[sfdude]

So after getting sick a number of times, a friend informed me that the water in HK is not healthy for expats to drink. I want to know:

1) Is he right?
and
2) If he is right, where can I buy a water cooler? I have seen the ones they sell at Wellcome, bu they are only room temp. I want a cooler. Can anyone tell me the cheapest way to get one of these things?

[KnowItAll]

Are you sure its the water?

We generally boil the tap water... never had a problem.

You can get coolers at Fortress .. or put the bottled water in your fridge.

[kostas]

Same here.. I am boiling it as most of, if not all, the locals do also. Never had a problem with water but I had a problem 3-4 times with gastroenteritis due to prepared food :/

And a tip: Boiled water tastes better when cold

[tstexpat]

The older areas of Hk have high metal content in the water. Over time this can cause health problems.
I found this out after several dogs and cats in my area started dying of Cihrossis of the liver.
I had the WSD check the water and they claimed that they were aware of the metal content but could do nothing about it as the water was piped out of China.

I now order water from Coke/Bonaqua and it works out roughly at $26-$28 per carboy. The cooler is free. It saves us the hassle of filtering and boiling.

Common problems associated with water is Nausea & stomach infections.

[jaykay]

I'm with the boil, bottle and put in the fridge brigade. It's how the locals all do it!

JK

[tex]

there is a rather extensive discussion on this topic in the archive, might check it out. from what i've learned the problem is not with bacteria, which can be boiled out, but with metals which come loose in the pipes. thus, boiling is unnecessary and ineffective if you want to make sure your water is safe since the real issue is metals. for this reason i installed a ceramic fliter to my tap. the water tastes much better than from the tap, and its pretty convenient. also, its less expensive than bottled water and not distilled as much of the bottled water on offer for delivery here is--but thats another lenghty debate so lets not go there!

[Geordie19]

boil, brita filter and fridge it!

[kombuchakid]

One interesting thing to do to your water whatever the source is to put a few chunks of charcoal in the container.
Of course the charcoal should be throughly washed prior to use and should be changed at least monthly.
I boil so my kettle has charcoal along for the ride and the taste change is subtle yet apparent.

[vinnielo]

Originally Posted by Geordie19

boil, brita filter and fridge it!

Is the order important there?

[KnowItAll]

fridge, brita-filter and boil would not work too well .... would it?