things that are important for you body. It won't hurt it, unless you do it for long periods.

See http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/317698.php or http://www.mercola.com/article/water/distilled_water.htm

Quote

Many health fanatics, however, are often surprised to hear me say that drinking distilled water on a regular, daily basis is potentially dangerous.

Paavo Airola wrote about the dangers of distilled water in the 1970's when it first became a fad with the health food crowd.

Distillation is the process in which water is boiled, evaporated and the vapour condensed. Distilled water is free of dissolved minerals and, because of this, has the special property of being able to actively absorb toxic substances from the body and eliminate them. Studies validate the benefits of drinking distilled water when one is seeking to cleanse or detoxify the system for short periods of time (a few weeks at a time).

Fasting using distilled water can be dangerous because of the rapid loss of electrolytes (sodium, potassium, chloride) and trace minerals like magnesium, deficiencies of which can cause heart beat irregularities and high blood pressure. Cooking foods in distilled water pulls the minerals out of them and lowers their nutrient value.

Distilled water is an active absorber and when it comes into contact with air, it absorbs carbon dioxide, making it acidic. The more distilled water a person drinks, the higher the body acidity becomes.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Distilled water, being essentially mineral-free, is very aggressive, in that it tends to dissolve substances with which it is in contact. Notably, carbon dioxide from the air is rapidly absorbed, making the water acidic and even more aggressive. Many metals are dissolved by distilled water."

The most toxic commercial beverages that people consume (i.e. cola beverages and other soft drinks) are made from distilled water. Studies have consistently shown that heavy consumers of soft drinks (with or without sugar) spill huge amounts of calcium, magnesium and other trace minerals into the urine.

The more mineral loss, the greater the risk for osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, hypothyroidism, coronary artery disease, high blood pressure and a long list of degenerative diseases generally associated with premature aging.

A growing number of health care practitioners and scientists from around the world have been advocating the theory that aging and disease is the direct result of the accumulation of acid waste products in the body.

 

[dalekphalm]

5 minutes ago, mariushm said:

Yes, you can.

 

You shouldn't drink distilled water (which you can obtain by boiling water and letting the vapors condense in another bottle) because it lacks minerals and other things that are important for you body. It won't hurt it, unless you do it for long periods.

See http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/317698.php or http://www.mercola.com/article/water/distilled_water.htm

 

Boiling tap water will not produce distilled water, because that's not the purpose of it. The OP would specifically have to setup a vapor capture system to obtain distilled water.

 

Boiling water enough to heat it without boiling away all the water is sufficient for killing most typical bacteria that would be encountered doing a boil water advisory. In such a case, most of the minerals, etc, would be retained within the water, and the ppm concentration shouldn't change by any appreciable difference.

[Yoinkerman]

Gotta love me some "can I do this and refuse to give context" posts.

 

Up there with "how to make fast easy money online because I'm too lazy to work"

 

"Does this psu bottleneck my case"

 

"I'm 17 and I want to open a computer building business and make 5k/mo"

[GirvanaWantsBinnieBalls]

5 minutes ago, Yoinkerman said:

Gotta love me some "can I do this and refuse to give context" posts.

 

Up there with "how to make fast easy money online because I'm too lazy to work"

 

"Does this psu bottleneck my case"

 

"I'm 17 and I want to open a computer building business and make 5k/mo"

OK here i go , i dont do the grocery , we have no water home ( by ''no water home'' i mean fresh bottled water from brands that... well , sell bottled water ) ( someone forgot to go to the supermartket... ) and because im out of water just as mentioned , im rly LAZY to go dress my self , and walk down 5 min to buy a bottle of water , so i would prefer to sit in the comfort of my house , boil some water , and pour it down in a bottle and freeze it... and although it might take more than going to buy some water , i still prefer not leaving my house .  U GOT YOUR CONTEXT?

[Yoinkerman]

Yes boiling water and freezing it works fine.  I probably wouldn't pour boiling water into a plastic bottle though.

 

Is there a reason you can't just drink the tap water?

 

 

[Thunderpup]

Question, 

 

Is there anything unsafe about the unboiled water that would make you want to boil it?  You said your water is delivered using "advanced pipes", but i really don't know what that means.

 

I think most of us are trying to figure out exactly why you think you need to boil it in the first place.

 

unless your water has harmful microbes in it, like bacteria & viruses, you shouldn't need to boil it.

 

Also boiling it usually won't improve the taste.

[GirvanaWantsBinnieBalls]

30 minutes ago, Yoinkerman said:

Yes boiling water and freezing it works fine.  I probably wouldn't pour boiling water into a plastic bottle though.

 

Is there a reason you can't just drink the tap water?

 

 

Im not dumb  i know pouring hot water to plastic can is rly dangerous... the bottle coulc melt and cause cancer . I am letting the pot sit to reach room temp  

As for the tap water....  im really keeping at bay when it comes to bacteria , food , door hanldes etc etc..

[GirvanaWantsBinnieBalls]

31 minutes ago, Thunderpup said:

Question, 

 

Is there anything unsafe about the unboiled water that would make you want to boil it?  You said your water is delivered using "advanced pipes", but i really don't know what that means.

 

I think most of us are trying to figure out exactly why you think you need to boil it in the first place.

 

unless your water has harmful microbes in it, like bacteria & viruses, you shouldn't need to boil it.

 

Also boiling it usually won't improve the taste.

Just for precautions m8

[Zando_]

Yup. So long as you let it cool first. I doubt it'd taste good at 100C. 

[Thunderpup]

1 minute ago, GirvanaWantsBinnieBalls said:

Just for precautions m8

I've never been to Greece so i can't comment whether its necessary or not so i won't.

 

That being said depending on your situation you may want to invest into some sort of water filtration system.  It's much cheaper and better for the environment in the long run than relying on bottled water.

 

I use a water filter where i live because while the water is 100% safe to drink it is very mineral heavy, aka "hard water", and doesn't taste very good when drunk.  Eventually i'd like to go to a whole house filtration system.

[GirvanaWantsBinnieBalls]

Just now, Zando Bob said:

Yup. So long as you let it cool first. I doubt it'd taste good at 100C. 

Burning my throat and making a hole in my neck would be very pleasent . 100C is just fine to drink

[Zando_]

1 minute ago, GirvanaWantsBinnieBalls said:

Burning my throat and making a hole in my neck would be very pleasent . 100C is just fine to drink

You can add some lye for an extra kick. 

[minibois]

6 hours ago, AshleyAshes said:

Uhh... Unless there's been some kind of warning issued by your municipality, you can also drink unboiled tap water.

Southern Europe (especially tourist parts of Spain) have always been known for bad quality tap water.

 

But yes you should be set after boiling it OP.

[Donut417]

6 hours ago, GirvanaWantsBinnieBalls said:

So... odd question indeed, but i need to know if i can drink tap boiled water... Dont ask why , or say ''just go down to the nearest... blah blah'' Just say some cautions and a simple ''yes'' or ''no'' would actuallly be much more helpful. 

Location : greece , athens . So yeah my tap water here is running through ''advanced'' pipes so i dont rly have to worry about anything as if i was living in africa or sth . 

In essence now... can i drink tap boiled water? ( I allready have it boiled  i just need the yes so that i can pour it in a bottle and freeze it )

Here in the US if they find shit in the municipal water, they will issue a boil water advisory. You are to boil water if its being use for drinking or cooking. So I would say your safe. The biggest question is what the pipes are made of. For instance I dont think boiling water takes care of lead. Thats when you need to get bottled water. 

[themctipers]

warning issued by the city/government that there's bacteria in the water? boil it, shouldn't drink it at all for me IMO

nothing and everything is normal and safe? boil it if you want, don't boil it if you want, both is healthy

 

water running through lead pipes? don't drink it at all.

[porina]

6 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

In such a case, most of the minerals, etc, would be retained within the water, and the ppm concentration shouldn't change by any appreciable difference.

If you're in an area with hard water, boiling it can precipitate out calcium carbonate, giving rise to lime scale. Basically, boiling water can soften it. I had thought about using this as a way to soften water but of course boiling water is a rather expensive way of doing it.

 

I'm not familiar with water regulations in Greece, but it does vary worldwide. My parents come from Hong Kong, and they would never drink water without boiling it first, and they carried it over after moving to the UK. When I visited South Korea, all the guides said the tap water was unsafe to drink. On a trip to Turkey the general the advice was that tap water was safe, but most people didn't drink it. The price of bottled water there was so cheap, I could understand it. Certainly much cheaper than in UK, where I happily drink tap water. 

 

Even bottled water isn't 100% perfect. Some years back there was a launch of a new bottled water brand sold on purity through filtration. The product died rapidly when it was found to fail to meet drinking water regulations due to higher than allowed quantities of something. It wasn't necessarily unsafe, but the regulations are there for a reason.

 

22 minutes ago, themctipers said:

water running through lead pipes? don't drink it at all.

That can be safe. In the UK there are still areas substantially using lead pipes. It is quite chemically stable so not much of it goes into water, and at most people are advised to run the tap a bit first so sitting water is passed before it is used. In soft water areas where water pH can drop, they add phosphate to prevent the lead dissolving.

 

BTW in case you're wondering, I've looked at a lot of tap water chemistry due to my interest in fish keeping. Biology less so, apart from the extremely rare cryptosporidium outbreak it is basically not a worry. That just leaves the chemical side.

[Donut417]

7 minutes ago, porina said:

. It is quite chemically stable so not much of it goes into water,

Yeah tell that to the people of Flint Michigan. Its only Chemically stable if the government doesnt cheap out and puts the proper chemicals in the water to stop it from leeching in to the water. 

[porina]

4 minutes ago, Donut417 said:

Yeah tell that to the people of Flint Michigan. Its only Chemically stable if the government doesnt cheap out and puts the proper chemicals in the water to stop it from leeching in to the water. 

Fair enough. Some water chemistry are more at risk than others in that scenario. As said, I know they add phosphate compounds to prevent it in soft water areas of UK. Depending on how much affected pipe there is, flushing before use can also be effective.