Drinking Water

Can I ask if anyone drinks the tap water in Spain or just buys the bottled water as we do? I've been reading elsewhere on the internet that there is nothing inherently wrong with the tap water in most areas but it may have a different mineral content which is the cause of some people getting an upset stomach. Does anyone know if this is correct??

Also does anyone use a filter jug & does this work?

Thanks

I believe the water is drinkable from the tap, but as you say Annie, it is the difference in mineral content that can cause the problems. When we were over recently, we bought an 8 litre bottle of water and ended up throwing half of it away, but it was winter . All of our tea was made with tap water and all our veg and pasta was cooked in tap water. I even made the ice cubes from tap water (forgot to use bottled) and we ended up brushing our teeth out of the tap too.

As it stands today (touch wood), none of us have come down with the lurgy .

Mark

I've also used the tap water for cooking, boiling for tea / coffee & when brushing my teeth. Also had drinks with ice in (G&T's!) & eaten salads with no effect. Just made me wonder recently if I was dragging those heavy water bottles home for nothing!

Re filter water - I was thinking along the lines of buying a brita jug, filling it with tap water & sticking it in the fridge. What do you think?? Maybe try it myself for a while before giving it the kids though!

When we first came 5 years ago we used to buy bottled water.

We looked at having one of the filters that fits under the sink but it was silly money.

We bought a filter which you can screw on to any tap. It cost approx 16€ and we change the filter bowl about every 3 months ( depending on useage....the water tastes different when it needs changing ). The filter bowl is about 6€.

It is a carbon filter and excellent. It has a switch on the side so you can direct water straight through the tap ( unfiltered, when you use hot water etc. or do not need the water filtered ).

We have found it really good. BUT..................if you do try this system...............REMEMBER..............remove the little black bung from the filter bowl BEFORE you turn the water on.......................OR.................you get ( and everything in sight!!) covered in black water!!!!!!!

we used to buy bottled for drinking etc, and tap water for the kettle, we have for the last several visits used a filter jug, its fine, a jug full on the fridge so its nice and cold, and have a large "empty" water bottled which we filter a jug or 2,  full of water and put in empty bottle, so we even use that for the kettle.

We also do that in the uk though, tea, coffee etc taste much better.

Thanks everyone for your replies  - seems like the filter option is the way to go for us. Teenee - like your idea of filling the empty bottles, so thanks for that will give it a go.

Karensun also like your screw on tap method - where did you get it from??

Quote pknott: "Is the water quality different in each region. I know that apparently you can drink the water in some areas of valencia (Moraira)...haven't tested it though...back in February for a week...anyone dare me to have a go?"

Yes, I think every municipality provides it's own water supply, so it stands to reason that the quality and content will vary considerably.

We happily use tap water for everything (even showering in!) except drinking - but luckily for us, Torremolinos is world famous (well, in Torremolinos at least) for it's mineral water, and there are a few points around town where you can fill your own containers with pure spring water. All the locals do it, so we do likewise, especially as the nearest fuente is only 100 metres up the road from us. Except for the queues of little old ladies, and the sign saying no more than 5 litres per person per day, I'd do a Del-boy, and bottle the stuff all day long and sell it to Prince Charles!

And you all thought Torremolinos was only about lager louts!

Scary stuff Justin. What do you do now regarding boiler, do you have some sort of system to stop calcium build up

now?

I know we now used bottled water in the kettle as it blew up one day because of the build up!!

We use anti-cal pills (available in all supermarkets) in every wash to prevent the washing machine going the same way as Justin's boiler. As for the water tank, you can buy some sort of magnetic device that clamps on the water pipe before the tank that somehow is supposed to reduce the build up, but I don't know how efeective they are. As for kettles, don't need one - the coffee is far better in the local cafe, and far more enjoyable taken there anyway!

Justin's anatomical description of the insides of a 7 month old looking like that of a 10 year old could equally have been applied to many a poor ex-pat's liver, I fear. And that's not to say that the quality of the local lager is as poor as the water.

Happy New Year Rob, good to "see" you. We use this here in the UK to combat hard water generally as it is very hard where we live. http://www.scalewizard.co.uk/?gcid=S18394x004-brand&keyword=scalewizard It relies though on being next to an electricity socket. However, in Spain, we have a problem as water is piped directly through walls into villa & we haven't the necessary distance. We saw a magnetic device in our local shops here (comprising two magnets which clamp themselves aroung the water pipe that comes into your home as long as there's around 15", only £5 too) & we wondered if we could implement it in Spain but sadly again no, we haven't necessary leeway.  The water meter is in the wall outside our villa & there's not enough room to clamp the two magnets on though we bought one for friends who have put it under their sink. 

Seeing as electrical products in Spain certainly are guaranteed for two years what redress (I wonder) do you have if things fail due to hard water ? http://cec.consumo-inc.es/cec/secciones/Ayuda/Derechos/Espana/Derechos/Garantias_en.asp