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Is water from the tap drinkable in Dubai?

Axelle

163

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 11 September 2014 - 09:59

in Belgium, we can drink the water from the tap but wondering if it safe to drink tapped water here? If not, do you also use bottled water to make tea (boiler) or do you use tapped water to make tea?
many thanks!

Jcoc5697793

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 14 September 2014 - 21:38

Wonderful, thank you both!

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sarahlou123

8965

Posts

EW MASTER

Latest post on 14 September 2014 - 16:32

Wickedangel, do you mind me asking where you got a filter for your shower from please? Do hardware stores do them? Most of the pharmacies sell them also the little stands in the malls :-)

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wickedangel_78

904

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EW GURU

Latest post on 14 September 2014 - 16:22

http://www.h2opureblue.com/where-to-find-us/ I have this one

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Jcoc5697793

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 13 September 2014 - 21:48

Wickedangel, do you mind me asking where you got a filter for your shower from please? Do hardware stores do them?

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wickedangel_78

904

Posts

EW GURU

Latest post on 12 September 2014 - 18:33

We don't. It has a nasty taste (try to use it in preparing bones broth in a pressure cooker & you will understand what I'm talking about), even if you are using a filter (we tried that) , we live in an apt , they clean the tanks 3 times a year, but everytime they do a brown water comes out of the taps, it's cheaper to use a water dispenser for cooking & hot drinks than buying a filter & maintaining it. We have a filter in the bathroom for showering. Water is not fresh here (I don't even know the source) , so drinking it from a bottle sounds more appealing than from a tap :D edited by wickedangel_78 on 12/09/2014

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Anonymous (not verified)

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 12 September 2014 - 14:51

Really surprised at how many use bottled water. My family and I have drank the water straight out of the tap here for decades now (my dad is an octogenarian). I live in a villa though and we do empty and completely clean out the tank twice a year. I'm not sure how dead animals get in as some have mentioned, but we've never found anything more than a little sand in the tank. For sodium content of bottled water, check this table: http://foodiva.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/FooDiva-water-analysis-April-20112.pdf I think it makes a huge difference when you have access to the water tank and you can clean it yourself. If you're in an apartment block it is a different story.

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desertdoc16971

466

Posts

EW EXPLORER

Latest post on 12 September 2014 - 13:31

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Anonymous (not verified)

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 12 September 2014 - 11:51

I cook with tap water, I make my coffee with tap water. Never had any issues. When I just want to drink water, I use bottled water.

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Madge_Gustard59558

841

Posts

EW GURU

Latest post on 12 September 2014 - 11:15

We've been using the tap water in our kettle and iron pretty much every day for over 10 years. Neither have been "destroyed" by it, and it doesn't leave any marks on clothes. We use the tap water for brushing our teeth too, and no problems there either. The massive overuse of bottled water in the UAE is a serious environmental and sustainability concern, and everybody here ingests plenty of tap water anyway, at least if they eat in restaurants. Not even the poshest and most expensive use bottled water for cooking. edited by Madge_Gustard on 12/09/2014

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Anonymous (not verified)

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EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 12 September 2014 - 08:43

The water here is promoted asa clean and fit for drinking. However, that does not mean that your house/apt tanks are clean and free from rotting carcasses or bacteria. I don't know how often, if ever, they are cleaned. The water is also very salty (desalinated seawater) so it does play havoc with your hair. I use the tap water for cooking but do not use it in the kettle for tea or coffee. (But I wouldn't use the tap water anywhere for that if I could avoid it - I am a bit of a tea and coffee "snob"). I do use the tap water for washing teeth, face etc. I also rinse my hair in bottle water in the final rinse to try to reduce my hair fall. I also don't use the tap water in the iron as I think the salt and other minerals will destroy the iron quickly and leave marks on the clothes. I have had to, on occasion, drink the tap water and had no negative reaction, of course, but I don't feel it quenches a thirst, either - too salty. Boiling the tap water will get rid of most bacteria but it will not reduce the salt content in the water. Also the salinity of the tap water may well destroy your iron, kettle etc more quickly.

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Thaiger

136

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 11 September 2014 - 21:42

I even brush my teeth using bottled water!

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barlas

188

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 11 September 2014 - 17:40

I'll rather save on something else, than on water. I use bottled water even for boiling eggs, pasta cooking or tea put aside. Better safe than sorry, so to say

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Nayls85

275

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 11 September 2014 - 11:24

In London our upstairs bathroom was supplied by a water tank, not mains, and I used to tell my stubborn husband off for filling his glass from there in middle of night as he was too lazy to go downstairs to the kitchen. However, the discovery of a dead rotting pigeon carcass in the tank was far more effective at stopping him than my nagging! I use bottled for cooking, kettle and drinking here. Sometimes the tap runs a weird brown colour, no way I'm drinking that!

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Cherpie97153

674

Posts

EW GURU

Latest post on 11 September 2014 - 11:15

Yeah I was here when that news broke... I think there are a lot of things going on with water tanks that go unreported...

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Cherpie97153

674

Posts

EW GURU

Latest post on 11 September 2014 - 11:13

Cherpie, you can clean the kettle to the max. just use 1 to 3 ratio of white vinegar and water and give two or three boiling round and you will never quit using it ;) I've done that, and with other things- a baby bottle warmer, etc. For a single cup it's just easier for me to micro!

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Apricot

1987

Posts

EW EXPERT

Latest post on 11 September 2014 - 10:36

I use tap water for most cooking and for use in the electric kettle. Occasionally I use bottled water in the pressure cooker. My house has its own water tank (which creates some interesting adventures when the pump stops working or the tank overflows) and most pipes were replaced 4 years ago.

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Shazadien

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 11 September 2014 - 10:33

It seems we need to cut a budget for water!! Ohh ya Allah, nothing is free for good here, even water :S

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Genie

927

Posts

EW GURU

Latest post on 11 September 2014 - 10:30

OMG Genie... I do hope I can use tapped water for cooking at least, I love making soup! so it would become very expensive to always use bottled water... Get one of the water dispensers as the water is the large 22 litre containers is very cheap - 6-8 dhs ( after the initial outlay of course )

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Axelle

163

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 11 September 2014 - 10:26

OMG Genie... I do hope I can use tapped water for cooking at least, I love making soup! so it would become very expensive to always use bottled water...

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Genie

927

Posts

EW GURU

Latest post on 11 September 2014 - 10:22

eewwwhhh when that happened Genie??? and where :S was that an individual tank or connected to others? It was about 2 years back in an apartment building in Bur Dubai - somewhere near Karama I seem to remember. Up until then the only time I used tap water was when I cooked large volumes of pasta that needed 2-3 litres of water - not just a small portion for me - but that news put a stop to me using it for anything. edited by Genie on 11/09/2014

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Shazadien

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 11 September 2014 - 10:19

eewwwhhh when that happened Genie??? and where :S was that an individual tank or connected to others?

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Shazadien

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 11 September 2014 - 10:17

Cherpie, you can clean the kettle to the max. just use 1 to 3 ratio of white vinegar and water and give two or three boiling round and you will never quit using it ;)

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Genie

927

Posts

EW GURU

Latest post on 11 September 2014 - 10:11

Technically it is - however I never do not even for cooking. A lot depends on how often your water tanks are cleaned out, for instance in the building I am in now they were not cleaned for the first five years I lived here. You can imagine what they would be like with the water stewing gently in the heat and possible dead birds etc inside.. I did very occasionally use it when I needed large volumes for cooking pasta etc However the news of that poor man who died in one ( a water tank on the top of a building) and was not discovered for 3 days put a stop to even that very occasional usage. edited by Genie on 11/09/2014 Edited to make sense edited by Genie on 11/09/2014

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Cherpie97153

674

Posts

EW GURU

Latest post on 11 September 2014 - 10:06

Absolutely would never drink straight from the tap. For hot bevs I use bottled, then boil. I don't even like the electric kettles, they seem to accumulate a lot of calcium.

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Shazadien

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 11 September 2014 - 10:05

I would not recommend that you drink directly from the tap even with filters get yourself a water dispenser, and for all kind of hot or cold drinks i use the dispenser water as well Only i use tab water in cooking

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IzzyOnTheSeat82823

5334

Posts

EW MASTER

Latest post on 11 September 2014 - 10:03

The water is safe to drink but i question the cleanliness of the water tanks / pipes. I use bottled water for tea, cooking and for the cats' water fountain.

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