Who brushes teeth with bottled water?
#5
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: alberta canada
Programs: BA Gold,, Marriott Plat
Posts: 352
Not so much that I don't trust Canadian water as being good, it's more the cleaning practices of some hotel staff. We just had an investigation of cleanliness of hotel rooms and bathroom hygiene practices were shocking (even in high-end establishments).
#7
Join Date: May 2006
Location: MYF/CMA/SAN/YYZ/YKF
Programs: COdbaUA 1K MM, AA EXP, Bonbon Gold, GHA Titanium, Hertz PC, NEXUS and GE
Posts: 5,837
Even in Vietnam - which has a clean water supply AFAIK - I don't use bottled to brush my teeth. I am just a bit extra cautious about not swallowing the water.
#8
Moderator: Information Desk, Women Travelers, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Chicago, IL, USA
Programs: AA Gold
Posts: 15,610
I did it while living in Saudi Arabia and have done it on longer trips to Florida (only because I never think about it until I take my first sip of water and gag).
#10
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,342
Definitely in China and Russia, where I'm also careful to rinse the toothbrush using bottled water and to avoid getting shower water around my mouth to avoid swallowing a little bit of it. Also in most of the third world, even in top hotels that claim to have safe purified water. (I also reject all ice cubes.)
Not in most of Western Europe, USA, Canada, Japan, etc. I drink bottled water at home because of the taste, but like the tap in many places.
Not in most of Western Europe, USA, Canada, Japan, etc. I drink bottled water at home because of the taste, but like the tap in many places.
#11
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota,USA
Programs: UA, NW
Posts: 3,752
When I was in Cuba, I brushed my teeth and rinsed my toothbrush with bottled water, and I was glad that I did.
For much of the time, I was eating in tourist-oriented restaurants in central Havana, but our group's farewell dinner was in a less upscale restaurant, and I ordered a mojito.
Evidently, the central restaurants made their ice with purified water and this last place didn't. The woman who sat next to me ordered the same food that I did but had beer as her beverage.
I got sick (sudden onset vomiting for 24 hours), and she didn't.
Lesson learned.
In China, I was scrupulous about avoiding tap water after learning (before the trip) that Chinese people don't drink unboiled water. We mostly stayed at school dormitories, and every morning, we'd receive a thermos of boiling hot water. We took to pouring some off into the covered teacups that were in the rooms and then using the cooled water in the evening to brush our teeth.
In Western Europe and Japan I don't worry about the tap water.
For much of the time, I was eating in tourist-oriented restaurants in central Havana, but our group's farewell dinner was in a less upscale restaurant, and I ordered a mojito.
Evidently, the central restaurants made their ice with purified water and this last place didn't. The woman who sat next to me ordered the same food that I did but had beer as her beverage.
I got sick (sudden onset vomiting for 24 hours), and she didn't.
Lesson learned.
In China, I was scrupulous about avoiding tap water after learning (before the trip) that Chinese people don't drink unboiled water. We mostly stayed at school dormitories, and every morning, we'd receive a thermos of boiling hot water. We took to pouring some off into the covered teacups that were in the rooms and then using the cooled water in the evening to brush our teeth.
In Western Europe and Japan I don't worry about the tap water.
#14
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: NJ/NYC
Programs: AA EXP/LT Plat, SPG Plat/LT Plat, HHonors Gold, Hyatt Plat, IHG Plat, MR Silver
Posts: 2,786
Interesting, I was just talking about this with some colleagues.
I guess it just never occurred to me to do this - I've been brushing my teeth with tap water throughout the world for years in countries many would consider suspect (e.g., India, China, Thailand, Indonesia). Perhaps I am lucky, perhaps it is due to staying in Western quality (typically US based chain) hotels, but I have never gotten sick. I, of course, do not drink the tap water.
I'm actually more concerned about the tap water on planes and refuse to brush using that.
I guess it just never occurred to me to do this - I've been brushing my teeth with tap water throughout the world for years in countries many would consider suspect (e.g., India, China, Thailand, Indonesia). Perhaps I am lucky, perhaps it is due to staying in Western quality (typically US based chain) hotels, but I have never gotten sick. I, of course, do not drink the tap water.
I'm actually more concerned about the tap water on planes and refuse to brush using that.
#15
Senior Moderator and Moderator: American AAdvantage & TravelBuzz
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: BOS
Programs: AA EXP, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 10,410
Hmm...thinking back, I think rural India has been the only place where I've brushed with filtered water. (The "motel" I was at had a water filter/purifier on each floor, so I'd fill my big Nalgene bottle and use it for drinking and brushing after meals.)