What 桶 of water should I be buying?

[Brian US]

I wanted to know if it really mattered what brand of giant water bottles (Culligan style?) I should be getting. The place that delivers to me offers brands from 10-16 kuai. I can see paying extra for name brand, but is the quality that much better for a 60% difference in price? I've just been getting the cheapest 龙泉崍谷 brand, but my friend said 娃哈哈 is the most popular.

Should I pay more for water for the sake of my health, or does it not matter?

[heidi w]

well i suggest you use your own sense to test different brands (visable residuals, how clear it is, and is there any smells) . what i did before is buy water from those big water machines loacated in front of some residental buildings, they are abt 0.5 yuan per litter, use those water as cooking water, i don't drink tap water in gz what so ever, it must be boiled at 100 degree, then let it sit in china pots till cold..... water is the so essential to your body, it is worth to pick it carefully.

[liuzhou]

Just find one that you find acceptable. If it kills you, don't buy it again.

Anyway, whether it is 龙泉崍谷 or 娃哈哈 often depends on which labels they happen to have in stock.

Water is H2O. All the same!

It's the impurities you have to watch out for.

By the way, if your water has already killed you, please ignore this reply.

[anonymoose]

I don't use those huge 桶s, but I buy the cheapest water in 4L bottles from the local supermarket and it hasn't killed me yet.

I wouldn't pay too much attention to the brand. It wasn't that long ago that the Coca Cola Company was selling "pure" water in the UK, which in the end just turned out to be contaminated tap-water.

[889]

Take care:

"业内人士曝光：北京市半数桶装水为假水"

http://www.fdinfo.org/CL0063/6422.html

[roddy]

I used to get the slightly pricier stuff as I did think it tasted better - I think it was Nestle, not sure. Had some kind of hologram sticker thing to ensure it was genuine, but who knows - they could have been using tap water and adding a hint of lemon.

[gougou]

This question is more of a dilemma to me than the thing about hens and eggs. On the one hand, you would expect brand-name water to have a higher quality - on the other hand, brand-name water will also be more prone to knock-offs. I have settled for something in the middle now, 乐百氏。

[Brian US]

My neighbor was getting his water from his landlord and was pretty sure he saw her filling up the bottles with a hose. As said before, I guess I'm fine as long as the water is not making me sick. I'll get checked for worms if I have a sudden increase of appetite.

[gougou]

I guess I'm fine as long as the water is not making me sick.

For tap water, I think the bigger danger comes from high concentration of heavy metals such as lead, which you might get in areas with old plumbing. These metals obviously will not go away by boiling, nor will they make you sick (not right away, anyway).

[cui ruide]

I just use the cheapest (already 12 kuai in in my Beijing hood!). I eat out pretty much all my meals--and I know they're not using bottled water to cook...so.

And I've heard a big problem with the tap water here in Beijing besides heavy metals is pesticide runoff from farms.

[gougou]

This thread is relevant for drinking water in china (mostly about the non-bottled kind).