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We know the importance of staying hydrated, especially in hot weather. But even for something as simple as a drink of water, conflicting advice and urban myths abound.

Is cold water really bad for your health? What about hot water from the tap? And what is “raw water”? Let’s dive in and find out.

Myth 1: Cold water is bad for you​

Some recent TikToks have suggested cold water causes health problems by somehow “contracting blood vessels” and “restricting digestion”. There is little evidence for this.

While a 2001 study found 51 out of 669 women tested (7.6%) got a headache after drinking cold water, most of them already suffered from migraines and the work hasn’t been repeated since.

Cold drinks were shown to cause discomfort in people with achalasia (a rare swallowing disorder) in 2012 but the study only had 12 participants.

For most people, the temperature you drink your water is down to personal preference and circumstances. Cold water after exercise in summer or hot water to relax in winter won’t make any difference to your overall health.

Myth 2: You shouldn’t drink hot tap water​

This belief has a grain of scientific truth behind it. Hot water is generally a better solvent than cold water, so may dissolve metals and minerals from pipes better. Hot water is also often stored in tanks and may be heated and cooled many times. Bacteria and other disease-causing microorganisms tend to grow better in warm water and can build up over time.

It’s better to fill your cup from the cold tap and get hot water for drinks from the kettle.

Hot or cold, so long as the water is treated it probably won’t affect your health. Shutterstock

Myth 3: Bottled water is better​

While bottled water might be safer in certain parts of the world due to pollution of source water, there is no real advantage to drinking bottled water in Australia and similar countries.

According to University of Queensland researchers, bottled water is not safer than tap water. It may even be tap water. Most people can’t tell the difference either. Bottled water usually costs (substantially) more than turning on the tap and is worse for the environment.

What about lead in tap water? This problem hit the headlines after a public health emergency in Flint, Michigan, in the United States. But Flint used lead pipes with a corrosion inhibitor (in this case orthophosphate) to keep lead from dissolving. Then the city switched water sources to one without a corrosion inhibitor. Lead levels rose and a public emergency was declared.

Fortunately, lead pipes haven’t been used in Australia since the 1930s. While lead might be present in some old plumbing products, it is unlikely to cause problems.

Myth 4: Raw water is naturally healthier​

Some people bypass bottled and tap water, going straight to the source.

The “raw water” trend emerged a few years ago, encouraging people to drink from rivers, streams and lakes. There is even a website to help you find a local source.

Supporters say our ancestors drank spring water, so we should, too. However, our ancestors also often died from dysentery and cholera and their life expectancy was low.

While it is true even highly treated drinking water can contain low levels of things like microplastics, unless you live somewhere very remote, the risks of drinking untreated water are far higher as it is more likely to contain pollutants from the surrounding area.

Myth 5: It’s OK to drink directly from hoses​

Tempting as it may be, it’s probably best not to drink from the hose when watering the plants. Water might have sat in there, in the warm sun for weeks or more potentially leading to bacterial buildup.

Similarly, while drinking water fountains are generally perfectly safe to use, they can contain a variety of bacteria. It’s useful (though not essential) to run them for a few seconds before you start to drink so as to get fresh water through the system rather than what might have been sat there for a while.

There is a tiny risk that hot water might come with some contaminants from pipes or tanks. Shutterstock

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We are fortunate to be able to take safe drinking water for granted. Billions of people around the world are not so lucky.

So whether you like it hot or cold, or somewhere in between, feel free to enjoy a glass of water this summer.

Just don’t drink it from the hose.

This article was first published on The Conversation, and was written by , Oliver A.H. Jones, Professor of chemistry, RMIT University

 

[MariaG]

OMG.
How many experts does it take to turn on a tap.?
Answer : enough to earn big grants for doing research on a whole lot of nothing.
If you were dying of thirst and came across a hose - do you drink from it or not. Duuuh.

 

[Marilynne]

OMG.
How many experts does it take to turn on a tap.?
Answer : enough to earn big grants for doing research on a whole lot of nothing.
If you were dying of thirst and came across a hose - do you drink from it or not. Duuuh.

Could not have put it better myself.

 

[Cyberchook]

OMG.
How many experts does it take to turn on a tap.?
Answer : enough to earn big grants for doing research on a whole lot of nothing.
If you were dying of thirst and came across a hose - do you drink from it or not. Duuuh.

We just ran it into the garden for a minute or so until cool then slurped it directly from the hose, sure it tasted rubbery but still living and drinking water from cold taps. I do run it for a short time first thing in the mornings using the water for other purposes, to hopefully pass any sediment of toxins that do settle in the pipes overnight. However, to run water from our kitchen tap for 2 minutes as the authorities say to, we would run us all dry soon enough in Australia!! We do need a government or smart entrepreneur who would invest in long water pipelines and many, many rainwater catchments everywhere to be useful for the growing population if nothing else. Water is life. Rainwater is free.
I think bottled water is a complete marketing bonanza and the plastic containers are worse for the environment. Interesting how the trend of carrying water in containers wherever a person goes is still common. When I was young (ahh that old saying !) we had taps & bubblers and never the need to carry our own!

 

[Gsr]

I really don’t know how I have managed to survive this long. When I was a kid in the sticks we drank water from dams, creeks and rivers, and at times from a well if our tank ran empty. When you are thirsty any water is better than none. no garden hoses back there. I have and still do drink out of the hose if I’m outside and really thirsty, just run it til the water is cold before I drink. Splash it in the air and onto the grass til cold. I like really icy cold water, even in winter, set ice in the bottom of drink bottles and top up with cold water from fridge each morning. Have a bottle of icy water next to the bed at night. I have 3 bottles in the freezer so when 1 gets too warm for me I put it back in freezer and get the next one out. I take 2 frozen bottles and 1 half frozen to work every day in hot weather, 1 frozen and 2 part frozen in cooler weather. Just use tap water.

 

[Ezzy]

l mostly only drink chilled water. Before going to bed at night, half fill a glass with tap water, place it in the fridge, remove it in the morning & top this up with tap water & drink the water with breakfast. After that the process is repeated over & over for the rest of the day. Chilled water in Summer is something l've been doing for years.

As stated above as a child, run the water through the hose until this is cool then drink. The alternative was to disconnect the hose from the tap & run the water into cupped hands & drink.

 

[Catherines]

I have never had a drink from a water fountain ( bubbler) as I have seen, many, many times, people putting their mouths onto the actual outlet of a drinking fountain.