I don't necessarily disagree with anything anybody has said, but I have merely been boiling my drinking water in Kunming for 13 years with no noticeable negative consequences. I don't know if 'most people' use bottled water or not, but many certainly do not.
I hope boiling it does at least some good as I've been drinking my many daily cups of tea with boiled tap water for over Three years now.
Guess I should of checked it out a little deeper but assumed boiled water would be fine.
The water in our high-rise building us shut down about every 3 or 4 months so that the pressure tanks on the roof can be cleaned out.
Shortly after we moved into our rental apartment (5 years ago) we had a new toilet installed. Last year I lifted the cover of the tank and found the bottom covered in a layer of silt.
Boiling at least removes most organic nasties, which are the ones that usually would cause short term sickness. I'm fine with boiled water for tea or whatever when visiting other people - at home we use bottled water for drinking.
Never had issues with this in Kunming.
What I do worry though is building unhealthy concentrations of toxic heavy metals and antibiotic residues circulating in the environment here, over the years.
In tiny amounts those would not necessarily bring any quick effects, but can contribute to cancer or other long term issues. For example arsenic increases risk for skin cancer, for which us blonde Nordics have increased risk here in Yunnan sun to begin with.
Boiling water can be worse than the tap water it came from if it contains nickel from kettle elements.
I drink 19L bottled water - Yunnan Shanquan which belongs to Nestle. In China it is a reliable brand.
The bottled water industry is huge in China. So big, it could be a disincentive for politicians and planners to do all that's necessary to ever deliver fresh safe water to the home.
What's quality control like on these bottled water companies?
I pay 15 RMB for 19L, how on earth can some companies do it for 8 RMB?
Just how bad is the water? On a number of occasions, mostly after I first arrived, I awoke dehydrated in the night.
Not fully awake, I went straight to the tap and drank a couple of glasses of water.
Not much, not often but no sign whatsoever of any ill effects the following day.
Didn't know shanquan was owned by Nestle.
Drank a glass straight from tap as a test a couple of months ago. Nothing bad happened, but didn't repeat either.
Straight from the tap is a bad idea, I think - Chinese people and others who've lived here a long time don't do that.
Nestle would not be my favorite corporation - dodgy things in their corporate history.
The bottled water you buy is FILTERED water. The virus and bacteria have been removed, but that is it.
The water still contails pesticides, heavy metals, chemicals, benzines, etc. This list goes on and on.
Bottled water is an illusion that you are now drinking safe water. No smell, looks clear is far from the reality of what you are drinking.
