Is there any way to drink Mexican tap water and not get ill? I am moving to Mexico.?
Posted by: admin / Category: Mexican Drinks
Is there any quick way to get used to Mexican tap water? Like a system or even just a vaccine (preferably oral)? I am moving to Mexico for a while and wish to live as a native.
The reason why it’s not recommendable to drink the tap water in Mexico, it’s that even it potable (this means, has been cleared, filtered and in some place chlorinated) it’s not meant to be drinking water.
This is part of a culture in Mexico, people want clean treated water, but they don’t expect to drink it, so it’s only treated to a certain point.
There are areas where water comes from wells, and even the flavor it’s different and you are OK to drink it after you add a few drops of germicide.
In the large cities it’s never recommendable because chancer are you have treated water in your faucets, take in consideration that are cities as old as 500 yrs in Mexico, which pipes haven’t been changed in over 100 yrs, you do the math.
The only place where is safe to drink water from the tap it’s a hotel which usually has a leyend in the vanity mirror that reads something like this "the water of this hotel has been treated for human consumption".
Even in the US it’s not fully recommendable to drink water from the tap because it has way too many chemicals.
Bottled water is real cheap in Mexico compare to US you can get the 5 gallon bottle for less than 3 dlls delivered to your house, and there are vendors everyday in most residential areas.
October 28th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Since you didn’t grow up there, there isn’t anything you can really do to innoculate yourself. Alot mexicans don’t even drink the tap water. So you can still live as a native and not drink out of the tap. Or just boil the water you do get out of the tap.
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October 28th, 2009 at 6:08 pm
I drank the water and I didn’t get sick.
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October 28th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
Mexicans don’t drink the water from taps unless it’s at a very good hotel , buying water is the only way to go it’s very cheap ,
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October 28th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Most Mexicans don’t drink tap water, even the poorest buy bottled water whenever they can. You can also boil tap water or use iodine drops. I use an ozone generator.
In many cities, the tap water isn’t that bad. Here, in Cuernavaca, I sometimes use tap water to make coffee.
Many water related problems are are not problems you can get used to.
- lack of water in some areas leads to lack of hygiene (fungal infections, scabies), or not cleaning your food preparation area properly.
- ground water contamination by heavy metals or pesticides.
- untreated water may carry amoebas or fecal matter.
Probably you should just do what ever the people around you do. You will get sick a couple of times and so will the people around you.
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I’ve lived in central Mexico for 10 years and visited some very remote and some very poor areas.
October 28th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
I agree with Doug, don’t risk drinking tap water. You can either boil it for 20 minutes or buy bottled water. Drinking water in Mexico is inexpensive, it’s about 20 pesos (less than 2 dollars) for a 19 liter bottle (about 5 gallons), and the companies have trucks delivering them at your house as often as you want them.
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I am Mexican, live in Mexico
October 28th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
I am an American living in Mexico. NOBODY in Mexico drinks the tapwater! Everyone drinks bottled water. you can buy the large bottles everywhere, or have it delivered to your house once or twice a week. it is very inexpensive.
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October 28th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
Something nobody else mentioned = don’t open your mouth in the shower and don’t brush your teeth with it. The shower is where got the turista once.
Use bottled water for brushing you teeth.
You may build up some immunity over time, but each time there’s a slip-up and you take in some water (on a washed lettuce leaf perhaps), you’re going to get so sick, you’ll wish you could die.
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October 28th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
I don’t agree with rhino, tap water is treated in Mexico and has the same quality as some american city’s water such as Orlando. But yes, most people here prefer to boil it (mainly cultural reasons) or drink bottled water. But you won’t get sick for showering or brushin teeth. The problem when you eat lettuce in the street or a not to heath concerned place, it’s not the water, but that the lettuce itself hasn’t been properly washed. Even in the states some people prefer to drink bottled water.
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