Wolfgang Barth

Joe Schmoe schrieb:
    > Can anyone comment on whether the drinking water in southern Germany
    > is very pure, and are there companies there that deliver purified or
    > distilled water to residential homes?
    >
Delivery of purified water to residential homes is done via pipes.
Delivery of normal drinking water via bottles is unknown here.

Some people use additional "water filters", which tend to be full of
bacteria. They can contaminate the water if not used with high care.

For steam irons use "demineralized water" which doesn't taste well.
Get it in shops or pharmacies.

For chemical purposes you can buy "bi-distilled water" at the pharmacy.
This is not intended for drinking.

Buy bottles of so called "spring water" like Evian ... in shops. The
quality (concerning bacteria) of this water is often poor compared to
tap water. Use of it is nonsense if you have a home with a tap.

Buy bottles of "mineral water" like Gerolsteiner, Selters ... in shops
or restaurants. In most cases the quality of this water is very good and
the taste also is very good but varying because of different minerals.

For baby nutrition use tap water. I you want to be 100% sure that there
are no bacteria: cook it before use and bottle it hot.

Wolfgang

David Horne

Hatunen <[email protected]> wrote:

    > On Wed, 04 Aug 2004 09:14:43 -0700,
    > "EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)" <[email protected]> wrote:
    >
    > >
    > >
    > >Joe Schmoe wrote:
    > >
    > >> Can anyone comment on whether the drinking water in southern Germany
    > >> is very pure, and are there companies there that deliver purified or
    > >> distilled water to residential homes?
    > >
    > >Huh? Use your brain - Germany is NOT exactly a "third world" country!
    > >The rest of the world does not share our American obsession with
    > >"designer" water, and SFAIK tap water in most of Western Europe is
    > >probably more potable than our own.
    >
    > Eh? "American obsession"? It's Europe that has the bottled water
    > onsession.

I visited a UK primary school a few years ago, which sticks in my mind
because every child seemed to have a bottle of evian or something (none
of the cheaper brands, of which there are plenty!) on their desks.
Apparently, the school had a policy of allowing the kids to have bottled
water during class. Whatever, it was obvious that the bottles had
already grown into 'accessories', but schools being what they are, no
doubt the phase has passed now, and they're onto something else, like
cutting off half their school-ties!

David

--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk

Joe Schmoe

On Thu, 05 Aug 2004 00:03:53 +0200, Wolfgang Barth
<[email protected]> wrote:

    >Joe Schmoe schrieb:
    >> Can anyone comment on whether the drinking water in southern Germany
    >> is very pure, and are there companies there that deliver purified or
    >> distilled water to residential homes?
    >>
    >Delivery of purified water to residential homes is done via pipes.
    >Delivery of normal drinking water via bottles is unknown here.
    >Some people use additional "water filters", which tend to be full of
    >bacteria. They can contaminate the water if not used with high care.
    >For steam irons use "demineralized water" which doesn't taste well.
    >Get it in shops or pharmacies.
    >For chemical purposes you can buy "bi-distilled water" at the pharmacy.
    >This is not intended for drinking.
    >Buy bottles of so called "spring water" like Evian ... in shops. The
    >quality (concerning bacteria) of this water is often poor compared to
    >tap water. Use of it is nonsense if you have a home with a tap.
    >Buy bottles of "mineral water" like Gerolsteiner, Selters ... in shops
    >or restaurants. In most cases the quality of this water is very good and
    >the taste also is very good but varying because of different minerals.
    >For baby nutrition use tap water. I you want to be 100% sure that there
    >are no bacteria: cook it before use and bottle it hot.
    >Wolfgang

FINALLY!! Thank you Wolfgang, for a straight-forward answer to my
question. Not only that, but a very informative one...I really do
appreciate it!

Some responses felt they had to know the reason for the question
before they could come forth with an answer...not quite sure I
understand that logic, but most have also been very helpful responses.

I live in the Caribbean and it is almost common sense here to have 5
gallon bottles of drinking water delivered. Nobody would, or should
trust the tap water here. Sounds like Germany is very concientious
about quality and now, I am looking even more forward to my move
there. Thanks again!

Miguel Cruz

poldy <[email protected]> wrote:
    > "Martin Stock" <[email protected]> wrote:
    >> distilled water??? H2O Are your sure. Only available for technical
    >> purposes. Cannot be found in in the food department. Dangerous to drink
    >> as the body will loose important minerals. Even for adults. Thus as long
    >> it's not written on the milk-formula that it should be made with
    >> distilled water: don't use it
    > I have a distiller and I've been drinking it for years. Isn't food the
    > source of nutrients?

It's the major source, yes, but pure water is a powerful solvent and likes
to absorb them.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu

Karl S

On Wed, 04 Aug 2004 12:30:06 -0600, Hatunen <[email protected]> wrote:


    >But many locations in Europe, as in the USA have reprocessed
    >river water from the likes of the Rhein ............

Have they installed portable toilets for the Rhein Maidens, or do they
still do their business right in the river?

EvelynVogtGamble

poldy wrote:

    > In article <[email protected]>,
    > "Martin Stock" <[email protected]> wrote:
    >
    >
    >>distilled water??? H2O
    >>Are your sure. Only available for technical purposes. Cannot be found in in
    >>the food department.
    >>Dangerous to drink as the body will loose important minerals. Even for
    >>adults.
    >>Thus as long it's not written on the milk-formula that it should be made
    >>with distilled water: don't use it
    >
    >
    > I have a distiller and I've been drinking it for years. Isn't food the
    > source of nutrients?

But "normal" water also contains electrolytes (whatever they are -
something needed for optimum health, anyway) and various minerals you
don't always get from your food.

EvelynVogtGamble

Hatunen wrote:

    > On Wed, 04 Aug 2004 09:14:43 -0700,
    > "EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)" <[email protected]> wrote:
    >
    >
    >>Joe Schmoe wrote:
    >>>Can anyone comment on whether the drinking water in southern Germany
    >>>is very pure, and are there companies there that deliver purified or
    >>>distilled water to residential homes?
    >>Huh? Use your brain - Germany is NOT exactly a "third world" country!
    >>The rest of the world does not share our American obsession with
    >>"designer" water, and SFAIK tap water in most of Western Europe is
    >>probably more potable than our own.
    >
    >
    > Eh? "American obsession"? It's Europe that has the bottled water
    > onsession. If you want tap water in a restaurant you have to make
    > it clear that's what you want or you'll end up with a pricey
    > bottle of Evian or Perrier on your table. In the USA if you ask
    > for water in a restaurant you'll get tap water unless you make it
    > clear you want bottled water.

That's RESTAURANTS - they make money from the bottled stuff - although
I've eaten in a great many European restaurants where, if asked for
water, they ASKED whether I wanted mineral water, before they brought
it. (Especially in Vienna, where the tap-water IS "spring water".)

Nightjar

"devil" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
    > On Tue, 03 Aug 2004 23:51:59 +0000, Charles Hawtrey wrote:
    > > True enough. But there are lots of people in the US (and Europe) who
    > > drink bottled or filtered water for one reason or another, leaving the
    > > original poster's question open.
    > Marketing, mostly.

Bottles are easily chilled in the fridge and I prefer the taste of a lightly
mineralised naturally carbonated water, like St Pellegrino or Badoit.

    > Typically, tap water is safer than bottled water.

In what way safer? It is usually said that bottled water is likely to have
higher bacteria counts than tap water. However, whether that is a hazard or
not depends on what the bacteria are. It is also something of a myth. At my
factory in England, I have to take regular samples of the tap water and send
them away for bio-burden analysis. If you run the water for a full minute
before taking the sample, the bio contamination level is low. If, however,
you take a sample directly from the tap, when the water has been standing in
the pipes for any length of time, the bio-burden can be tens of thousands of
times higher. Tap water can be lower in bacteria, but, in practice, it
probably is not, the way most people use it.

Colin Bignell

David

Wolfgang Barth <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
    > Joe Schmoe schrieb:
    > > Can anyone comment on whether the drinking water in southern Germany
    > > is very pure, and are there companies there that deliver purified or
    > > distilled water to residential homes?
    > >
    > Delivery of purified water to residential homes is done via pipes.
    > Delivery of normal drinking water via bottles is unknown here.
    >
    > Some people use additional "water filters", which tend to be full of
    > bacteria. They can contaminate the water if not used with high care.
    >
    > For steam irons use "demineralized water" which doesn't taste well.
    > Get it in shops or pharmacies.
    >
    > For chemical purposes you can buy "bi-distilled water" at the pharmacy.
    > This is not intended for drinking.
    >
    > Buy bottles of so called "spring water" like Evian ... in shops. The
    > quality (concerning bacteria) of this water is often poor compared to
    > tap water. Use of it is nonsense if you have a home with a tap.
    >
    > Buy bottles of "mineral water" like Gerolsteiner, Selters ... in shops
    > or restaurants. In most cases the quality of this water is very good and
    > the taste also is very good but varying because of different minerals.
    >
    > For baby nutrition use tap water. I you want to be 100% sure that there
    > are no bacteria: cook it before use and bottle it hot.
    >
    > Wolfgang

On a purely anecdotal basis, people in mainland Europe seem to drink a
lot more bottled water than in the UK. Getränkmarkts are warehouse
kind of affairs where you buy the stuff by the crate. In the UK,
people buy mineral water in standard food supermarkets an AFAIK in
much lower quantites. I dont think this is a reflection the tap water
quality though.

Dave

A.N.Other

On Thu, 5 Aug 2004, Wolfgang Barth wrote:

    >Some people use additional "water filters", which tend to be full of
    >bacteria. They can contaminate the water if not used with high care.


Interesting. A serious question: I recently started using a water filter
(a Brita, of German origina I believe), mainly to remove e.g. Chlorine
which is good at killing germs, but not so good for human consumption.

What is the problem with filters?
(lack of Chlorine! :-) ?).

What does "high care" imply? Just changing the filter element at the
correct interval, or something else. The instructions didn't say anything
about bacteria :-) It did say you should not keep filtered water in them
for a long time, i.e. filter and use right away.



--
[email protected]
(in the UK)

Owain

"David Horne" wrote
    | I visited a UK primary school a few years ago, which sticks
    | in my mind because every child seemed to have a bottle of
    | evian or something (none of the cheaper brands, of which
    | there are plenty!) on their desks.
    | Apparently, the school had a policy of allowing the kids to
    | have bottled water during class.

In my primary school we had drinking fountains (in the loos, which perhaps
wasn't the most hygienic place).

Children have to have their own individual bottles of water because of the
"risk" of contamination if a child uses a shared bottle or mug, or if the
school's water supply failed in any way.

A nice comment in The Times about the government's recent "Preparing for
Emergencies" leaflet (which suggests having a standby of ready-to-eat food
and bottled water) observed that most young people live on survival rations
of packaged drinks and sports nutrition bars anyway.

Owain

Devil

On Thu, 05 Aug 2004 08:32:07 +0100, nightjar wrote:

    >
    > "devil" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news[email protected]...
    >> On Tue, 03 Aug 2004 23:51:59 +0000, Charles Hawtrey wrote:
    >> > True enough. But there are lots of people in the US (and Europe) who
    >> > drink bottled or filtered water for one reason or another, leaving the
    >> > original poster's question open.
    >> Marketing, mostly.
    >
    > Bottles are easily chilled in the fridge and I prefer the taste of a lightly
    > mineralised naturally carbonated water, like St Pellegrino or Badoit.

So do I; that's a taste issue. Still, a good chunk of bottled water
that's sold is just plain still flat water.

    >> Typically, tap water is safer than bottled water.
    >
    > In what way safer? It is usually said that bottled water is likely to
    > have higher bacteria counts than tap water. However, whether that is a
    > hazard or not depends on what the bacteria are. It is also something of
    > a myth. At my factory in England, I have to take regular samples of the
    > tap water and send them away for bio-burden analysis. If you run the
    > water for a full minute before taking the sample, the bio contamination
    > level is low. If, however, you take a sample directly from the tap, when
    > the water has been standing in the pipes for any length of time, the
    > bio-burden can be tens of thousands of times higher. Tap water can be
    > lower in bacteria, but, in practice, it probably is not, the way most
    > people use it.


Point about letting tap water flow for a while before taking some is
well-taken. On the bottled war side though, you have little control and
little knowledge on how it was handled and kept, and for how long.

EvelynVogtGamble

Karl S wrote:

    > On Wed, 04 Aug 2004 12:30:06 -0600, Hatunen <[email protected]> wrote:
    >
    >
    >
    >>But many locations in Europe, as in the USA have reprocessed
    >>river water from the likes of the Rhein ............
    >
    >
    > Have they installed portable toilets for the Rhein Maidens, or do they
    > still do their business right in the river?

Good question! Do mythical beings have the same biological functions as
merely mortal ones?

Mimi

"EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > > Nils Zonneveld wrote:
    > > >
    > > Why would you want to drink distilled water?
    > He needs it for his portable steam-iron? (I think it's just another
    > troll - please do not feed.)

My husband uses distilled water in his CPAP (sleep apnea) machine. We have
to search out a local source when we arrive in Europe.

Marianne

Tim Challenger

On Thu, 05 Aug 2004 16:18:29 GMT, Mimi wrote:

    > "EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    >>> Nils Zonneveld wrote:
    >>> >
    >>> Why would you want to drink distilled water?
    >> He needs it for his portable steam-iron? (I think it's just another
    >> troll - please do not feed.)
    >
    > My husband uses distilled water in his CPAP (sleep apnea) machine. We have
    > to search out a local source when we arrive in Europe.
    >
    > Marianne

Distilled water you can get in most petrol stations or hardware stores or
some supermarkets (in the household goods section with the laundry/cleaning
stuff). Try also the drugstores.
--
Tim C.