I have a sediment filter on my well water but otherwise nothing.

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I lived with well water at two different locations for decades and you couldn't have asked for better water straight out of the tap. Where I live now the well water is so nasty we use a separate holding tank to boil the hydrogen sulfide off, then a Berkey filter to make the taste palatable.

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InannasPocket@reddit

We're on well water and when we were looking at the house made sure to taste the water from the tap.

PaperintheBoxChamp@reddit

Phoenix filters out our ground water since that’s a large source of is for us. It’s fine to drink from top, but I’d also rather have a filter at faucet too

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loaderboy1@reddit

Seriously? My house is supplied by a will in Northwest Georgia and the water tastes better than anything you're going to get in a bottle at the store. And no it's not filtered. Comes out of the well comes out of the tap. Best water you'll ever have.

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LostInSpace9@reddit

That’s cool. I’m sure there’s still a sediment filter in there at least lol.

The area / state I live in, that’s pretty well (haha) unheard of. A few different steps to ensure dirt is removed, microbes are killed, sulfurous smells removed, and then of course a water softener and other filtration such as carbon filters. Water coming out of these wells are usually really hard.

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BiggDAZ@reddit

I'm a retired plumber. I've seen wells without filters. I always recommend at least a simple sediment filter, but I've seen houses without them. Also, I wouldn't recommend using well water without a filter. I would also recommend that an RO system be used for drinking water.

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LostInSpace9@reddit

Yeah I feel like that’s crazy. Idk maybe bc a lot of the water supply where I live has been contaminated at some point, but all those processing steps I listed are very much standard here. Not an expert of course, speaking anecdotally.

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IdaDuck@reddit

There’s a sediment filter I swap out but that’s it.

firewings42@reddit

Tap water mostly. It’s safe where I am. Once a year they do some tank maintenance and it tastes like grass for a bit and I’ll drink bottled water for a few weeks. I got a new fridge this year with filters I wonder if that will be enough to get rid of the grass flavor?

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cherokeevorn@reddit

Straight out of The tap

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Ok-commuter-4400@reddit

Having lived in a country where tap water is very unsafe, I REALLY came to appreciate places where clean water just… comes freely out of the tap! Like, whoaaaaaaa how cool is that, dang

1nfam0us@reddit

The water in Portland from the tap is immaculate. It is always delicious and clean.

I drank straight tap water for most of my life. But after building my current house, we realized that there were significant calcium deposits that were effecting the fixtures, and could potentially eventually damage our pipes and appliances, so we had a whole house filter system installed.

The water isn't any different for drinking though, and we have a well, so its not city water.

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BigPapaJava@reddit

There has been some research that correlates hard water with heart disease and blocked arteries, so that filter might be doing your drinking water more good than you think.

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SuperNebula7000@reddit

Filtering will not remove hard water minerals, you need a water softener for that.

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elysiancollective@reddit

Some filters remove almost all dissolved solids, which includes all hard water minerals.

I use a Zerowater filter and using water from the filter in my electric kettle entirely prevents hard water build-up.

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SuperNebula7000@reddit

There are two things in this. One is solids. Even though they are small particles they can be filtered out. Many mineral compounds are solid and this can be done. However the second group is called dissolved solids. This can be things like NaCl, PCl, Calcium Carbonate, plus lots of other compounds. This can dissolve into water and can not be filtered by regular filters. You can do things like Ion exchange that mixes NaCl in high concentration in to the water. Sodium replaces other salts in the compound to make it less soluable and force it to precipitate which can be filtered. The problem is now you have Sodium Carbonate, for example, in the water. There are two methods to remove "all minerals" from water. The first is distilling the water. Raw water is heated to make steam and the steam is condensed back into water. This pretty pure but the still has mineral compounds in it. The second method is using reverse osmosis to physically separate water from soluble salts. RO is a membrane that lets the water molecule pass through it but stops the bigger mineral molecule from going through. This can give water that is very pure and is actually a bad conductor of electricity. (Pure, pure, pure waster is not conductive).

If you let hard water dry to completion you will have a mineral residue. Soap easily rinses off but leaves the skin rough an sort of dried out.

If you have ion exchanged water it is softer, doesn't rinse soap as well but will still leave a residue when it evaperates.

Distilled water is very soft but may leave a small residue.

Finally, reverse osmosis produces super soft water that really struggle to rinse soap off, but will not leave any residue. However it is expensive.

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elysiancollective@reddit

I did say dissolved solids.

SweatyGuitar5753@reddit

I use a cartridge filter for drinking and cooking, taste is a little bit preferable to city tap water. The dispenser lives in my refrigerator because I like to drink my water cold.

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esaule@reddit

Thanks for sharing your story. I hope everything will get better for you

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orpheus1980@reddit

I live in NYC. Some of the best water in the world. Drink it straight out of the tap.

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Mediocre_Panic_9952@reddit

The majority of water I drink is municipal that comes via the ice/water dispenser on our refrigerator, this water goes through a charcoal filter. For coffee I use tap water. At work we have bottled water.

The water where I live is of questionable quality, but I figure at 67 years old what harm can it do? I’ve had a whole house water filtration/softening system in the past, those come with their own set of challenges.

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geneb0323@reddit

Straight from the tap. Never understood why people use filters barring a known issue with their water.

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that-Sarah-girl@reddit

Because the water here tastes bad and the quality is wildly inconsistent. After heavy rains it burns a little after I shower. They're constantly adjusting the chemical cocktail the water is treated with.

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Ok_Concentrate4461@reddit

We have a reverse osmosis system but honestly water from the tap is fine too, where I live. But 20 minutes away where I work the tap water is VILE (the whole town not just my workplace)

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staticvoidmainnull@reddit

fridge has filter. but i still drink tap, like when i am away from the fridge.

water is clean enough to drink.

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elysiancollective@reddit

Filters. Most water has microplastics. I use a Zerowater filter, which can filter out microplastics.

And, I looked at this site. My tap water meets EPA standards. but those haven't been updated in quite some time. There's evidence supporting lowering many of the existing upper limits. According to the more stringent, evidence-based limits, my tap water has excessive haloacetic acids and trihalomethanes, both of which are carcinogens.

I use a Brita filter, but my city has some issues and our water comes out brownish most of the time. It's supposed to be safe to drink but I still prefer to run it through the filter first.

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SpecialMud6084@reddit

I drink water from the tap most of the time (when my city isn't under our basically monthly boil water notice) because the filter faucet is super slow and I've probably put worse things in my body anyway. Most people I know in my major city do not drink the tap water though and think I'm strange for being willing to. Tap water from my home specifically is what I drink, the quality can vary in nearby areas. My workplace's tao water isn't safe for example (I tried to fill my bottle at the fountain once and it STANK). If I go to someone's house/apartment for the first time I always ask if the tap water is safe there before I try to fill a glass, it's basically 50/50 and every tourist I meet asks why the water here tastes 'funny'.

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Nan_Mich@reddit

Fridge water filter. Because I Ike the taste better. No chlorine flavor.

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Cinisajoy2@reddit

I am going to confuse you even more. In my town it is common to go to either a water store or a water building to buy bulk filtered water. It is 35 cents a gallon at the buildings. They also sell ice. You take your own containers. Also bottled water can be bought for as little as 10 cents a half liter in packs of 40. One store sells water either 69 cents a bottle or 3 for $1. Very few people drink our tap water. We also have a good number of nephrologists.

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CrispyJalepeno@reddit

Depends. Last place I lived, city water was technically unsafe to drink. Too high of heavy metals in it.

Here, it's perfectly fine. But we use a brita-type pitcher so it can be refrigerated anyway

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Zealousideal-Rent-77@reddit

My city tap water is fantastic. We get a combo of mountain snow melt and fresh volcanic spring water. There's even a volcanic hot spring in the middle of our snowmelt river.

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tangouniform2020@reddit

Filtered. But out of the fridge so cold, too

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LettuceInfamous5030@reddit

Tap is fine where I live. I use a brita filter because I store it in the fridge and I like cold water. I’m

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erilaz7@reddit

The tap water is just fine where I live, so I just drink it straight, no filter.

We bought a fancy filter for our tap, so both

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animepuppyluvr@reddit

I have a brita filter. It just tastes better 🤷‍♀️

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Ok-Figure4318@reddit

Despite what you see on social media our water is generally fine. Houses are supposed to have water filters on kitchen faucets as an extra precaution (although some older homes dont). The water isn't safe in some areas of the US like Flint Michigan or a town that has a pipe obviously like Milledgeville Georgia. Overall however the water is safe and a lot of these paranoid people don't understand that most water bottle companies are just selling US tap water.

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Specific-Peanut-8867@reddit

It’s weird it comes from the same water but at work I drink bottled water but at home I’ll drink it out of the faucet with ice

We have a filter, but mostly because we get our water via a well we have out back. It’s perfectly safe, but it’s also kinda hard and high in iron—you could drink from the tap but it’d taste like sucking on a penny.

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browneyedredhead1968@reddit

Most cities in the USA have water treatment plants that make tap water safe. There are some with contaminated water, such as Flint, Michigan. They cannot drink their tap water and have to drink bottled water.

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EffectiveSalamander@reddit

I drink tap water from the fridge, especially in summer. The tap water is fine, but it's much better cold, and in summer, the cold water isn't very cold. So I fill up a container and it goes in the fridge. No filter needed.

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Visible-Meeting-8977@reddit

I drink water from the tap because the water where I live is good.

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krycek1984@reddit

I don't like water (I know), I put crystal light in most of my water. But I use tap water. There's no reason not to, it's perfectly safe and any odd tastes are covered up by the crystal light.

One_Advantage793@reddit

I have great well water. It has been tested. It has a higher than standard mineral content - calcium and magnesium - but no farm runoff (chemical or crap). Lucky for me, since I am in a very rural area, with neighboring farms.

My neighbor's well water has such a high iron content it has to be filtered or it interferes with meds, etc. Luck of the draw on well water here. Some folks do wind up with ag run off; our neighbors are mostly organic farmers or raise grass fed beef, so we're in a good spot. There are some large chicken growers down the road, and a few farms that grow with chemicals a little farther afield.

Not sure why the downvotes on your comment.

In upstate NY (north country, st lawrence valley), every spring as the melt started, they had to greatly increase chlorination of the municipal water supply to treat the runoff, and it's like you said: swimming pool smell, showers triggering asthma or just generally irritating the lungs. It was safe but unpleasant. Anyone who could afford it installed a whole house activated charcoal filter and that helped a ton.

Filtering pitchers at the very least were required.

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IanDOsmond@reddit

Our water is perfectly safe, but I don't like the taste, so I have a filter on the tap for coffee, tea, or just drinking plain.

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somecow@reddit

Tap. Filters are expensive. The water here is nasty, but fuck it, so is the pollution and stress, why not.

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Eric_J_Pierce@reddit

Tap water here is not bad, but my roommate's place of employment provides bottled water for employees and he brings home three or four or five bottles after each shift so I, we drink that

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OK_Stop_Already@reddit

We use a brita filter because our water at my location has a chlorinated smell to it. Reason being is because we are very close to the coast and the water table is super high, and the water is very brackish. They have to treat it more in order to remove the silt and sediment and bacteria in it.

There's lots of places where they don't have to do this in the us, but it depends on their water sources and whatnot.

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Both

My fridge has a water/ice filter which is where most of my drinking water comes from.

I’m fine with tap though. I was a child in the 70’s. Most of the water kids drank came directly from someone’s garden hose.

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ColumbiaWahoo@reddit

Straight from the tap since it’s safe

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PreciousLoveAndTruth@reddit

Filtered. My tap water without the filter tastes like ass.

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Intelligent-Camera90@reddit

I grew up with super chlorinated tap water, so didn’t drink it.

breebop83@reddit

My husband and I live in a small, ruralish town that apparently did not get the proper infrastructure upgrades to the city’s pipes etc over the years. The result is pretty crappy water and frequent main breaks.

We have a whole house filter and use a Brita pitcher for drinking water - you can see bits of stuff/particulates in the top of the pitcher and that is after the water has gone through the whole house filter. We will be upgrading to an RO unit and are trying to decide whether it should be whole house RO + softener or not.

I don’t drink tap water because we had a well growing up and super rusty water caused by old pipes. So rusty that everything water touches turns rust colored and it smells. Yes, always had a softener.

growing up we were on a well and it tasted great. my grandparents lived in the city and had gross undrinkable water.

i moved to a suburb and had gross water. we got a filter. moved to a different suburb and it had great water. i drank it from the tap all the time.

now i live in a different city with gross water and have to use a filter.

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HildegardofBingo@reddit

I use a filter. This is why.

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gummi-demilo@reddit

I live in NYC but run my water through a Pūr pitcher because I’m in an old ass building with old ass pipes. I did the same in Minnesota even though the municipal water was fine.

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ExOhioGuy@reddit

We use the (filtered) water dispenser in the fridge. The water from the tap tastes fine, but it's pretty warm out of the tap year round, but especially during the hot Arizona summer.

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phylter99@reddit

Typically, I use filters. My water is safe, but it's mostly for taste. We drink bottled water too.

Our pipes are lead, but the lime caked on the inside of the pipes prevents the lead from getting into the water. This year they're actually replacing the lead pipes.

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Bastyra2016@reddit

I have a sediment filter on my house and I fill up a Brita pitcher for the fridge

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BlahajLuv@reddit

Filters because it doesn't taste great unfiltered. I mostly use the filter integrated in the fridge (fairly common, usually also dispenses ice) but I have one for under the sink I've been meaning to install.

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MrsQute@reddit

Both.

We have a filtered water dispenser in the fridge so that's the most commonly used but sometimes I just fill a cup from the tap.

Tap in the city.

My current house: Tap is good. It's good water.

Ashhh1991@reddit

Filter.

This is regional. Las Vegas water is "potable" but it's heavily processed and is very hard. Does not taste good. Everyone I know either has a filter, drinks bottled water, or uses one of those large refill stations that are everywhere in our city.

I drink purified water from one of those 5 gallon water jug machines. My tap water is perfectly safe and tastes fine. I use it for cooking, making tea and coffee and whatnot.

I mainly like that the water cooler will dispense 40 degree cold water or 190 degree hot water instantly at the push of a button. Plus I can put it in a room without a sink like my home office.

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apealsauce@reddit

RO filter. Water has just a biiiiiiit too much arsenic for the gov’s limit. Plus it would naturally taste eggy af.

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msabeln@reddit

The tap water at home is great; it comes from city wells.

My old house has a private well, and the water is hard and nasty tasting. I was worried about bacterial contamination thanks to the cows access the road, but the tests always came back negative. I used a water softener.

I used to live in Los Angeles County, and the tap water was metallic tasting and undrinkable: but everyone used bottled drinking water. I also used to live in the City of St. Louis, which has excellent tap water, sourced from the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers.

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iceph03nix@reddit

whole house filter at the shutoff, drinking water filter where it splits off for the fridge and a tap at the sink.

aWesterner014@reddit

Most of the time we drink the filtered water from the dispenser in our refrigerator.

Every once in a while, when I want to remember life in the 80s, I will grab a glass of water from the tap.

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Pitiful_Lion7082@reddit

Absolutely a filter. Straight from the tap in my area is so gross. I can literally smell the difference between tap and the filter.

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DrBlankslate@reddit

I drink from the tap.

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rawbface@reddit

Both.

This depends entirely where you live and your water source.

There are places with hard water (lots of minerals), cities with high chemicals such as arsenic in the rock where wells get their water, horrible tasting water, and places people like the water. You can't put the US in one category here.

My whole house water supply is softened and filtered.

Not for taste. It’s well water and tastes fine. It’s to protect the plumbing and heating system. High mineral content and sediment can cause issues.

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Positive-Avocado-881@reddit

I don’t drink from the tap at all in my apartment. Not even through a filter because I’m picky about water and it doesn’t taste good. At my parents’ house I will drink straight from the tap because their well water is good

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Imaginary_Ladder_917@reddit

Both. We have a well and the water tested safe so it’s fine to drink but it doesn’t taste very good from some of the minerals in it. So I use the tap for water to cook with but filter drinking water.

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DiscontentDonut@reddit

It depends on where I am. My current home and the one before, I drink straight from the tap because the cities both have very good filtration and the water tastes good.

However, when I go to someone else's house or live in a city where the filtration may not be as good, I'll purchase a water filter. If it's hard water, I'll even purchase a shower head with a filter as well.

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Fae-SailorStupider@reddit

If I'm just drinking the water, I use the filter, if I'm cooking or making coffee I'll use tap

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DrMindbendersMonocle@reddit

Tap, water quality is fine where I live

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BizarroMax@reddit

Tap. I live by the Mississippi River, it toughens me up.

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JimBones31@reddit

At home straight from the tap. It's clean.

At work, it's either double filtered or direct from the R/O machine. Why? Because the water in the tank is gross.

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qu33nof5pad35@reddit

Tap

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FuturePrimitiv3@reddit

Tap water. I live in the northeast, freshwater is very abundant in this part of the country and tap water is generally high quality.

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arcteryx17@reddit

Drinking tap water is perfectly fine. Most people have filters in their fridges and tap into a water line. Whole house filters are becoming more common though.

We are at an age where filtering the water is not expensive so straight tap water is phasing out but wont be gone, probably ever.

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