It started as a harmless late-night habit — my husband would wake up thirsty, wander to the bathroom, and drink straight from the tap instead of walking to the kitchen.

At first, I laughed it off. But after months of watching him sip from that faucet, something about it began to bother me. I couldn’t shake the feeling that bathroom tap water wasn’t quite the same as the crisp, clean water from our kitchen sink. “Water is water,” he’d always say. But one night, curiosity — and a bit of concern — got the best of me. I decided to find out if he was right… or if I had a reason to worry.

What I learned was surprising. While both kitchen and bathroom taps usually draw water from the same main supply, the path that water takes inside your home can make all the difference. Kitchen taps are often connected directly to the main cold-water line, keeping the flow fresh and filtered. Bathroom taps, on the other hand, may be linked to older or secondary pipes —