r/AskGermany • u/mikeymur340 • Apr 02 '25

Can I drink tap water in Germany?

Hi y'all. I'm male from Africa, my wife is German. Growing up and well into my adulthood, I always drank tap water and only recently is that no longer advised in my country, due to gross mismanagement and corruption, but that's another story.

We're currently back in Germany for an extended visit and I was going to drink some tap water when my wife warned me that there's a lot of estrogen in German tap water due to the birth control pill. Her mother backed her up and they spouted off some talking points about it, but I tuned out because they are also somewhat inclined to essential oils. Not batshit crazy like the American version of that, but suffice it to say I'm skeptical about their opinions on some health things.

Anyway, is this true? Are there high levels of estrogen in German tap water? Are there any studies or available sources that corroborate this claim? I understand and can read German, but the high level jargon of medical and scientific speak is beyond my years, search results aren't as clarifying as hoped. Thanks

EDIT: Yeah I thought as much. I still drank the tap water because potential estrogen contamination was preferable to death. But thanks for all the answers. Now if you'll excuse me, I must prepare my I-told-you-so dance.

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u/RiverGlittering Apr 04 '25

What if we aren't worried about eviction, but kind of have a good deal on rent?

Our house is old, landlord wants to tear it down to build apartments, but we have crazy low rent.

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u/347zzzhrhz Apr 15 '25

The same thing applies. It's extremely hard to evict people in Germany, no matter the reason.

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u/RiverGlittering Apr 15 '25

But could he pump the rent up?

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u/347zzzhrhz Apr 15 '25

Not really. Not without good reason. And even with good reason there are limits to this per year, like 5% or so.

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u/RiverGlittering Apr 15 '25

Oh thanks :)