Free Drinking Water?

[waverider1987]

This is probably a stupid question...but...

I know I can fill up a jug from a spigot outside a store or at a park with fresh water that can be used for cooking and cleaning, but can this same water also be put through a filter and used for drinking?  Or do most people buy their drinking water?  I already use a Zero water filter that filters the tap water from the sink, so even if I bought drinking water in those big 5 gallon jugs, i would still filter it.  I usually buy distilled water on short trips but I need an abundance of drinking water on hand and don't want to always buy wasteful plastic jugs of water.  So does anyone use the city water from outside spigots and filter it to drink?  Not sure what the best method is.

 

[rvwandering]

Yes, the water that you get from a store spigot or in a park is safe to drink. Unsafe water sources must be marked as non-potable.
You don't have to filter the water but we do because the water in many areas of the country has a bad taste. The filter is also a precautionary measure just in case the city water or well water is not as clean as it should be. We've been drinking water from all over the country for years and it has never made us sick.

 

[Beeps and eats]

It's way better than filtering water from streams or creeks. And your filter will last longer not picking up the sediments and aelgi.

Sent from my Z981 using Tapatalk

 

[John61CT]

I don't filter town water unless I know something's wrong with it.

Same with lots of natural sources. If it doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Bottled water is a total scam, they'll be charging for clean air next.

 

[Dingfelder]

I'd filter everything. Numerous cities have been caught cheating or putting out questionable test results. You've probably heard of some of the worst ones, but it seems unlikely that they are the only ones.

Even where city water is good, it may not matter, because so much depends on the quality of the pipes. The pipes that lead to your house are part of it, but so are the pipes in your house. Anywhere along the long line that goes to your house, something may be problematic regardless of how the city tests go at the recycling plant. Lead has been used in some systems, even good ones. Others get cracks and/or accumulate sediment over time that you may want nothing to do with. Also, during storms, some systems get overwhelmed and are more prone to contamination.

When I lived in Los Angeles for decades, we never stopped hearing about how fantastic the water was. It did vary by neighborhood, but it very commonly tasted terrible. Many if not most people I knew simply used their common sense and got bottled water. It may not have been everything it was cracked up to be, but when the stuff from your sink reliably tastes terrible, you don't want to drink it unless you truly are so poor you have absolutely no choice.

Right now I use a Berke water filter and am really liking it a lot. Wish I'd got one years ago.

 

[RoamerRV428]

Faucet from station or fresh water spigot from park etc. are fine....filter them also and you have a great supply of fresh water. Many will always let you use their water if you ask if needed to fill up some jugs

 

[DLTooley]

I use the bulk filtered water commonly available in grocery stores, as well as tap water - using separate jugs for each. Tap water is for washing, etc, as well as a backup drinking supply.

Desert tap water is typically alkaline. In Southern California some water comes from the Sierra, some from the Colorado.

 

[Weight]

Water faucets do not have to be labeled if non-potable. Most municipal, some campgrounds, are safe. But if you are passing through you take your chance picking a faucet to get drinking water. For instance, Austin, Texas has a boil water restriction right now. How long was the water bad before you heard about it? The same with Flint. Or there was a area south east where the water smelled like licorice, containing very poisonous coal waste.

 

[RoamerRV428]

isn't that such a screaming shame on all that water is 'questionable' and a possible 'killer' to people? ugh I hate hearing this stuff truly.  just makes me so overall sad of how the earth and 'improvements'  humans have given their lifestyles to kill that which is an absolute requirement to life....ugh it just is such a crazy crazy world to me. One I cringe from!

 

[RVTravel]

Dying from drinking water in the usa is more rare than winning this current lottery.

 

[RoamerRV428]

very true rvtravel but many few select areas it can easily do that thru human stupidity and more. we just have to know where those are and pray we do not get hit with another situation that could take us down personally while traveling. I hear ya on that.

 

[bonnieE350van]

read the labels on the bottled water you buy in the store...a lot of them are listing a municipal water supply as their source...same stuff that comes out of the faucets in an S&B...and the water machines you find in the stores are using the municipal water supply just maybe filtering it...

 

[Dingfelder]

The good thing about bottled water is that there are so many brands. If your home or office water tastes bad, you are pretty much forced to do something about it. So you either filter it or find a bottled water that tastes better than the water that comes out of your faucet.

It doesn't have to be perfect to be much, much better.

Of course, there are always those who collect their own rainwater, but that's a small percentage, and not a large percentage that even has the opportunity if you live in cities ... which most of the population does.

 

[John61CT]

Lead in our kids - and lots of other nasty poisons - may not kill, doesn't mean our water is the sort of quality that the richest developed nation on Earth should routinely be providing all its citizens

 

[Weight]

Yes, most drinking water from municipal sources is safe to drink and will not kill you. But someday you will find a system with a different mineral content. Water that passed all the tests last week. Key word, last week. With a content that you are not acclimatized. That could still keep you on the bucket most of the day. But you will not be dead.

 

[rm.w/aview]

This is probably a stupid question...but...

I know I can fill up a jug from a spigot outside a store or at a park with fresh water that can be used for cooking and cleaning, but can this same water also be put through a filter and used for drinking?  So does anyone use the city water from outside spigots and filter it to drink? 

Yes & Yes. Using plastic 5 gallon water cans unless it's reasonable at a location to use the hose to fill the tank.

 

[WalkaboutTed]

If you're getting water from diverse sources, sometimes the faucets have had the handle removed or if you want to use a hose, there are no threads or another problem. You may want to consider having a "Water Bandit" and a four way faucet key. Got 'em sitting in the junk drawer. I've used the key at apartment complex to wash down my kayak and have wanted tha water bandit but didn't have one.
Ted

 

[Weight]

In most jurisdictions using a faucet key without permission will get you arrested.

 

[John61CT]

Pretty rarely if you actually need a drink.

Most are in place because jerks leave them open, or liability issues.

Not to prevent people "stealing" a small amount of drinking water.

 

[GeorgiePorgie]

To me, paying for water in America is silly. I had to do it when I lived in South East Asia for many years. One of the few things that are better about living in the land of the Big PX is not having to pay for drinking water.