Is Water Cooler Water Clean? Here Are the Facts About Water Cooler in Singapore

Hmm…here’s a tough one: is water cooler water clean?

Would you consider a water cooler in Singapore better than the usual tap water, or is it just a cooler for water? Because we all know how our tap water’s quality is so, so good that you can just drink directly from the tap.

Here’s what you need to know about the two water dispensers. Yup, taps do give you water, so they’re, technically, dispensers.

Our Great Tap Water

According to our Public Utilities Board (PUB), tap water in the country is safe to drink. Phew. Rooftop water tanks are checked annually to ensure that its water quality remains uncompromised.

The tap water here is also according to the guidelines of the World Health Organization, and even the US Environmental Protection Agency benchmarks.

It’s so pure, you don’t even need to boil or filter it any further!

In fact, PUB advises the public against installing water purifiers and filters. If the items are not maintained properly, bacteria could actually grow inside them. Yikes!

Here’s another fun fact – EVERY YEAR, more than 400,000 water quality checks are conducted in the Public Utilities Board’s very own water quality lab that comes accredited.

Water samples are even collected from the taps of HDB flats to ensure that every sample passes its test.

If there are every any lapses found, PUB’s enforcement includes either a jail term for a year, a S$10,000 fine, or both.

Now, About Water Coolers

A water cooler’s always fun to use as it gives you a chill, cold drink, which in my opinion is especially good since Singapore is always summer.

You’ve probably seen these useful fellas anywhere from a canteen, at Changi Airport, in schools and even in many public spots.

All it takes for you to drink is a press of the button, and you’ve got gloriously cold liquid going down your throat.

But here’s the number 1 question on everyone’s mind: Is it just cold tap water that you’re getting from a water cooler in Singapore?

Yes, It’s Just Cold Tap Water

The answer is here: Yes!

Here’s why. Don’t need to scratch your head again.

You see, the water cooler is just, after all, a machine. It gets its water source from the pipe, which is essentially tap water.

There is one extra thing you need to take note of.

Water coolers have extra gadgets in as well as filters to bring the tap water’s temperature down. As with all machines, it requires maintenance. You can only hope that it’s serviced properly to ensure that no extra bugs get into contact with it as the pure water from the tap passes its system and reaches you in all its chilly goodness.

You don’t have to worry about the old myth of people’s leftover water being recycled into the machine and drunk by you – that’s just a sad old story that’s not true.

Whereas for tap water? No extra gadgets: just pure drinkable water direct from the source.

Honestly, if you ask me, just skip the whole thing and bottle your tap water to keep in the fridge. No extra worries and if you’re out, just drink good old tap water.

‘Coz technically speaking, if you think about it, tap water is, to a certain extent, even cleaner than water cooler.