tap water vs bottle water?

Question

Whats the difference, whats better, and which do you drink???

Answer 1

In most developed nations drinking water is piped to homes and is available on tap. Usually it is safe water.

The provision of tap water requires a massive infrastructure of piping, pumps, and water purification works. The cost of tap water is a small fraction of that of bottled water, often as little as 0.01%.

The same water supply that is used for drinking is also used for washing, flushing toilets (water closets), washing machines, and dishwashers. Experimental attempts have been made to introduce non-potable greywater or rainwater for these secondary uses.

In many areas, fluoride is added to the tap water as a means to improve public dental health. This remains a controversial issue in terms of the health, freedoms and rights of the individual.

The availability of clean tap water brings major public health benefits. Usually, the same administration that provides tap water is also responsible for the removal and treatment before discharge or reclamation of wastewater. Tap water also has many nutrients which are taken from it when it is distilled so it can be better to grow plants.

There have been a number of social and economic factors that have continued to drive the bottled water market forward. These include the acceptance of `buying water', with drinking bottled water becoming a more mainstream activity, in the late 1980s and through today, compared to being viewed more as exclusive or trendy, prior to that time. Additionally, changes in work and lifestyles have benefited the market and the acceptance of bottled water.

Both are water. Tap water come directly from reservoir after having chloranated whereas bottle water (this water also come from reservoir) is distilled water which have passed through a series of test before storing into the bottle. I think bottle water is better but we use both the tap and bottle water.

Answer 2

Depends on which type of bottled water you are talking about. Some brands are straight tap water bottled up and packaged. For the most part bottled water is filtered water with additives such as minerals. I drink tap water that has been filtered by a home system. Tap water actually contains fluoride which helps build stronger teeth.

Answer 3

i prefer filtered tap water from the refrigerator. Saw an interesting news program on this very subject on 20/20 or 60 minutes about a month ago. And they said that the one reason to favor tap over bottled is that bottled water is not tested for things like E Coli bacteria among other things. Tap water is. Tap water is some areas also contains fluoride which is good for teeth and helps prevent cavities.

I also think that bottled water tastes like plastic.

Answer 4

I drink tap water, but before we got hooked up to city water I drank bottled water. Unless you have well water or you drink distilled bottled water, there's really not much difference. Keep in mind some companies bottle the city's tap water and sell it as a certain brand...I think Dasani does it, but I might have the companies confused...

But I do buy small bottles of water on occasion to refill and keep with me, I can't live without my water bottle, lol;) I hate the tast of Aquafina, though, so if that's the only choice I buy it, dup it out, and refill it with tap water;)

Answer 5

depending on where you live it could be a BIG difference. If you live in montana and have fresh springs, your tap may be fine.
if you live in NYC (or have a sewer) they "treat" the water which means when you flush, the water goes to a treatment plant where a lot of chemical and natural processes take place, when the water leaves there it goes to get "purified" which is more chemicals, several boiling states, and ocassionally the addition of minerals and finally back to you. (HOWEVER) this process may make your water "safe" but the town pumps it to your home through pipes, which if you live in an older town or city could be led and copper, so trace amounts can be found in the water. which in excess will cause real health problems. you can always get your water tested by the town or a pool store to see what is in your water.
If you have a well that pumps water to your house on your property you have to make sure no one dumps oil or other pollutants onto the property and maintain your lawn as far as pooper scooping if you have a pooch because all that ends up in the water you drink and cook with. also if you live in an area with certain minerals such as sulfer or high copper you could have a stinky or metal tasting water
SO my opinion is drink bottled water. cook with tap but always START with cold water (hot dissolves stuff better so there may be a higher amount of pollutants in it) and boil from cold. bottled water also contains a lot of minerals that are good for us that we may not get from tap. :) happy drinking

Answer 6

Bottled water! that is from me. I drink spring water because it is always clean and crisp. I currently live in florida and the water taste like the swamp even with all the city installed filters. So tap water is my choice but in some states the tap water is much better. People say the tap water has nutritional value but I really don't buy that! My favorite bottle water is zephryhills! My dogs even drink spring water!

Answer 7

You should mention some thing about fluoride added to tap water. It's needed for strong healthy teeth, yet the majority of bottled water does not contain it. People have been seeing more dental problems due to switching to bottled water.

Answer 8

"Tap water is always a safe choice, bottled water is not. Cooked food is always a safe choice, fast foods are not." (those are analogous in form and content) The difference stands in fact that tap water is tested by doctors and by law they have to say when water is contaminated. Bottled water may be safe when is out of factory, but as transportation, sun exposure, and mishandling can make it even much worse than tap water. Just to say: cooking may be sometimes unsafe, if you don't know what you cook, or you don't wash your hands, etc. But the risks going out are always greater than you will cook for yourself (obesity, some infections)

Answer 9

bottle water is much cleaner, tastes better. try a brita filter is you dont feel like getting bottles of water. Makes tap water taste better. and filters out the bad stuff that comes in tap water.

Answer 10

I noticed there is a difference between the taste of the tap water vs bottle . Also if you pour your tap water into a clear glass, sometime clear brownless color. I prefer bottle like most of the wide population because the tap water is mostly recycled water and having the thought of that is kind "urr yuk".