We have a water softener in the garage as our (Thames) water is very hard and would otherwise clog all pipes with limescale in short order.
It does make tapwater a bit tasteless but losing the limescale is worth it. We have one of those Quooker “instant hot water” tap things and the installer initially connected it to the direct mains supply - it completely furred up its storage tank in 12 months - not just a coating but virtually solid with limescale - fortunately they replaced it under warranty, but since then all water goes through the softener.
Isn’t it just? I lived in central London for 25 years. It was only when I could afford a place to buy rather than rent that I was able to have a shower and have done with the awful biz of sitting in the bath surrounded by a layer of soapy scum.
Tho’ the first shower I DIY’d I made a tiny pinhole in the hot water pipe to the mixer. “Nae bother”, I thought, “in a few days that hole will be sealed by limescale and stop the leak”
Translation of an explanation from my pal during this evening’s stroll.
If one comes across a tap marked “non-potable”, or even a natural source, bubbling/cascading gently with a nearby sign saying “non-potable” one would be best advised not to drink from it.
Unless one is prepared to suffer a dicky-tummy or perhaps worse.
Of course, it’s a gamble and there will be those who regularly drink from such outlets, with no ill effect and there will be those who are not so lucky.
“Drinking water” (potable) is carefully checked/monitored/whatever to ensure it meets the necessary levels to be considered “Safe to drink”.
Non-potable can come from almost anywhere. Might be contaminated with pesticides or animal faeces etc as it trickles through the countryside.
Might be contaminated with almost anything if it is recycled from the carwash or similar.
Might not be contaminated one day and contaminated the next. As I say, it’s a gamble which those in charge are not prepared to hide. Thus they warn people.
EDIT: my walking pal drinks volvic, never from a tap of any sort. I was telling her of the increase in TVA but she just shrugged and said tap water didn’t agree with her.
As a child in Scotland I was told to look upstream before drinking out of a burn in case there was a dead sheep in it. Presumably bugs from out-of-sight dead sheep would have no effect.
The only natural water chez moi on the coast of SE France was salt or brackish so no thought of drinking it would cross anyone’s mind.
Our local water’s OK, but my wife will only drink Badoit (which I admit is very nice). However as a child she contracted bilharzia, so I reckon she has an excuse. In SA I’d only drink tap water in winter, because in summer it came from the Great Fish River, and as you might expect, tasted rather fishy.
Those in charge are not prepared to pay for testing!
When I was a kid there were drinking water fountains everywhere in France - basically one drank the water unless it said you couldn’t. And sometimes avoided tap water!
But now it is the reverse, everything is non-potable unless has been through the testing to mark it potable. Apart from the brave places that have left it to us and used non-surveillée.
good grief, our local council has ensured that all homes have drinking water supply available, but they can’t take responsibility for natural water which comes bubbling up, from wherever, across the commune.
I know at least one family which does not use the “official” supply. They choose to use their own well-water (the well being on their land) and they have had that water tested to ensure its potability. They arranged the test and they paid for it themselves, so no costs to the council/commune.
The Laverie is still gushing water, gently, from a natural source somewhere deep in the hillside. Marked as non-potable, the water is available for anyone who wishes to take it. In very dry weather, I have seen a few people with bidons… it’s free to all.
You misunderstand the point. Previously there were many more public fontaines that were tested and potable, and well used by walkers for example. Over the years the numbers has reduced and they are generally all marked non potable merely because the commune won’t pay for testing. The actual water is often the same water that the commune draws on for delivering to households.
Here in my region, there are official Water Companies who supply Drinking Water. The water they supply to the Public is tested and treated before being deemed “fit for consumption” and meets specific levels of this and that. That water goes along pipework to the taps of every house etc.
There are also water springs, fountains and all sorts of things which come straight from the earth/rocks/whatever. Such water is a gift of nature…
Our water is from a source above the village that is treated and piped to houses. It is the same source that supplies the lavoir and the fountain. It is our marie that takes responsibility for the water.
In the US over the years there has been reports of contamination in public water systems. I would say it’s not to be taken for grsnted everywhere has safe public water.
The tap water in my French house has a very slight ‘taste’ to it, very slightly ‘medicinal’ - probably from something that is used by the water company to make it safe to drink. Like others, I initially bought bottled water but was alarmed at the amount of plastic waste I was generating. I bought a jug filter (the Phox brand) which seems to remove the aforementioned taste. During the summer I kept it in the fridge so that I had ice-cold water available when I needed a refreshing drink on those warm days.
