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Is drinking water in Poland good?


kainsoul69  4 | -  
6 Dec 2007 /  #1
hi! I am new to his forum and since I am thinking into traveling to Poland I need to know if I have to be careful with water, a close friend told me that due to the scare water in Europe I should avoid drinking water in countries like Chez Republic, Hungary, Poland and other countries, is that correct? I guess he just heard that somewhere and is just repeating that with no knowledge about it, please let me know!

Best Regards.
tomekcatkins  8 | 130  
6 Dec 2007 /  #2
google.com/search?q=drinking+water+poland
hello  22 | 891  
6 Dec 2007 /  #3
Is drinking water in Poland good?

I would say it's good or more than good. Many streams in Poland - both in the mountains and Baltic sea (even though I would always choose the mountain water).
krysia  23 | 3058  
6 Dec 2007 /  #4
In the city people usually don't drink tap water, although it's safe, and some boil it first. In the country you have your own well and it's good.
witek  1 | 587  
6 Dec 2007 /  #5
In the city people usually don't drink tap water, although it's safe, and some boil it first

No you are wrong Krysia, the tap water is not safe to drink in Poland , this is why people boil water or drink mineral water.

Polish Journal of Environmental Studies, 2005 (Vol. 14) (No. 3) 327-333

The purpose of this work was to determine the occurrence of toxic phenol, chlorophenols, chlorocatechols and chlorinated methoxyphenols in the drinking water of the Polish cities of Lódz' , Warszawa , Poznan and Wroclaw. In samples, chlorophenols, 4-chlorocatechol, chloroguaiacols, chlorosyringols and 5,6-dichlorovaniline were detected. Higher concentrations and number of chlorophenols and their chlorinated derivatives were noted in summer. Among the most toxic compounds, 2,4,5-trichlorophenol which causes toxicity to humans, including carcinogenicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, neurotoxicity, and acute toxicityin was found in the drinking water of Warszawa (summer and winter) and Lódz' (winter) and tetrachlorophenol in water of Wrocaw (summer) were noted. Their concentrations were above the admissible standards of the EU and the US EPA. In some cases the concentrations of chloroguaiacols and 5,6-dichlorovanillin also were significant.
krysia  23 | 3058  
6 Dec 2007 /  #6
Now you tell me after I've been drinking that $hit??????
osiol  55 | 3921  
6 Dec 2007 /  #7
The beer's safe though.
gdj67  15 | 154  
6 Dec 2007 /  #8
Woda?.................... stick to Wodka to be on the safe side.
Grzegorz_  51 | 6138  
6 Dec 2007 /  #9
People generally shouldn't drink tap water.
Polson  5 | 1767  
6 Dec 2007 /  #10
I am thinking into traveling to Poland I need to know if I have to be careful with water

Polish waters are very good, i never had any problem ;)
Zgubiony  15 | 1274  
6 Dec 2007 /  #11
I don't drink the tap water. After boiling in an electric kettle, you can see all sorts of sediment and build-up. I use the same kettle for NYC tap water and it never leaves a build-up of sediment.

I usually drink Zywiiec water when there.

....but I'm sure it's ok to drink :)
osiol  55 | 3921  
6 Dec 2007 /  #12
you can see all sorts of sediment and build-up

Let's start a geology of Poland thread and find out where the chalk is.

Hard water does this to your kettle. Where I live the water is so hard it comes out of the tap in chunks.
wildrover  98 | 4430  
6 Dec 2007 /  #13
I live in Drawsko national park and get my water from a well in the garden....I don,t drink it very often without boiling , but in the summer i have done , and so have my Polish friends....Nobody has become ill or died as a result , so i think its ok.....
Eurola  4 | 1898  
6 Dec 2007 /  #14
When i go to Poland and ask or just get a glass of tap water with ice to drink, i see puzzled eyes. They want to give me tea. I grew up in Poland and drunk water from the the tap or straight of a well, I was fine. Nowadays, when i visit, I drink mostly plain, mineral water out of the bottle.

You see, it's not that the water is bad. Our body (mine) system is not used to it. The same goes for any country you visit. ..You're safer when drinking out of a bottle. My personal experience.
krysia  23 | 3058  
6 Dec 2007 /  #15
You go to a restaurant in Poland and you have to ask for water. In the US first thing they do it bring ice cold water.

In Poland mineral water is very popular and it's good, but in US it's rarely drank because it's either coke or pepsi.
slick77  - | 127  
6 Dec 2007 /  #16
You go to a restaurant in Poland and you have to ask for water. In the US first thing they do it bring ice cold water.

They ask what you would like to drink. Then the server brings you whatever you ordered.
Zeze  9 | 79  
7 Dec 2007 /  #17
tap water in poland is a poison and taste like pee even to wash my face in the morning is bad my skin is all red the pipes are old so that is why but of courses Poles on this forums will not say that becouse poland is perfect cheap , good food good clima , preatty girl people are nice but they all to to live in the UK !!!! strange this POles
the_falkster  1 | 180  
7 Dec 2007 /  #18
say that becouse poland is perfect cheap , good food good clima , preatty girl people are nice but they all to to live in the UK

open your own thread if you have got a problem...

taste like pee

i never drank pee so i would not be able to compare it to polish water... ;)

old pipework by the way exists across the whole planet (even in the UK!) and that is never good for the water quality...
the shower in the house i am renting (Leeds, UK) has an old pipe and the first few dribbles every morning come out in a rather rusty colour. only happens on the shower all other taps are okay and you can make coffe with the water...

i personally don't drink tap water because it tasted bad everywhere i was so far...
silooy  
7 Dec 2007 /  #19
I have drunk the tap water for 11 years with no problems. My wife is polish and does not
wildrover  98 | 4430  
7 Dec 2007 /  #20
A guy in my village has drunk Polish tap water for 25 years.....Apart from a minor skin condition he is very healthy....Oh and he has got five legs......( only joking )
witek  1 | 587  
7 Dec 2007 /  #21
I have drunk the tap water for 11 years with no problems.

no problems? it seems you cannot spell. it is "i have drank" not "i have drunk"
El Gato  4 | 351  
7 Dec 2007 /  #22
Is drinking water in Poland good?

Nope. Polish water, when consumed, mixes with Polish oxygen, when inhaled, and causes you to spontaneously combust. Defintely not something you want to happen.

:]

On a serious note, yeah it's safe to drink the water. Buy the water, don't drink it from a sink (I don't reccomend that anywhere, accidents happen and tap water can get contaminated) but the mountain streams are some of the cleanest you can find. Great stuff, Polish water.
polishcanuck  7 | 461  
7 Dec 2007 /  #23
Tap water in Poland is okay to drink ... if you live in Poland.

Water in different regions has different bacteria in it and your body may not accept some of these "foreign" bacteria. The locals can drink it without problems, but foreigners may not be so lucky as their bodies are not accustomed to it.

I always drink bottled/boiled water to be safe - so far it has worked for me:) Actually, beer is the safest choice:)

btw, here in canada studies have shown that bottled water is only 75% filtered, 25% tap water - maybe similar in poland. So you're probably always getting some tap water in you.
urszula  1 | 253  
7 Dec 2007 /  #24
it seems you cannot spell. it is "i have drank" not "i have drunk"

Because he got drunk from drinking it
pola  
7 Dec 2007 /  #25
ZEZE if you are English your skin is red anyway, nothing to do with the quality of water.
My skin is just radiant - no matter where I wash my face - water in Thailand, moat of Angkor Wat, tap in Lalibela, 5star hotel in Jordan, Dead Sea, water tank on Wadi Rum, trickling spring in Petra, icy waters of Weddell Sea, Lago Grey, bathroom in a little hotel in Punta Arenas, bathroom in a restaurant in Burj al Arab, recycled toilet water of "western” European countries, water from half treated Australian reservoirs, ablutions in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Russia, waters of Krwawica in Bosnia -Herzegovina and under Old Bridge in Mostar, water in Croatia and Italy and many many others. No water made my face red, and last but not least hot bath in my home in Poland. Now ZE-ZE is Poland the only tourist destination you can afford? Go and see what the world looks like – oh yes – whining, whinging, likes it chip - typical…………….
wildrover  98 | 4430  
7 Dec 2007 /  #26
Basically she is saying she has perfect skin , and loads of money......
pola  
8 Dec 2007 /  #27
No,Wildrover - Im not loaded, I am comfortable. My point is - Narrow-minded people love complaining “some” visitors to Poland do it with passion, and belief that, what they don't know is not worth knowing so they concentrate on trivial things such water, roads or bad weather, worst food - really - if you don’t like it…… Look at those poor Polish who for a few pounds force themselves to belief that UK is such a paradise - everything seems grinner, they sacrifice their pride, traditions and for what? They allow others to look down at them, talk down at them, mind you most of the emigrants don’t understand British sarcasm so they keep on smiling and truly belief that they are surrendered by friends – very sad, but that is their chosen journey. Hopefully one day thy will comeback to where they belong. If one allow oneself to experience what is out there - real poverty, kindness, luxury, wildness and beauty of nature then water quality in Poland, price of bear, size of a meal or putting someone down to feel better about oneself seems out of place, so if one really likes his doily to be folded just so and makes a point of it.....
wildrover  98 | 4430  
8 Dec 2007 /  #28
Hi Pola......I can only speak for myself , but the Polish friends i had living at my house in the Uk while they worked in UK were never looked down on by me or my friends....They were seen as just what they were , some people just trying to earn a living...And as for complaining about Poland...Most of the complaints i hear come from Polish people......I am a teacher of English , and i am constantly hearing from my students what an awfull place Poland is....On the other hand all my English friends who have visited here think the place is wonderfull...I can understand that for a young person , living in a country with lovely lakes and forests is no big deal , they want a new car , the latest stereo , money to go to night clubs...thats why they are all heading off to other countries....Hopefully , when they have made their money they will come back to Polska , and invest it here....I think Poland has a great future , i just hope i am not the only one here to enjoy it.....
Davey  13 | 388  
9 Dec 2007 /  #29
I have lived in Canada my whole life...when I went to Poland they kept giving me this bubbly mineral water that I couldn't stomach because it tasted so similar to soda, and this was niegazowany! so I drank the tap water and it tasted fine=)
silooy  
9 Dec 2007 /  #30
Witek, as well as being a pompous tube, you also appear to be confusing the past tense which is indeed "I drank" with the perfect tense, for which "I have drunk" is the correct form.

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