# Price of water

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-of-water/646118>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [January 5, 2013, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-of-water/646118 "2013-01-05T00:10:41Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![phall0106](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phall0106/32/5934_2.png) [@phall0106](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phall0106)\
**Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-of-water/646118/61 "2013-01-07T01:55:26Z")

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> [@panache45](#):
>
> The difference, though, is that the tap water in my house tastes like chemicals (even if I filter it), while the bottled water tastes like . . . water. But at least I buy it by the gallon, not the pint.

When I first move into the house I bought (nearly three years ago), the water was horrible. Nasty taste to it–even the filter on the ice-maker and the Britta filter couldn’t make it better. This summer, before they tore up and redid the main road in my town, they relaid some of the waterlines. Suddenly the water is MUCH better. No weird taste, no icky smell.

God only knows what was in those pipes to make it taste like it did.:dubious:

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**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\
**Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-of-water/646118/62 "2013-01-07T02:40:57Z")

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There’s also a long list of [universities](http://www.banthebottle.net/articles/updatethe-newest-colleges-and-universities-to-ban-the-bottle/) that have banned single-use water bottles, including the one I live right next to. Are they all just crazy, or are they onto something? Plus the first municipality to ban them, [Concord Massachusetts](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/02/plastic-bottles-banned-concord-massachusetts_n_2395824.html?utm_hp_ref=green). Then there’s North Carolina banning the bottles from landfills in 2009, though I don’t know how that program’s doing today.

The sad fact is not just that people are paying an absurd amount of money for bottled water, but the unseen cost they’re not considering when consuming the bottles in the first place. People who recycle them may feel comfortable with thinking they’re not part of the problem, however, keeping in mind “reduce, reuse, recycle” wasn’t coined in that order because it’s catchy. The idea is to reduce consumption in the first place, reuse whatever’s possible, and then recycle what’s left. Not consuming those plastic bottles in the first place (and the 17 million barrels of oil to make them) is far closer to the solution.

> [@Joey\_P](#):
>
> As for how your reusable water bottle can get dirty, you really should be washing it out from time to time with soap and water. They can get germy (from you) and moldy from the water.  
> [http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-08-03/health/sc-health-0803-water-bottle-20110803\_1\_water-bottle-dry-hot-car](http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-08-03/health/sc-health-0803-water-bottle-20110803_1_water-bottle-dry-hot-car)

Thank you for your concern, but I think we can both agree that article is targeted at the knuckleheads who put liquids other than water in their bottles and don’t wash them daily like they should. The part about still washing even with just water is solely a CYA statement. I suppose someone who backwashes a lot might have an issue, I still just rinse mine and wipe the cap occasionally. I don’t leave it in any hot or cold cars, though, since I take the dreaded public transportation.

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