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The sulfuric smell in the hot water takes a little getting used to, but it's pretty amazing that it's naturally heated in most places throughout the country (th

The sulfuric smell in the hot water takes a little getting used to, but it's pretty amazing that it's naturally heated in most places throughout the country (though, a bit easier in such a tiny country).

avar 9y ago
The sulfuric smell in the hot water has nothing to do with the use of geothermal power. Most tourists think so because they've only been to or near the capital area. Reykjavík artificially adds sulfur to its hot water to reduce the corrosion of their hot water pipes. I can't find a source for that in English but there's one in Icelandic, it's the "Vinnslutæknileg vandamál við vinnslu jarðhita" section. 1. http://web.archive.org/web/20160813045634/http://www.samorka.is/doc/1368 http://web.archive.org/web/20160813045634/http://www.samorka...
- accountyaccount 9y ago
  This seems contrary to most tourism information, and that PDF is pretty much the only source I can find... interesting. So they intentionally make their hot water non-potable to prevent corrosion (the bulk of tourism info recommends not drinking the hot water)? Seems like Iceland could really use some sort of myth/fact information as they continue look to grow their tourism.
  - baq 9y ago
    You should never drink hot tap water from any source unless you boiled it yourself using cold tap water in a kettle somehow anyway. There's increased likelyhood of bacteria and trace heavy metals from whatever heating equipment was used. Totally not worth it.
    - robocat 9y ago
      Probably OK to drink if you use a gas or electric califont (zero hot water storage).
  - NikolaeVarius 9y ago
    Why would they? The Blue Lagoon, aka Icelands largest tourist trap, is completely artificial and is waste water. They have very little incentive to "correct" people
    - accountyaccount 9y ago
      The Blue Lagoon also publicly posts the information about where the water comes from. I also know some Iceland natives who actually like it, so I wouldn't completely dismiss it as a tourist trap.
- schoen 9y ago
  Wow, that's totally contrary to what I thought I learned when I went there, but a number of sources seem to support this.

avar 9y ago

The sulfuric smell in the hot water has nothing to do with the use of geothermal power. Most tourists think so because they've only been to or near the capital area. Reykjavík artificially adds sulfur to its hot water to reduce the corrosion of their hot water pipes. I can't find a source for that in English but there's one in Icelandic, it's the "Vinnslutæknileg vandamál við vinnslu jarðhita" section. 1. http://web.archive.org/web/20160813045634/http://www.samorka.is/doc/1368 http://web.archive.org/web/20160813045634/http://www.samorka...

accountyaccount 9y ago
This seems contrary to most tourism information, and that PDF is pretty much the only source I can find... interesting. So they intentionally make their hot water non-potable to prevent corrosion (the bulk of tourism info recommends not drinking the hot water)? Seems like Iceland could really use some sort of myth/fact information as they continue look to grow their tourism.
- baq 9y ago
  You should never drink hot tap water from any source unless you boiled it yourself using cold tap water in a kettle somehow anyway. There's increased likelyhood of bacteria and trace heavy metals from whatever heating equipment was used. Totally not worth it.
  - robocat 9y ago
    Probably OK to drink if you use a gas or electric califont (zero hot water storage).
- NikolaeVarius 9y ago
  Why would they? The Blue Lagoon, aka Icelands largest tourist trap, is completely artificial and is waste water. They have very little incentive to "correct" people
  - accountyaccount 9y ago
    The Blue Lagoon also publicly posts the information about where the water comes from. I also know some Iceland natives who actually like it, so I wouldn't completely dismiss it as a tourist trap.
schoen 9y ago
Wow, that's totally contrary to what I thought I learned when I went there, but a number of sources seem to support this.