Is It Safe to Drink Our Malaysian Tap Water?

I’m sure you’ve thought about it before. You know, while showering or gargling the water from your sink, you probably thought: “what if I just drank this?”

Well, so the question still remains: is Malaysian tap water actually safe for consumption?

We envy those guys from the American TV shows or films as we’d often see them drink straight from the tap. Of course, the first thing that comes to mind is, “Eh, can drink one meh?” Well, for them it usually is!

So, what about us Malaysians? Do we really need to constantly boil our water before drinking, or invest in expensive water filters before our water is safe for consumption?

Is Malaysian tap water safe to consume?

Well… yes, and no.

You’d be surprised to know that studies have shown that the level of selected minerals in Malaysian tap water is generally below permitted levels.

This basically means that the water running through the pipes is actually safe to consume.

In fact, the treatment process is monitored regularly based on international water quality standards.

Why do Malaysians NOT drink out of the tap?

Apparently, Malaysia’s tap water has a bad taste and odour. This was found in a research done by Universiti Putra Malaysia’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. It’s no wonder we are much less willing to drink from it!

In view of this, many of us have blamed the government–and Malaysia in general–for not being able to supply us with safe, drinkable water, but we’ve now learnt that that’s actually not true!

So, why does my tap water smell/taste funny?

Stagnant water, rusty pipes, sand, and moss.

Well, unfortunately, although the water that comes from the water treatment plant is clean, the old, dirty and rusty pipes that deliver the water to our homes tend to affect the purity, taste and odour of the water.

These pipes originate from multiple sources and can be many kilometres in length and may have some spots where the water might be stagnant, resulting in sand or moss to accumulate. Some pipes can even be old and rusty.

Besides pipes, the water ‘tangkis” in our own homes can be blamed as well because they’re not cleaned regularly.

Source: The Star and Blogspot

What happens when you drink contaminated tap water?

Contaminated water can cause many deadly diseases including Cholera, Typhoid, Dysentry and much more. You wouldn’t want to end up getting diarrhea just from drinking water, now do you!

So, how do we ensure safe drinking water?

Filter or boil your tap water before consumption. This acts as extra precautionary measure to ensure microorganisms are killed off and that there are no remaining sediments. However, boiling your water will only kill microorganisms and is unable to remove Chlorine and other heavy metals in the water. Thus, many Malaysians also opt for water purifiers to get clean drinking water.

Now that you know, don’t simply go drinking straight out of any tap!

Also read: Study Shows that Drinking 3-4 Cups of Coffee a Day Makes You Live Longer