Many people in Merseyside have grown up thinking they may get sick off drinking from the bathroom tap.
When waking up in the middle of the night, gasping for a drink, the easiest option is often to head to the bathroom rather than trekking to the kitchen. Some mums have warned their kids not to do it with fears they may fall ill, while others don't even think about the risks.
So is it actually safe to drink bathroom tap water? Or could it be causing health issues many aren't even aware of?
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According to Victorian Plumbing the short version is it depends on who you ask. They said: "Technically speaking, all homes in the UK are provided with safe drinking water. However, there are multiple variables that impact this water, making it safe to drink from the kitchen tap, and less safe from the bathroom tap."
The experts explained that it depends on two main factors - the pipework and the water tank. Both of these are made from different materials that may prove dangerous for your health and can also cause water to lay stagnant.
Up until the 1970s, it was standard practice to install plumbing pipes made of lead in houses throughout the UK. However, it was discovered that this was leading to lead poisoning in many homes so materials like copper and plastic have been used in more modern homes instead.
If you live in an older home, you may still have lead pipes installed and therefore shouldn't drink from the bathroom tap. Victorian Plumbing said: "It’s recommended by health experts that if you are worried about lead poisoning its best practice to have your water supply tested. It’s always better to be safe than sorry."
However, the biggest difference between water from your bathroom tap and water from the kitchen tap, is that the water in your kitchen comes straight from the water mains. Meanwhile, your bathroom tap water derives from a water tank that is often stored in the loft.
The water in a tank is refreshed at different rates, depending on how much water your household uses. Therefore, if you don't run your bathroom taps often then the water in the tank may be sitting for a while and become stagnant.
The experts said: "When water has been stagnant for a while it has a chance to collect any limescale build up, or debris from the water tank, and carry this into your bathroom tap."
They concluded the answer to the question, as they said: "So to sum up the answer to the question 'is it safe to drink bathroom tap water?' - no, not really.
"Even though homes and hotels are supplied with water safe for drinking, there are too many variables to consider to completely guarantee its safety. So it's best to avoid drinking from a bathroom tap if you can. Stick to bottled water or a kitchen tap."
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