Posted by
pg2006
20 yrs ago
Hi,
I've just moved from Spore, where you can basically just drink tap water, its clean enough. I understand this is not the case in HK, so how do most pple obtain drinking water? Talking to some of my colleagues here, it looks like boiling water to purify it is a popular option but that seems quite tiresome. Do most of you buy drinking water? Any recommendations on water good filters/purifiers? Thanks!
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Info on water quality varies alot. If you want bottled water consider having it delivered by Wellcome or Park n Shop because it is so heavy. If you live in a relatively new building you can drink it out of the tap. My understanding is that the water supply in most cases is fine to drink but if you are in an old building then the pipes are often a problem and contaminate the water making it unsuitable for drinking.
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I've been drinking bottled water so far, but not sure if i'm just being paranoid. My building is about 12 yrs old, is that considered relatively new by HK standards?
Fasan, what filter do you use when you drink filtered tap water?
Thanks!
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I wouldn't just boil the water- that leaves any metals in the water there. Hong Kong does not treat its water to the level where it can be drank from the tap. Both bottling and filtering would likely work, but would be a hassle to always do both.
Personally, I live near Tai Po, and just buy about 9-12 bottles of different liquids a week (milk, juice, pop, iced tea), and still only spend on average about $200 a week on groceries, which I don't think is too bad, and it's not hard at all to carry all of my groceries in a backpack on the bus. Mind you, if you have a family, I suppose you may feel differently!
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The water that leaves the treatment plant meets WHO standards, whether YOU feel these standards are high enough especially regarding chemicals (bacterial contaminents is not generally an issue in HK) is subjective. Note however that the water can pick up 'bits' ie from old pipes or from a water tank on its way to your home & in theory could also be contaminated by bacteria in certain circumstances. A filter in itself may cause problems if not cleaned or changed as per manufacturers instructions and what does it actually filter out? And distilled water may not be too good for you as it lacks minerals whilst mineral water has sometimes been found contaminated (remember Perrier in 1990 or so?). So make your choice....
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thanks for all advice. I went down to Fortress and looked at the Philips filter. They have something that looks quite decent - $398 for a 4 stage filter. I'll probably buy it just for my peace of mind!
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Hi there again. Re: my first post- had a bit of a brain cramp this morning- I was thinking of how HK treats its waste water (teaches me not to type before a morning caffeine fix!). According to the HK government websites, the tapwater is drinkable, but HK government information is not always trustworthy. It may technically be OK to drink the water here, but I remember very clearly how shocked my students were when I mentioned how it was fine to drink the water in Canada, so I somehow doubt many residents here trust the HK government's word!
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