I’m one of those weird, annoying people who prefer tap water to both bottled and filtered water. I also prefer room temperature to cold water, and don’t like ice in my H2O, but that’s another story.

I think tap water gets a bad rap. So many people refuse to drink it, and don’t even do so in their own homes. I see it when I have people over and they ask if I have any water. Well, of course I do! (To be clear, I do have filtered water that comes from my fridge, along with ice. I just don’t drink it).

It blows my mind when somebody would rather drink bottled water than they would tap water. To me, bottled water is a last resort because it’s so bad for you. It’s interesting, because at work, we spend hundreds of dollars annually to supply the staff in our office with bottled water from a water cooler, and we also try to endorse healthy living to cut down on sick time. It’s sort of ironic.

Here is a case for tap water, simply by arguing against bottled water, and even filtered water.

Both Filtered and Bottled Water Come from a Tap

That “spring water” from a bottle that you are drinking? Yup, tap water. Bottling companies fill up their bottles from taps. That’s why they are “publicly sourced”. You are paying a premium because the water is in plastic, which is crazy. You’re paying a premium to essentially drink chemical.

Companies that sell spring water aren’t literally standing under a spring waterfall filling up bottles.

I don’t have to tell you that if you have a water filter, it’s “filtering” tap water.

Filtration

If you live in the first world, the filtration systems that are engineered for tap water to ensure it is safe for human consumption is substantially higher than that of bottled water companies. In fact, tap water is tested almost excessively, and companies that bottle water don’t have those controls in place, because they are not required by the government in the US.

Filtering your tap water with a filter will do very little except for maybe suck some of the valuable minerals out of the water. Putting tap water through a filter is like hand washing your dishes entirely before putting them in the dishwasher. It is completely unnecessary and is just an extra step.

Plastic is Terrible For You

This is what really blows my mind: people refuse to drink tap water because they feel like it’s not good enough for them (not filtered enough, maybe? Not clean enough?) yet bottled water leaks chemicals into the water, which you then consume. Plastic is terrible for you! The chemicals that leaches into your plastic bottled water can, upon regular consumption, cause fertility issues, different types of cancers, even defects.

Many people I’ve talked to about this issue tell me that they’ve heard that this is only if the bottle has been exposed to heat, because it then releases more of the chemical into the water. Yes, that expedites it, but the water is in the bottle for months before you purchase and consume it; it’s a slow leak of poison.

Plastic filter systems are not good either, if the water is sitting in a plastic container in your fridge.  You’d rather drink chemicals than tap water? Really?

Not only is bottled water and extra consumption of consumer goods like filters and jugs terrible for the environment,  and therefor your health in a secondary way as well, it’s being consumed and manufactured unnecessarily. Tap water is completely safe and acceptable for human consumption.

Do you drink tap water?