Way to Russia Talk Lounge

bryak · Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 6:43 am Post subject: Russian drinking water

I've heard that the tap water in St. Petersburg especially and even Moscow is not good to drink, but what about the rest of Russia? I'm planning on going to Ulan-Ude, Irkutsk, Novosibirsk, and Ekaterinburg at least, should I be worried about the drinking water?

mediashark · Moderator Joined: 04 Nov 2004 Posts: 1601

I think you should. You might just want to bring along a water filter and/or an electric kettle. It's best to filter the water then boil it.

Even bottled water are often fake--just carbonated/salted tap water

manxi · Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 9:00 pm Post subject:

I was thinking about that today too. I was wondering if it ok to use tap water to clean your teeth or if you need to boil (or as you said filter and boil) the water first. Can you buy water filters in Russia?

Ekaterina · Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 9:43 pm Post subject:

The water in Moscow is not from springs but it is good for drinking and everything. We drink it from the tap all our life and nothing happens. If you want to make it softer use a filter.
You mustn't drink water from the taps in Ekaterinburg or any other industrial cities, it is ansolutely dirty, yellow colour and awful taste. My parents live in Ekaterinburg and they carry water from springs to drink, do dishes, brush teeth etc.
I have never heard that something may be wrong with bottled water. I thing it is not so profitable to produce fake water.

Чебурашка · Talk Show Host Joined: 23 Sep 2005 Posts: 218

You can brush your teeth with it. In general I would not recommend to travellers to drink tap water in any place unless they know for sure it is high quality drinking water.
In St. Petersburg you must be especially careful: There's this nasty parasite called giardia in the water. Don't drink it.

mediashark · Moderator Joined: 04 Nov 2004 Posts: 1601

There is a TV news report that almost half of bottled water in Russia is fake. Well not sure if it is that much, but it exists, especially if it mimics salted/carbonated water like Borjormi and you can't actually taste that the water is bad.

I don't know about the rest of Russia, but in Moscow I get Brita water filters easily. Filtered and/or boiled water tastes better anyway.

Shrike1070 · Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2005 12:23 am Post subject:

Bryak -

Being a canuck, you will probably remember the old adage about "Don't drink the water in Mexico"...well, the same holds true about the tap water in Russia, or any of the former Soviet countries in general. The locals can drink it to their heart's content because they've had their whole lives to adapt their systems to the local microbes. However, if you are a foreigner, especially from the US or Canada, I would NOT drink or brush your teeth in the tap water unless you want to end up with Lenin's Revenge (i.e. laying in bed for a week with horrible cramps and diarrhea). This is exactly what happened to me and one of my buddies on our last outing to Russia. You can buy a portable water purification system at any camping store near your home in Canada and bring it along with you in your baggage. Also, bring a container, like a Nalgene bottle or bicycle bottle to hold the purified water that you put through the strainer system. You should be OK, if you use this advice and your own common sense.

mediashark · Moderator Joined: 04 Nov 2004 Posts: 1601

I use a Brita table-top filter-jug at home. I'm in the office most of the time and we have a bottled water dispenser there. What I also like is that they remove the limescale from the water which is often hard, and the water just tastes better.

Take a look:
http://www.brita.net/

Maybe you can just buy a jug and cartridges for your trip so you don't have to fiddle with the tap to fix a filter.

manxi · Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2005 12:16 pm Post subject:

Not having much luck trying to access that website Sad

So how big are water filter systems? I'm just wondering how much space that would take up in your baggage. I was thinking it would be easier to buy one in Russia and just leave it behind when you go.

Ekaterina · Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2005 1:14 pm Post subject:

There is too much chlorine in our water and microbes can't survive there. Don't eat unusual food on the streets and you will avoid diarrhea. No one of my foreign guests got it.

manxi · Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2005 5:24 pm Post subject:

Yes, that's reassuring Ekaterina. I was thinking previously of travelling to a part of Russia that is a bit off the beaten track but another woman who had already been there advised me against it because of the unhygenic conditions she found there in regard to food preparation (specifically she warned me against travelling there with children) so I am not too sure what to think.

I finally got through to the Brita website. They're basically just normal electric jug sizes with a filter cartridge inside. I see they have special offers, buy one and get another for free... I'll get one of those. They seem quite practical and straight forward. Thanks for posting the link MB

bryak · Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2005 8:39 pm Post subject: dirty water

I know you can buy waterbottles that have filters built inside of them so when you squeeze the water out it automatically filters, but it only gets rid of certain things....

Should I worry about food preperaton too? Confused

If the water they use to wash it, like vegetables and what have you, would that infect the food too?

Norwegian · Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2005 1:27 am Post subject:

Is the problem of getting food poisoning widespread, at least for westerners with a weak stomach?
I can remember getting sick in Budapest in Hungary once, and twice in Northern Africa.. Lol I'm so unlucky. Laughing

Чебурашка · Talk Show Host Joined: 23 Sep 2005 Posts: 218

I've heard of people going to India that all got dhiarrhea. Of the people i know that travelled to Russia, includin myself, no one did. My aunt complained about the cold Razz

but i don't think that can scare off a Norwegian..

cdnexpat · Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2005 9:16 am Post subject:

I think it all depends on your experience in traveling and your acquired resistance.
I have travelled the world over, and now live in Afghanistan, where we do not drink the water, but use it for brushing teeth and washing dishes and vegetables. This is as close to drinking it as you can get. Not sick once in thirteen months. I was in St-Petersburg twice, and I can attest that the water purification there is top quality. with standards as high as any modern european city. I drink the tap water there.
Of course, some Canadians and Americans get sick when drinking water in Europe, because if lack of antibodies.
I also think that occasional use of vodka has beneficial effects.
Cheers