Boil water notice: can I shower, and what needs boiled water?

Under a boil water notice, tap water is fine for showering and bathing (don't swallow it), washing clothes and flushing, says the Drinking Water Inspectorate. Boil and cool it for drinking, brushing teeth, food preparation, ice, baby bottles and pets. When the water is safe again, your water company announces the all-clear.

The slightly longer answer

A boil water notice means the water in your tap might contain bacteria, viruses or parasites which could be harmful to your health, says the Drinking Water Inspectorate (checked 26 Aug 2026). Boiling deals with them, and contact that keeps water out of your mouth, like showering, carries on as normal. Yes, you can shower; just don’t swallow it.

The DWI’s list of what still works as usual: showering and bathing, washing dishes provided you use hot water and dry them thoroughly, washing clothes, and flushing the toilet. Boiled and cooled water is for anything that ends up inside someone: drinking, brushing teeth, making ice, preparing food, cleaning baby feeding equipment, and water for pets.

Boiling is simple. Bring the water to a rolling boil, let it cool naturally, keep it in a clean container in the fridge and throw it away if unused after 24 hours. The full first-hour-to-first-week plan, including bottled water stations, is in the water’s off, or there’s a boil notice.

When is the water safe again?

A notice stays in place until the water company’s repeated sampling shows the water is safe, in consultation with the health authorities, and the company then announces the all-clear through the same channels it used to issue the notice. The DWI, the drinking water quality regulator, may investigate afterwards, as it did after the Tunbridge Wells incident. There is no fixed length: some notices last a day or two. The Tunbridge Wells notice in late 2025 ran about nine days, from 3 to 12 December, at the end of a disruption lasting about two weeks in total, as reported at the time.

When it lifts, follow whatever the company’s all-clear message says. Some companies advise briefly running your taps before first use to draw fresh water through your pipes. [VERIFY: post-notice flushing advice — water company guidance] After that, the tap is back to normal, with nothing to boil and nothing to remember.

Related questions

Can children have a bath during a boil water notice?

Yes. Bathing is on the DWI’s safe-as-normal list, with the one condition that the water stays out of mouths. Keep an eye on small children who like to drink bath water, and use boiled and cooled or bottled water for brushing their teeth afterwards.

Does a water filter jug make the water safe to drink?

Assume not. The DWI’s boil notice guidance doesn’t cover jug or tap filters, so treat filtered tap water the same as unfiltered until your water company says otherwise. Boiling remains the method the notice actually asks for, and it costs nothing but kettle time.

Can I use the dishwasher?

The DWI covers washing dishes by hand: hot water, then dry thoroughly before use. Dishwashers are not specifically covered, so check your water company’s notice; a hot cycle with full drying is the closest equivalent. When in doubt, follow the wording of your own company’s advice over anyone’s general page.

What should pets drink during a boil notice?

The same as you: boiled and cooled tap water, or bottled water. The DWI includes pets on its list of uses that need boiled water. Keep a bottle in the fridge for the animals so nobody tops the bowl up from the tap without thinking.

How much water should I keep at home in case this happens?

The government’s Prepare campaign quotes the WHO minimum of 2.5 to 3 litres of drinking water per person per day, so 9 litres each covers three days. That keeps you off the bottled water queue for most notices. The full working is in how much water per person.

Sources & review

• Drinking Water Inspectorate: Receiving a boil water notice. Checked 26 August 2026. What a notice means, boiling method, what needs boiled water, what stays safe as normal. The page does not cover lifting a notice, filters or dishwashers, noted above.
• UK Government, Prepare campaign: Get prepared for emergencies. Checked 26 August 2026. Water quantities per person per day.
• South East Water: Boil notice for customers in Tunbridge Wells. Checked 26 August 2026. The company’s own page for the 2025 incident; notice dates and overall duration are as reported at the time.

Awaiting editorial review (reviewedBy: TBC). Post-notice tap-flushing advice is marked [VERIFY] pending water company confirmation.