50 ms·

Tap water tastes yuk to me. Happy to run that through an RO and chiller for a better taste. As a gourmet experience it is worth the money. Do I need it for surv

Tap water tastes yuk to me. Happy to run that through an RO and chiller for a better taste. As a gourmet experience it is worth the money. Do I need it for survival? Not really. The slippery slope is if bottled water is a con, aren’t all bottled and canned drinks a con?

gambiting 4y ago
How is that a slippery slope? Last time I checked coca cola and Fanta don't come out of the ground - Water does though. And tap water taste depends heavily on location.
- massysett 4y ago
  Opinion pieces like this one generally frame the choice as “bottled water” vs “water from tap.” For me, these don’t compete. I buy a bottle of water when I’m on the go and want a portable drink. There isn’t a faucet in my car, or in a park, or on the street. Indeed I know the bottle of water probably came from a faucet. If there weren’t bottled water I wouldn’t drink from the tap instead. I would buy a bottle of something less healthy, like Coke.
  - oarsinsync 4y ago
    > There isn’t a faucet in my car, or in a park, or on the street. The town I grew up in had plenty of public faucets, in the town centre and in parks. This was a solved problem. Then the taps got removed and now we’ve all lost that choice. The city I live in now has plenty of public water fountains in malls though, so we’re moving back in the right direction.
    - Tempest1981 4y ago
      I remember people putting bubble-gum in the public drinking fountains. You're right, now I rarely see any.
    - leereeves 4y ago
      I remember the public faucets being disgusting. It was nice when bottled water became available everywhere and we didn't have to drink from them anymore.
      - autoexec 4y ago
        Yeah, even if the water is routinely tested and pure, and the fountain and its pipes are well maintained and not full of mold/bacteria/lead, public drinking fountains can be full of germs, especially the parts everyone has to touch. I'd rather carry a bit of water with me and not even have to worry about it.
  - luckylion 4y ago
    And many people buy bottled water to drink at home, where there is tap water available. That's the choice they're talking about, not you choosing not to use the non-existant faucet in your car.
    - massysett 4y ago
      Flint, Michigan did way more than any evilcorp ever did to convince people to buy water to drink at home.
      - luckylion 4y ago
        Sure, but it's not a uniquely American thing. Lots of people in Germany buy bottled water to drink at home, and Germany's tap water is perfectly fine, under constant quality control, there are countless rules against pollution, tap water has to comply with stricter regulations than bottled water and therefore often is of higher quality etc etc, and has been for decades. Still, people buy bottled water.
        gambiting 4y ago
        Same in Poland - my mum only buys bottle water even though her tap water is perfect fine to drink.
        MandieD 4y ago
        My in-laws’ delicious tap water is from the Harz Mountains, and yet, they insist on serving a rather sulfuric, somewhat-carbonated bottled water. They have trouble believing that no, I honestly prefer their tap water.
    - deleted 4y ago
      [deleted]
  - tonmoy 4y ago
    But a significantly large portion of people in the US buy bottled water for daily consumption
    - ThunderSizzle 4y ago
      If that's what they want to spend their money on, whose to ridicule them? In the end, people always spend money on stupid things for irrational reasons. Regardless, my family avoided our w well water back up in NY since is reeked of sulfur and no fix ever worked.
      - ImPostingOnHN 4y ago
        those bottles represent multiple negative externalities that affect us: fossil fuels and co2 emissions to make the plastic, more to make it into a bottle, more to transport it, and finally pollution, when the bottles don't actually get recycled (either by the user or the recycling center)
  - olsgaarddk 4y ago
    Weren't people on the go 50 years ago? This need for bottled water is relatively new. Some of us on HN lived at a time when the concept was absurd, others have grown up with bottled water. Meeting rooms used to serve a carafe of water and glasses. Now everybody gets a bottle. So obviously they are competing.
guerrilla 4y ago
> The slippery slope is if bottled water is a con, aren’t all bottled and canned drinks a con? No, obviously not, because orange juice and sodas aren't don't come out of your tap. None of them are, as the article says, a "public resource [turned] into a private commodity.” Also, everyone knows you don't need juices but that you do need water, which is why one is a utility and the other is a luxury. The way that bottled water is a con is that it's packaging something you already have and don't need more of and in a not so environmentally-friendly way.
- MichaelZuo 4y ago
  Isn't the parent's point that we don't already have the safety, convenience, and quality of bottled water? Which is why the market demand exists? I do agree that a lot of municipal water sources taste really off.
  - guerrilla 4y ago
    As the article says "chances are that the water coming from your faucet is perfectly fine to drink (though there are, of course, some exceptions)", so if that was their point then they should have argued it explicitly.
    - quickthrower2 4y ago
      My point is bottled water (and water filtration systems) is not a con because it tastes better than tap water (in many places) and that has value to a lot of people.
      - dmix 4y ago
        100%, I don’t use wasteful bottles but my house has those large water jugs with a dispenser that we get refilled weekly and there is a very noticeable quality difference in taste (even noticeable when making fancy loose leaf tea). People who say tap water is exactly the same aren’t being entirely honest. They do the same thing and a lot of people don’t care about how it tastes but plenty do and aren’t always hurting the environment.
II2II 4y ago
> As a gourmet experience it is worth the money. Do I need it for survival? Not really. The point is that many people are convinced that tap water is unsafe, or at least that bottled water is safer. In most regions of most developed countries, that is untrue. Buying water as a gourmet experience is something different. > The slippery slope is if bottled water is a con, aren’t all bottled and canned drinks a con? To a degree, yes. There was a time when people used to carry around a thermos of coffee, much as people carry around their reusable water bottles today. People can buy significantly less expensive bulk packaged drinks or concentrates, then transfer it to reusable portable bottles.
scotty79 4y ago
> The slippery slope is if bottled water is a con, aren’t all bottled and canned drinks a con? I'm usually reluctant about the products that contain a lot of water. Mostly because I have cheap water at home already. Why would I buy and haul more water? So why would I buy a detergent gel if I can buy powder? Liquid soap if I can buy a bar?

gambiting 4y ago

How is that a slippery slope? Last time I checked coca cola and Fanta don't come out of the ground - Water does though. And tap water taste depends heavily on location.

massysett 4y ago
Opinion pieces like this one generally frame the choice as “bottled water” vs “water from tap.” For me, these don’t compete. I buy a bottle of water when I’m on the go and want a portable drink. There isn’t a faucet in my car, or in a park, or on the street. Indeed I know the bottle of water probably came from a faucet. If there weren’t bottled water I wouldn’t drink from the tap instead. I would buy a bottle of something less healthy, like Coke.
- oarsinsync 4y ago
  > There isn’t a faucet in my car, or in a park, or on the street. The town I grew up in had plenty of public faucets, in the town centre and in parks. This was a solved problem. Then the taps got removed and now we’ve all lost that choice. The city I live in now has plenty of public water fountains in malls though, so we’re moving back in the right direction.
  - Tempest1981 4y ago
    I remember people putting bubble-gum in the public drinking fountains. You're right, now I rarely see any.
  - leereeves 4y ago
    I remember the public faucets being disgusting. It was nice when bottled water became available everywhere and we didn't have to drink from them anymore.
    - autoexec 4y ago
      Yeah, even if the water is routinely tested and pure, and the fountain and its pipes are well maintained and not full of mold/bacteria/lead, public drinking fountains can be full of germs, especially the parts everyone has to touch. I'd rather carry a bit of water with me and not even have to worry about it.
- luckylion 4y ago
  And many people buy bottled water to drink at home, where there is tap water available. That's the choice they're talking about, not you choosing not to use the non-existant faucet in your car.
  - massysett 4y ago
    Flint, Michigan did way more than any evilcorp ever did to convince people to buy water to drink at home.
    - luckylion 4y ago
      Sure, but it's not a uniquely American thing. Lots of people in Germany buy bottled water to drink at home, and Germany's tap water is perfectly fine, under constant quality control, there are countless rules against pollution, tap water has to comply with stricter regulations than bottled water and therefore often is of higher quality etc etc, and has been for decades. Still, people buy bottled water.
      - gambiting 4y ago
        Same in Poland - my mum only buys bottle water even though her tap water is perfect fine to drink.
      - MandieD 4y ago
        My in-laws’ delicious tap water is from the Harz Mountains, and yet, they insist on serving a rather sulfuric, somewhat-carbonated bottled water. They have trouble believing that no, I honestly prefer their tap water.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
- tonmoy 4y ago
  But a significantly large portion of people in the US buy bottled water for daily consumption
  - ThunderSizzle 4y ago
    If that's what they want to spend their money on, whose to ridicule them? In the end, people always spend money on stupid things for irrational reasons. Regardless, my family avoided our w well water back up in NY since is reeked of sulfur and no fix ever worked.
    - ImPostingOnHN 4y ago
      those bottles represent multiple negative externalities that affect us: fossil fuels and co2 emissions to make the plastic, more to make it into a bottle, more to transport it, and finally pollution, when the bottles don't actually get recycled (either by the user or the recycling center)
- olsgaarddk 4y ago
  Weren't people on the go 50 years ago? This need for bottled water is relatively new. Some of us on HN lived at a time when the concept was absurd, others have grown up with bottled water. Meeting rooms used to serve a carafe of water and glasses. Now everybody gets a bottle. So obviously they are competing.

guerrilla 4y ago

> The slippery slope is if bottled water is a con, aren’t all bottled and canned drinks a con? No, obviously not, because orange juice and sodas aren't don't come out of your tap. None of them are, as the article says, a "public resource [turned] into a private commodity.” Also, everyone knows you don't need juices but that you do need water, which is why one is a utility and the other is a luxury. The way that bottled water is a con is that it's packaging something you already have and don't need more of and in a not so environmentally-friendly way.

MichaelZuo 4y ago
Isn't the parent's point that we don't already have the safety, convenience, and quality of bottled water? Which is why the market demand exists? I do agree that a lot of municipal water sources taste really off.
- guerrilla 4y ago
  As the article says "chances are that the water coming from your faucet is perfectly fine to drink (though there are, of course, some exceptions)", so if that was their point then they should have argued it explicitly.
  - quickthrower2 4y ago
    My point is bottled water (and water filtration systems) is not a con because it tastes better than tap water (in many places) and that has value to a lot of people.
    - dmix 4y ago
      100%, I don’t use wasteful bottles but my house has those large water jugs with a dispenser that we get refilled weekly and there is a very noticeable quality difference in taste (even noticeable when making fancy loose leaf tea). People who say tap water is exactly the same aren’t being entirely honest. They do the same thing and a lot of people don’t care about how it tastes but plenty do and aren’t always hurting the environment.

II2II 4y ago

> As a gourmet experience it is worth the money. Do I need it for survival? Not really. The point is that many people are convinced that tap water is unsafe, or at least that bottled water is safer. In most regions of most developed countries, that is untrue. Buying water as a gourmet experience is something different. > The slippery slope is if bottled water is a con, aren’t all bottled and canned drinks a con? To a degree, yes. There was a time when people used to carry around a thermos of coffee, much as people carry around their reusable water bottles today. People can buy significantly less expensive bulk packaged drinks or concentrates, then transfer it to reusable portable bottles.

scotty79 4y ago

> The slippery slope is if bottled water is a con, aren’t all bottled and canned drinks a con? I'm usually reluctant about the products that contain a lot of water. Mostly because I have cheap water at home already. Why would I buy and haul more water? So why would I buy a detergent gel if I can buy powder? Liquid soap if I can buy a bar?