tap water- safe to drink ?

[TheOtherHalf]

at one time you were advised NOT to drink from the bathroom tap as then the tank was usually in the loft and could probably be contaminated by something. No we have got rid of that when the new boiler was installed, does the water in the bathroom come straight from source and therefore safe to drink. Jus curious

[hc4361]

It comes straight from the mains so is perfectly safe to drink.

[DTCwordfan]

It was because bathroom pipes were fitted in lead at one time, not now. Most of us drink water from a tank in the loft.

[buildersmate]

Not true, DT.
If bathroom pipes in a particualr were made of lead, then ALL the pipes in that house are likely to be lead - so same could be said of drinking water anywhere from a tap. Impurities in water quickly coated lead pipes such that lead did not dissolve into the water - except in a few parts of the country where this was known as a problem.

HC's answer is correct. If you drink from the upstairs taps then good luck to you - just check your cold tank is covered - I once found a dead bat in mine.

[hc4361]

Most of us? I think the majority of houses built after the 1950s don't have cold water storage tanks.

TheOtherHalf - was it the hot water tank that was removed from your loft?

[EDDIE51]

Our cold water comes direct from the mains to ALL taps , upstairs and down.
As far as I know that has been the arrangement for many years now, there are still a few old houses where the supply to the bathroom came via a storage tank. House was built in 1976 and it has been that way since it was built.

[hc4361]

My house was built in the 50s and has the same system as yours, Eddie.

[EDDIE51]

I think the old 'don't drink from the bathroom tap ' idea comes from the childhood of us 'oldies'. I can remember my Grandmother telling me this when I used to stay with her at age around 5 or 6 . Her house was built in the 1930s and did have a cold water storage tank. My wife still won't drink water from the upstairs taps she was told the same thing as a child.

[hc4361]

Yes, indeed. All sorts of nasty things used to end up in the storage tanks. Seemed to be a favourite form of suicide for pigeons and mice, drowning in the water tank.

[Mosaic]

Never forget that cowboy-builder-watchdog-rogue-traders one where the plumber peed in the cold water tank....

[diddlydo]

My house was built in 1976 and has a cold water storage tank in the loft from where the water for the upstairs cold taps come from. I've been drinking it on a daily basis since 1976 and have never had any ill effects.

[boxtops]

Yep, perfectly safe

[TheOtherHalf]

Thanks all. I dont think there are any tanks, hot or cold left in the loft. dont go up there often. Our house built in 1938. I remember there was never a top on the cold tank . We had to cover it and lag it ourselves and Im pretty sure its not there now. I would have to move loads of junk to see. I only go up at Xmas to get the decs out, I will have a look then, but providing there isnt, Im presuming then, thats its safe to drink from bathroom tap. Thanks

[The Builder]

....bats...... rats ...... pigeons ....... just some of the things routinely found in old roof cisterns :o(

I guess you have a Combi boiler now. In which case, all your taps are directly mains-fed. Same as drinking from the kitchen tap :o)))