# Drinking Water



## Kilgore_Trout (Dec 3, 2012)

I recently arrived in Cairo and have a questions how expats deal with water. I looked at a few previous posts, but I was wondering if anyone had more up to date answers. Specifically, I am considering three options:

1) Just buying tons of bottles of water (although I would prefer to not add to the rubbish problem here).

2) Buying a water cooler type thing and getting the big bottle of water occasionally.

3) Getting a filter. I've been told that I shouldn't consider anything less than 1000 EGP and a 6 stage reverse osmosis filter is the way to go here. Carrefour has a package deal right now with one of these plus a blender or something for ~1200 EGP. I am a little concerned about installing it and wondering how often filters would need to be replaced.

Normally I wouldn't be super up tight about this, but my wife is pregnant and I want to be a little extra careful. Any helpful tips/advice/your own solutions are appreciated.

thanks!


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

I have water filters on all my water outlets at work but not in my home.

The filters needed to be changed according to usage.. you will see the filter turn brown then black.. time to change. 

I drink my tap water it is safe perfectly safe but it doesn't really taste great but it is fine for tea and cooking with.


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## Kilgore_Trout (Dec 3, 2012)

Whoa. So you just drink your tap water? Even without boiling? Or only for tea/boiled stuff. I thought that was not an option...

If boiling only is what you mean, what do you do for drinking water at home?


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## aykalam (Apr 12, 2010)

I would recommend getting the water cooler, because that way you guarantee a drinking water supply even when there are water cuts (quite frequent in some areas of Cairo). Drinking unboiled tap water is not an option for me: I got really sick when I first landed in Egypt because of it. 

A 19 Litre water bottle for the cooler is now LE22.


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## Kilgore_Trout (Dec 3, 2012)

Thanks. Any recommendation on where to get a reasonably priced water cooler base? We are only going to be here for 9 months so I don't want to invest a bundle in something that will be useless when we leave...


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## aykalam (Apr 12, 2010)

Ours is from Nestle, you initially pay for the cooler and a bundle of 10 vouchers (each worth a 19 litre bottle), then the delivery guys come once a week to change the empty one for a new one. (They do recycle the empty ones).

Hotline is 19800


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

Kilgore_Trout said:


> Thanks. Any recommendation on where to get a reasonably priced water cooler base? We are only going to be here for 9 months so I don't want to invest a bundle in something that will be useless when we leave...




Carrefour...


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## Sonrisa (Sep 2, 2010)

I get the 1,5 l bottles. I do genuinely believe that the get reclycled, as I was requested by a previous bawab not to smash the empty bottles when i throw them in the garbage because he gets money for them.
I have never knowledgeably drunk tap wAter. i usd mineral water for drinking, tea and coffee, cooking and, occasionally, even washing my hair.


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## Kilgore_Trout (Dec 3, 2012)

When you say mineral water, does that mean bottled water? How many 1.5 liter bottles do you end up buying per week?


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## Sonrisa (Sep 2, 2010)

yes, mineral bottle , usually nestle water. i buy two cases containing 12 bottles each


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

Kilgore_Trout said:


> Whoa. So you just drink your tap water? Even without boiling? Or only for tea/boiled stuff. I thought that was not an option...
> 
> If boiling only is what you mean, what do you do for drinking water at home?




Yes I drink the tap water straight from the tap ...I have never had a problem..although I am not drinking it often.. I tend to drink a lot of tea to quench my thirst but I would not hesitate to drink from the tap. I have even had water poured for me from a bottle in a cafe .. the water given to you when you have tea or coffee and it has been tap water..you can taste the difference between bottled and tap,


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

this thread brought back a memory.. Pat asking if it was ok to drink the water in Spain.. I drank from the tap, Pat bought bottled water. lol


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## Sonrisa (Sep 2, 2010)

Its common practice in spain to take your tap water to the pharmacy to get it analysed so you can make a judgement on whether its safe or not to drink it based on that.


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

Sonrisa said:


> Its common practice in spain to take your tap water to the pharmacy to get it analysed so you can make a judgement on whether its safe or not to drink it based on that.




I have lovely cold cold water. great pressure and it's cheap.. Pat was just being silly 

but yes I know about the water testing as my daughter has a well under her sitting room,


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## hurghadapat (Mar 26, 2010)

MaidenScotland said:


> this thread brought back a memory.. Pat asking if it was ok to drink the water in Spain.. I drank from the tap, Pat bought bottled water. lol


Lol...only because had no tap in my bedroom  and drink most of my water during the night for some strange reason  so saved having to keep getting up and down...and i'm sticking to that story :wink:


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## aykalam (Apr 12, 2010)

MaidenScotland said:


> this thread brought back a memory.. Pat asking if it was ok to drink the water in Spain.. I drank from the tap, Pat bought bottled water. lol


In some areas in Spain tap water, although safe to drink, tastes funny, so many buy bottled.


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## aykalam (Apr 12, 2010)

MaidenScotland said:


> my daughter has a well under her sitting room,


isn't that a bit dangerous?


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

aykalam said:


> isn't that a bit dangerous?




it's quite common in the area...


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