How Safe Is Boiled Tap Water For Cooking?

Have you ever poured a glass of water from the tap and noticed it’s a little cloudy or there appears to be fine particles in it?
The fact is there could be. Water goes on an incredible journey as it heads to the water treatment plant from your home. Equally it could start as rain and travel through the rocks and soil to the reservoirs.
The problem is that it can pick up a huge range of contaminants on its journey. This is why the treatment plants remove debris and add chemicals to kill bacteria.

So Tap Water Is Safe To Drink & Cook?

Unfortunately this is not the case.
After being treated and leaving the water plant the water travels through thousands of miles of pipe.
It picks up contaminants and even bacteria along the way; these can be detrimental to your health. But, alongside this, the chemicals used to treat the water have actually been shown to be harmful to your health.
This means that you shouldn’t be drinking the tap water unless you’ve been to filtap.com.au and purchased a good quality water filter.

Boiling The Water

If you haven’t got a water filter then you can consider boiling the water to use it for kicking.
When you boil water you are subjecting it to extreme heat; this should kill any bacteria in the water. Indeed, it will kill any bacteria on the food you’re cooking.
The question is how long do you need to boil the water for to achieve this result?
The answer may surprise you, boiling for just one minute is enough to kill any bacteria in your tap water.

Does This Mean That Tap Water Is Safe For Cooking?

While boiling the water will kill bacteria this is not the biggest risk in respect of water in the modern world.
The fact is that water has an abundance of chemicals added to it during the cleaning process. These chemicals are not broken down simply by being boiled. They will still be present in the food you eat.

Chlorine is generally added to tap water to kill bacteria before it leaves the treatment plant. This should make it safe to use.
However, the chlorine can cause its own health issues. It is known to be responsible for respiratory issues and skin irritants. Other chemicals include fluoride which is said to reduce tooth decay. Unfortunately the research into this is still inconclusive and it is possible that it has other; not so pleasant effects.

Getting Rid Of The Chemicals

There is only one way to ensure you have got rid of the chemicals in your tap water. This is to install an under sink water filtering system. It will generally involve a carbon filter inside a case; it will need to be replaced periodically.
The water passes through the carbon filter which blocks debris and chemicals, such as chlorine. You are left with water that you can wash vegetables in even cook with it.