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Comment by diggan

7 days ago

> The dunks contain an unhealthy—for the mosquito larvae—dose of the bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis, or BT. Don’t worry about your dog, Moonpie, or your cat, French Fry. They can drink straight from the bucket and be perfectly fine. Hey, it’s probably better than when they drink from your toilet, right?

Here I was under the impression that the water in the toilet is the same water as go into the taps, potable water, at least that's common here in Spain. Is it not the same in the US? Then both of them may have stagnant water or even "polluted" water in one way or another, but seems more or less the same.

People have probably not defecated in your fresh water pipes. Your toilet bowl can’t claim the same.

It's the same in the US. I think the author probably just meant that slightly buggy "pond" water is no worse than toiler water for a pet.

(Americans also like to put all kinds of chemical pucks/cleaner devices in our toilets, so maybe the author is referring to that?)

Porcelain isn't zero percent porous. It's just the least porous material that can also support the weight of two people when fashioned into the shape of a toilet. There's a reason toilet cleaners still contain bleach.

author was just making a joke here. Yes it's all the same water in the US although some towns in actually have greywater distribution systems, mostly for irrigation and fire hydrants.

  • Large new buildings in the Bay Area will use recycled water for toilets as well as irrigation. There are signs above every toilet telling you the water in the toilet is not fit for drinking.

Ironically toilets are usually one of the cleanest locations in the US. There is no real concern about chemicals used, since no one should be drinking or eating from a toilet bowl. Generally speaking you wouldn't wash your plates with bleach

It is the same water but it's also fairly common for people to use harsh chemicals and toilet tablets to keep them clean and smelling fresh. Those would not be so good for your pet.