Drinking Water

We are visiting KL, Penang and Singapore in July and will be staying at the Mandarin Oriental in KL, the Rasa Sayang in Penang and the Mandarin at Marina Bay in Singapore. What should we do about drinking water - I presume we should go for bottled water but would be ok using tap water for teeth cleaning and would we better avoiding ice when we have a drink? We are only away for 2 weeeks so don%26#39;t want to waste time being ill! Any advice would be appreciated.

Drinking Water

HI

Whilst we do drink lots of bottled water, we have never used bottled water in Malayisa or Singapore for teeth cleaning or have ever avoided ice, and have drunk directly from the tap with no adverse effect.

Malaysia and Singapore have a great drinking water treatment systems compared to many countries and the level of pathogenes that cause upset tums is very low and at a similar level to those we experiance. We also drink lots of fruit juices, ice creams and iced coffee. After all, all plates, cups, glasses and cutlery are washed in the same tap water.

All the hotels you are staying at are high class 5* hotels and usually have small bottles of water in the room. Stayed in Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Singpore many times and never been ill.

Most illness in places like Malayisa is by mixing too much alchol, spicey food, and sun with not enough water.

Eat anywhere that appeals, as long as the food it freshly prepared and hot.

Have fun.

Drinking Water

Seems OTT to brush your teeth with bottle water. We were told to do the same by some people on our recent visit to Thailand and we all lived to tell the tale.

In Malaysia it is save to drink water from the tap. It is just for the taste of it that you%26#39;ll probably prefer to drink water from a bottle.

Hi Travelhappypair,

Malaysian treated water comply to WHO standard.

For your info%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;Water supply to Singapore also from Malaysia at PUB kota Tinggi.(Johore)

No harm using bottled water(more expensive than gas) if you could afford it.

Cheers

Malaysian Health Standards and water treatment standard are WAY ABOVE and BEYOND from Thailand!!!! After all; we sell our freshwater to Singapore to get it process and treated and they sell it back to us as drinking water. I have been drinking Malaysian/Singaporean tap water/ice for the last 25 years of my live; an I have yet to encounter any problems. Tap water is best for your health since it has been treated and fortified with fluoride. However, many tourists cannot get used to the taste of tap water; so if you don%26#39;t like the taste; buy drinking/mineral water. The Mandarin Oriental gives their guests two tiny 250ml mineral water everyday, complimentary. Just walk to cold storage downstairs at KLCC and get your drinking water. If you are staying in Marina Bay, go to the Carrefour in Suntec or the many 7-11s/kiosk (next to the Tapas restaurant) on the way to buy bottled mineral water.

';Seems OTT to brush your teeth with bottle water.';

Not at all. Accepting that the water in Malaysia is fine, as a general point, brushing teeth with local water is probably worse than drinking it, espacially if you%26#39;re prone to any bleeding from gums (a quite common condition) because it%26#39;s a direct root into the bloodstream for any unfamiliar micro-organisms.

There are plenty of places in the world where local drinking water is unsafe or unadvisable for visitors. Avoiding ice and sticking to bottled drinks is a good way of reducing the risk, but brushing with tap water would negate that.

I%26#39;m pleased to hear that I%26#39;ll be safe to use tap water in KL, though. If my record in the tropics is anything to go by, though, I%26#39;ll still find some way to be at least a bit poorly - and it won%26#39;t be excessive spicy food or booze and I try to avoid prolonged exposure to the sun. Perhaps it%26#39;s the bottled water!

Travelling to most 3rd world countries it is essential to use only sealed bottled water! Plus it%26#39;s recommended for aKenya, Egypt, Caribbean etc!

Malaysia is great, no worries!

Clean and drinkable water, plenty of ice in drinks, and nice clean teeth!

Hi

The taste of local tap water is due to residual ';chlorine'; as a disinfectant.

By boiling it sufficiently will vaporise the chlorine gas and get rid of the offending taste/odour.

Local water also tested regularly by chemistry department for ';E-Coli'; to comply with health limits.

Still feel unsafe?

Play safe ';boil it'; make you feel better

When I came here 5 months ago I used bottled water for everything as I was unsure how the water was.Not now,only use it for drinking.

Thanks to everyone for their information, it sounds like we can live dangerously and use the tap water except to drink. Really excited about the trip but I hope that the £ recovers a bit before we go!