Most common questions used to investigate
Is your water cloudy?
Do your hands feel slimy after washing it in a tap?
Does the water have a yellow, brown, or orange tinge?
Does your water smell like bleach or rotten eggs?
Do you feel a funny taste or smell or have you become sick in the last few days?
Do you use a filter?
Common conclusions
Drinking water should be clear with no odor and one good rule of thumb is to put it in a glass container and leave it aside for a couple of seconds. Is the water clear or cloudy? If the water is clear, you can trust your tap water. On the other hand, if the water is cloudy, it could indicate the presence of pathogens or chemicals that may be dangerous or allergic.
If your hands feel slimy, it could mean that the water is hard due to the presence of substances like calcium and magnesium in large quantities. Though these substances are not dangerous to ingest, there is always a possibility that it could contain more dangerous substances like lead and aluminum. For these reasons, if the water is hard, boil and cool before you drink it.
Pure drinking water is colorless and clear. If it has a yellow, brown, or orange tinge, it could indicate the presence of chromium, a cancer-causing chemical. Also, it could mean the presence of copper, tin, and other substances that have side-effects when consumed in large quantities. That said, check if the tinge occurs only when you run the cold water as this could mean that your utility company is cleaning its pipes. Check if you got any notification in this regard and the utility company has to inform you before they clean their pipes.
It is a common practice to add chlorine to the water to kill germs and other microorganisms that are known to be dangerous to your health. However, if it mixes with other organic compounds, it could have serious repercussions on your health. Also, excess chlorine is not good and this is best indicated by a bleach smell in the water. Likewise, the smell of rotten eggs can be due to the presence of a chemical called hydrogen sulphide that is known to cause diarrhea.
If you have answered yes to any of the above questions, it could indicate the presence of nitrates and other compounds that are not visible to the eyes, but are mixed with the water and can have a serious impact on your health. In such a case, it's a good idea to reach out to the utility company or read its latest water quality reports, so you can take action accordingly.
Though you should be able to trust the quality of water in most developed countries, it still helps to have a reverse osmosis system or a filter on the taps from which you drink water. If those sound too much, simply boil, cool the water, and drink it.
It is a good safety precaution, especially if you're concerned about the quality of water coming from the taps.
References
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