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Kuwait

Do you drink the tap water?

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I was having a debate with someone in the blogs Community regarding the safety of drinking Kuwait’s tap water. I personally don’t think it’s safe to drink and I can say that with full confidence based on the color of the filter that’s attached to my washing machine.

Is there anybody here who drinks water straight out of the tap without running it through some soft of filtering process?

Update: More information on this subject [Here]

72 replies on “Do you drink the tap water?”

Nope. Never did, and never will.

Drinking it out of the filter is ok though, but I haven’t done that in a while.

Never! Don’t even think about it, I have even attached filter with my shower, so how I can take risk to drink this

What are you drinking then? Is your entire daily supply of water coming out of plastic bottles? What makes you think that’s safer?

No, he says he doesn’t use a filter so I’m assuming he only gets his water from bottles. Plastic bottles are pretty iffy sources of safe water themselves. Using a filter for tap water is probably safer.

My question was directed to you, if you don’t think bottled water is safer what are you drinking then? tap water? Do you reject bottles at restaurant and ask for tap water instead?

At home I drink filtered water over bottled water. At restaurants you don’t really have a choice but if they use ice it’s tap water anyway.

tbh this subject took me a lot of research and no clear cut answer (ever since I saw your topic about life style in Kuwait leading to lower testosterone effects).. filtered tap water is considered healthier for the minerals it contains but then again not all tap water supplies around the world are equal..

Plastic bottles contain toxins which eventually get released after sometime or heating/cooling exposure.

Sadly I’m sticking to volvic because their bottles are 20% plant based, with no evidence that it’s any better :/

That’s actually exactly what I do. My family and I only drink from water bottles. We order boxes of them every month. It’s great, and I don’t need to worry. Doesn’t cost a lot either.

I know people who have been drinking water directly from the tap without filter for the past 30 years, and they are still alive.

I am exactly like Nasser.

1. I don’t think it is safe to drink it directly without a filter.

2. I used to drink tap water after filtering.

3. It is been a while for me since the last time I had some tap water.

Also I clicked the link and you mention in the thread that Aquafina etc. go through a strict filtration process. So does desalinated water!

I don’t understand the aim of your comments here, do you drink unfiltered tap water in Kuwait? My guess is you don’t so what are you trying to say?

i work at ( water resources development center ) which is under the ministry of water and electricity ,, and i assure you that the tap water is MUCH safer than lots of bottled water ,, we take up to 3000 samples a month .. from varies points on the water pipes network all over Kuwait ,, from abdali to al zoor .. we take them from hospitals – schools and other gov. buildings .. also from the all the water reservoirs and compounds .. we test them in the lab. ,,, i myself work in the lab. ( microbiologest ) and i sure want clean safe water for my family ,, let alone the whole country ,,, what you see in the filters is caused by your building pipes and tanks ,, the government is responsible just to your door step ,,, other than that it’s your problem ,, if you want a visit to our lap to see what we test ,, how we test ,, and the result ,, you can contact me ,, our lab is located in shuwaikh ..
we really do have clean tap water !! there’s these vid. circling around in whatsapp of a guy using a filter and shows you that the water turn black without his filter and stuff ,, it’s a SCAM !! we brought him to the lab ,,, made him show us ,, and we discovered his scam .. he ended up crying and saying he want to feed his children and stuff …. be aware ppl !

Hey, two things
1) I’d love to visit the lab
2) If the weater is safe and perfectly healthy then the governments should be responsible to make sure it reaches the residents. So if buildings are the reason for the water being unsafe then the buildings should be fined and have the problem sorted.

Anyway going to email you now.

@sinful_eyes-thanks for the information which you shared with us. keep up the good work and kudos to the MEW and the whole team.

Claims of bottled water being unsafe are mostly bogus. No viable research in Kuwait has been done to back such claims. The only unsafe practice I can really think of is the plastic itself…never drink from plastic bottled water if it’s been basking and banana-boating in the sun for too long. Plastic is a chemical and not the good kind. But back to hydration:

I don’t know about Aquafina or Dasani who have both been in the talks in the past but I can definitely speak for Abraj. I walked around their facility and let me tell you, these guys know what they’re doing. The water that is already desalinated and had the hell filtered out of it by the MEW is filtered again; its run through reverse osmosis filters (the same with Dasani and Aquafina), then the water is stripped of everything and is distilled. Gases are however rebubbled into the water and a blend of imported salts and minerals are then mixed into the water and it is this procedure that gives it the replenishing thirst-quenching watery “flavor” (yes water has a flavor).

Basically what I am trying to say is filtering already clean water from MEW is only good if you have a good set of filters. Not filter…filters with an S. You need a really good multi-stage filter.

MEW water is not bad but what’s their composition? What’s the pH reading on their water? Chlorine? Fluoride? etc.

I don’t drink directly from the tap if it is not filtered. I use the standard filter which is fine. The wife uses the same water for cooking/boiling etc… as well.

I don’t use the tap water for anything except washing dishes. The filtered water is ok for boiling/cooking but for drinking I only use bottled.

From tap water after being filtered. The water here is safe and has been since my childhood. The only issue is the amount of sand/sediment flowing through the pipes which requires a filter.

Yes, having for past 20 years, with simple single candle water filter, after boiling.

In Kuwait Tap water is good quality compared to other gulf countries. The problem is with the overhead tanks and pipes that makes your filters look red with rust and calcium deposits. This can be removed with use of simple 1candle or 2candle filters.

Over head tanks are fiberglass…fiber glass has resin/epoxy…you don’t want that stuff in your water.

Make sure you have a good set of filters.

The desalination process might give out pure water, but the real issue are the pipes that are used to transport the water. They have been corroding over time, and contaminate the water. Even after filtering it, it is basically close to distilled water. However you may not notice, some minerals are required in your daily water intake, so drinking bottled water would be your best bet either way.

Not from the tap directly
Kuwait Tap water is good quality compared to other countries. But The problem is with the overhead tanks and pipes at our homes and buildings (( are they air tight, clean ??) dirt from the air get into these tanks and that is what makes your filters look red with rust and calcium deposits. A simple 1 candle or 2 candle filters will do the job.

DON’T FORGET BOTTLE WATER AND FILTRATION EQUIPMENT ARE BIG BUSINESS ALL AROUND THE WORLD

I would never drink water straight from the tap. Never..or even drink boiled tap water. Yuk!

I do have one of those ceramic filters to filter the water I cook with.

Years ago, a dentist friend of mine warned me not to drink even filtered water in Kuwait. She said that she sees an unprecedented number of oral cancers and tumors in the mouths of her patients. And she worked at a gov’t clinic. And although there have never been any studies, she believed that one day the water would be linked to oral cancers.

That was enough for me to hear. And we only drink bottled water.

I did drink the water here (filtered) for my first year in Kuwait because I did not know any better. And it tastes really bad and water is supposed to be tasteless.

Last, but not least, one of my husband’s clients works at the desalination plant. And he said that if my husband saw the water coming in to be cleaned that he would not even use it in the bathroom. The same guy has boxes of water delivered to his house and bathes exclusively with bottled water.

What? Bathes exclusively with bottled water? How does he heat it up? Or does he have someone pour the cold bottled water over him while he lathers himself up? Sounds like a fantasy being re-enacted there.

Uh you think the fact that the population starts smoking when they’re like 10 years old might have something to do with oral cancer

Oral cancer is – dare I say it – more likely to be linked to the high levels of smoking / exposure to second-hand smoke in Kuwait.

A lot of bottled water is just filtered tap water.

I keep my water in glass bottles filled from the tap (yes with a filter). The fact that people here buy so much bottled water makes me cringe. Such a waste.

people dont have any issue drinking alcohol/beer/cola’s. But when it comes to water they will drink only filtered water. I dont think there is any issue with kuwait water. It is absolutely suitable for drinking.

That’s becAuse alcohol, beer and soft drinks don’t use water that’s not suitable for drinking. No one is saying water is unhealthy for you, we’re discussing the fact if water straight out of the tap is harmful or not.

NEVA!!!!!! Even when my children were infants I boiled Masafi water for their bottles. THANK GOD! Masafi is back in the market after the rift was rendered between the Kuwaiti agent and Masafi. During the lull, I cooked with Evian and that was expensive. YES, I even cook, wash my vegetables in mineral water that is imported from outside Kuwait. Kuwaiti water whether it is filtered, bottled as mineral water is toxic. Wake up people!

There is absolutely nothing wrong with tap water, the only issue is with the actual pipes that the building uses (and that’s quite rare, and is caused by the carelessness of the owner, not the govt). I use it for cooking without a second thought.

I don’t drink tap water, that doesn’t mean that it’s not safe or bad, just that bottled water is simply better. After reading your debate, I think that this is point that you failed to understand, Mark.
This applies to ME all around the world, not just Kuwait.

My question wasn’t which is better because obviously bottled water is better. My question was if tap water is safe to drink unfiltered and based on the responses here and from my experience no it’s not.

Well, first, it really depends on the building’s pipes. Second, to absolutely end your doubt, I recommend having your personal tap water fully tested. By an unbiased person, who doesn’t mind being proven wrong 😉

LOL!!!! Well I would like to meet you someday, worth it :p

And btw your question was: “do you drink the tap water?” Look at the title 🙂

btw, read the post: “Is there anybody here who drinks water straight out of the tap without running it through some soft of filtering process?”

So you had 3 questions…
“Is there anybody here who drinks water straight out of the tap without running it through some soft of filtering process?” And is it safe?
Do you drink the tap water?

And I answered them all, hope it helps 😉

I generally avoid to drink tap water,unless is passed through a filtration system. And by that mean a full filtration. The ceramic filters or regular filters are for sediments only, that’s the redish dark stuff that clogs the filters quite fast. Most of it comes from the water tanks of the building or underground pipes. What this filters can’t stop is the chlorine, bromine or any salts of metals like mercury. I know for sure that chlorine levels are kept very high to disinfect the water.
Bottled local water is just tap water passed usually through RO filters and remineralized. Safe to drink.
I prefer to drink spring water bottled outside Kuwait Although no one here takes into consideration how the water bottles are stored until they reach to you. Totally improper ,most of the time in direct sunlight. So if you think that Evan bottle comes from the spring to your table, think again. It might very well be a batch that spent a month in a store at 40 degrees.
What other choices do we have!?

I don’t think people here have the expertise to answer your question on water safety.

Having said that, I drink bottled water, I cook with tap water going through a simple filter that removes sediments. Sometimes I drink this water if I run out of bottled water. It’s warm and has a slight dusty taste.

I avoid buying imported bottled water. Transporting bottled water is a big energy waste.

I should have been more clear. My dentist friend had already determined they were NOT smokers. She had to refer them to an oncologist and was privy to their medical details regarding smoking, etc.

And its not bullshit. The guy drives a Lamborghini and probably does bathe with Evian. He said he has boxes of bottled water delivered to his home and stored them in the bathroom. Who knows…he might also be OCD!

I also don’t think it is very difficult to use bottled mineral water for bathing. I’ve run out of water enough times in Kuwait….mid-shower…to have mastered this skill. duh.

I fill up tap water in bottels I forgot what brand but has filter in the cap it self and refrigerate .. But thats just me

Tap water in Kuwait is just fine stop being superficial they unfortunately eat all sorts of junk everyday by the end of the day wont drink tap water because its not pure?
I drink tap water directly from the tap however I invested in a good filter system its better than any imported botteled water out there
Importing botteled water is stupid period.

Thanks all if you for this info. It’s been on my mind fir all the above mentioned reasons. A friend of mine has a water system that goes through many processes of filtration. Unfortunately though I still don’t know what to do, am fed up! What do I do?????? Help!???? Can’t decide. In sooooo glad that you write on this Mark as have waiting fir you to do so especially since the Masafi shit. Volvic tastes great!!! When I was pregnant, Aquafina made me sick!!!! A pregnant woman’s taste buds don’t lie! Thank you for the info! Peace

your not gonna die if u drink from tap without filter… plus i trust tap water with filter more than bottle water, atleast i used to work in power station, and i know its good.

Am new in Kuwait what brought me to this site is ever since I came my body has been having strange reaction burnt like marks on my body itching me and in between my fingers all sore and very painful.
For the past two days I can’t sleep or do anything whether I bath or not when I bath is worse all my body is seriously itching me please can someone help what is wrong.Thank you I wait for your response.

not sure but the weather changes here hit us quite severely (sinus/flues), try visiting a dermatologist its probably a skin problem that I’ve seen quite often here.

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