In response to the Quora question "What are the weirdest things flight attendants have seen in their line of duty?" Heather Wilde, a former flight attendant, said that among the strangest were people who made soup using the airline water.
"Guys, the water lines haven't ever been cleaned â ever," she said.
Another flight attendant told Business Insider: "Flight attendants will not drink hot water on the plane. They will not drink plain coffee, and they will not drink plain tea."
"I bring my own," one flight attendant with four years of experience told Business Insider. "Plane water isn't the best."
"Bottled water only," said a flight attendant with 40 years of experience.
Of course, not everyone avoids the water. Robert "Bingo" Bingochea, a flight attendant with United Airlines, readily drinks the coffee and told Business Insider he trusted the water's cleanliness.
Riley, a flight attendant for three years, told Business Insider that all the drinking water was bottled.
"As for the coffee and tea, it does get very hot, and I like to think that kills all the germs," she said.
Another flight attendant said that whether or not he drinks the water depends on the time of year.
"During the winter, I'll drink tea, because the water tanks are so cold that there's less bacteria buildup and the water comes out so hot that it kills most germs," the flight attendant said. "But during the summer and warmer months, I'll bring my own tea from home."