Is this an urban myth

[Schutzengel]

Is is correct that you should never drink water from the cold water tap in the bathroom. If so, why is this?

[redcrx]

unless its plumbed into the mains directly (like kitchen tap) then its water that is stored in the tank in loft. This could have all sorts in it :)

[ummmm]

It's a myth....

If you do not have a combi boiler then never fill the kettle etc with water from the hot tap as this is the water that is stored in the tank.

[Schutzengel]

redcrx. Many thanks. Not that I have, or would ever drink from the cold water tap in the bathroom, it's just that having heard it said on several occasions, I wondered why. Now I understand about the cold water tank in the loft, as the top is open and could collect all sorts of rubbish. Thanks again. Schutz.

[Schutzengel]

Thank you, ummmm, for the additional tip.

[Panic Button]

Best to assume there is a dead pigeon in the cold water tank.

[Lakitu]

thinks about brushing teeth at kitchen sink from now on

[Schutzengel]

Good idea Lakitu. Panic Button, dead pigeon, what a horrible thought. It's teeth-brushing in the kitchen for me from now on. Cheers. :-) Schutz

[Bbbananas]

I have been known to drink from the cold tap of the bathroom - when I've been on the booze the night before and have woken with one of those raging thirsts but you just cannot be arsed to walk downstairs. It doesn't taste the same, and is never as cold - but when I have that raging hangover thirst - I think I would drink almost anything.

[ummmm]

You don't have a cold water tank. Water is stored in a tank to heat up for washing etc.....cold comes from mains so you can drink it from the bathroom tap.

Now go back and give me 3 stars :-)

[Ethel]

I don't have a cold water tank and most homes built after 1960 don't . It is perfectly safe to drink the water from the bathroom tap in that instance

[ummmm]

Thank you :-)

[Schutzengel]

Hi ummmm. I do have a cold water tank in the loft. I appreciate your reply, and I'll give you 5 stars for this one.

[joggerjayne]

I drink LOTS of water in a day, from any cold tap in the flat, and I'm still healthy (much to some people's amazement).

[Marijn]

I have a cold water tank in the loft too. My mains water only goes to the kitchen tap. I have a house built in the 1970s.
A plumber who was working on my house last year offered to connect my bathroom taps to the mains for about fifty pounds at the time, but I couldn't afford it at that moment.

[jno]

that's coz of the whisky you dilute it with, Jayne.

[joggerjayne]

LOL jno.

You may be right ... perhaps the alcohol kills the bacteria from the dead rats.

[Schutzengel]

Thank you Ethel for clearing that up. My house was built in 1951, and definitely has a cold water tank in the loft, and a separate hot water tank in the top part of the airing cupboard. What a great site this is, where so many people are concerned enough to reply. Sometimes, even when the question sounds a bit daft, you can always be sure of getting most helpful answers. Keep up the good work.
Cheers. Schutz.

[gelda]

My friend had a problem with rats in her loft and called the pest control who found 3 dead rats in her water tank, her son had been saying for a long time that the water tasted funny but nobody took any notice of him!

[Panic Button]

Well I know they say a bit of dirt is good for kids, to stimulate their immune system.

However that is taking it a tad too far.