Australian Tap Water Myths: 10 Things Most People Get Wrong
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Most Australians don’t think twice about their tap water. We turn on the kitchen tap, fill a glass, step into the shower, and assume everything is pretty standard. But once you start paying attention — especially to how your skin and hair feel after a shower — you realise that the story is a little more complicated.
Australia genuinely has some of the safest drinking water in the world. But “safe to drink” and “pleasant to shower in” are two very different experiences. And with so many mixed opinions online, we wanted to create something clear, simple, and genuinely helpful.
If you're curious about what’s happening in your water, you can always take the Flowy Quiz for a quick personalised breakdown.
Here are 10 of the most common myths about Australian tap water, debunked with facts (and maybe a few surprises).
1. “All Australian tap water is basically the same.”
It would be convenient if this were true — but it’s not.
Australia’s water comes from rivers, dams, groundwater, desalination plants, and in some regions, a blend of all three. Each state, each city, and often each suburb can have noticeably different:
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mineral hardness
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chlorine levels
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pH
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sediment
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treatment processes
This is why someone in Carlton, Melbourne can rave about soft, “buttery” water while someone in Unley Park, Adelaide swears their shower is drying them out.
Water is local.
Your shower experience is too.
If you want to compare cities side by side, explore our Australian city water guides for a simple breakdown of what’s in your local water.
2. “If I can drink it, it must be fine for my skin and hair.”
This misunderstanding catches so many people off guard.
Regulators treat water to make it safe for consumption. But your skin isn’t swallowing tap water — it’s being exposed to heat, steam, and direct full-body contact, which changes the way certain chemicals behave.
For example, chlorine is perfectly acceptable in drinking water at regulated levels… but becomes significantly more noticeable when it mixes with hot steam.
So yes — you can safely drink your tap water.
But your skin and hair might not love showering in it daily.
If you want to understand the specific factors affecting shower water, take a look at our full guide: What’s Really In Your Shower Water?
3. “Chlorine is only something to worry about in pools.”
Chlorine is essential in public water systems because it keeps harmful microbes under control. It’s one of the reasons Australia has such safe drinking water.
But chlorine wasn’t designed with beauty or comfort in mind. It’s powerful, reactive, and especially noticeable in hot showers where it can contribute to dryness or irritation for some people.
That doesn’t mean chlorine is “bad.”
It just means it wasn’t added for your skin’s benefit.
4. “Hard water isn’t really an issue here.”
It absolutely is — particularly in places like Adelaide and Perth, which have some of the highest hardness levels in the country.
Hard water contains more calcium and magnesium than soft water, and while these minerals are harmless, they can:
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create that “squeaky” skin feeling
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make hair feel rough or dull
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reduce soap and shampoo lather
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leave limescale on tiles and glass
So when your shower glass looks foggy no matter how much you clean it?
That’s often hardness at work.
You can check whether your area is considered hard-water-prone in our city-by-city water guides.
5. “Whole-house filtration is the only proper solution.”
Whole-home systems have their place, but they’re expensive and unnecessary for most families.
If your main frustrations are:
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post-shower dryness
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hair feeling brittle
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chlorine smell
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limescale around the bathroom
…a well-designed shower filter usually solves the problem more directly (and affordably).
It’s the “targeted solution” approach.
Just handle the water you actually bathe in.
To see how our multi-stage shower filter works, check out the Flowy Showerhead today.
6. “Vitamin C shower filters remove everything.”
This one pops up constantly.
Vitamin C is great at neutralising chlorine — but it doesn’t remove hardness minerals, sediments, or metals. It’s not a full-spectrum filtration system.
A multi-stage filter (like a blend of KDF-55, catalytic carbon, and PP cotton) handles a much wider range of water concerns, especially in hot showers where the filtration media needs to be heat-stable.
7. “Bottled water is cleaner, so it must be better.”
Bottled water is filtered differently, but it doesn’t matter when you’re showering — you’re still using your home’s tap water.
Plus, bottled water is regulated as a packaged food, while tap water is held to strict public health standards. They’re simply different systems with different goals.
One isn’t automatically “cleaner” than the other — they’re just for different uses.
8. “Clear water means clean water.”
Not quite.
Clarity is about visible particles. But many of the things people notice in the shower — chlorine, minerals, pH, dissolved metals, treatment by-products — are completely invisible.
So clear water can still dry out skin.
Clear water can still cause limescale.
Clear water can still smell like a swimming pool after a hot shower.
9. “Only older homes have water quality problems.”
Older pipes definitely play a role, but so do new ones.
Copper, PVC, PEX — every material interacts slightly differently with water, heat, and pressure.
Add in:
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hot-water systems
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seasonal changes
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fluctuating chlorine levels
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construction or maintenance work in your area
…and you realise the age of your home is only one small piece of the puzzle.
10. “If my city has good water, I don’t need a shower filter.”
Even cities with softer or more “balanced” water still disinfect with chlorine. Treatment methods change seasonally. Infrastructure ages. Minerals fluctuate. And each home’s plumbing adds its own fingerprint.
A shower filter isn’t only for “problem water.”
It’s for consistency — day in, day out — no matter what’s happening upstream in your supply.
If you’d like to see the system we designed for Australian water, learn more about the Flowy Showerhead here.
So, is Australian tap water safe?
Yes — absolutely.
But “safe” and “optimal for showering” are different. Most people only realise this once they experience:
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less dryness
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softer hair
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reduced chlorine smell
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fewer limescale marks
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more comfortable showers overall
Water touches your skin and hair more than almost anything else you use daily.
Understanding it means you can take better care of yourself — without overthinking it.
If you're curious about what’s happening in your area, you can explore our Australian water guides for simple, friendly breakdowns.
Want personalised insights?
Our skin + hair + water quiz takes less than a minute and gives you a tailored explanation of what might be going on in your shower.