Questions about water

Hello, everyone!
I find myself pondering various "water-related" matters lately 😁 , so
I was hoping to gather some of your thoughts on the subject 😉
Does the municipal tap water here in America undergo any fluoridation?
Do you typically drink from the tap, opt for bottled water, or perhaps something else entirely? 🙂
What is your take on Brita filters, and do you find them useful in your daily routine?
To what extent does the quality of your drinking water concern you—or does it even cross your mind at all?
One more thing, where might one find bottles of Evian? I haven't been able to spot them
in any local grocery stores... 🙄

It was like a lightbulb moment for me when someone in the movie Reality Bites pointed out that thinking evian is some kind of holy grail is just totally naive.
Personally, I just drink tap water when I'm hanging out at home (it’s super crisp, reminds me of the water up near the Rockies), but if I'm out running errands in the city, I'll just grab a half-liter bottle of Jane. Honestly, whenever I see a girl carrying around one of those tiny little bottles, I'm just sitting there like... 🙄 seriously?

If anyone caught the news on ABC today, they were telling everyone this
(that all those filters are just a waste of cash since there’s zero difference—they even claimed that filtered water could be microbiologically worse than what comes straight out of your tap)
I stick to tap water exclusively, though if I'm out in the city, I might grab a bottle of something.

Yeah, it was just pouring rain ten minutes ago...

Tap water is actually better quality than filtered stuff, and I know for a fact it beats bottled water too.😉 😁

Exactly. I drink from the tap.

Every now and then, I’ll pick up some magnesium or maybe some Donata—though only if it’s served ice cold😁. Otherwise, I just stick to the tap water at home, or grab bottled stuff when I'm out and about. I used to rely heavily on my Brita filters—you see, the water where I live is incredibly hard, and whenever I try to use a coffee filter, it ends up absolutely clogged with yellow sediment—but they worked for a while. It felt like the water was passing through my kidneys much more easily, you know? But the moment I start sweating a bit more and realize I actually need some real minerals, the Brita just isn't cutting it anymore; it feels far too weak. When I do go the bottled route, besides the magnesium waters, I usually opt for Jane, or maybe something chilled like Poland Spring. The clear, plain stuff is a total disaster for me—honestly, it tastes like it was scooped straight out of a swamp. I remember seeing Evian at a local Walmart once, back when that location first opened, but I haven't really felt the urge to try it; I suspect it might be a bit overrated. What I am genuinely curious about is that Active O2 oxygen-infused water from Adelholzener Quellen—maybe I'll feel a bit 🙂 high on it? I'm actually heading to Austria tomorrow, so if I can track it down without paying an absolute fortune per $10 sip, I'll let you all know how it goes!

What’s the deal with Nobel and their water testing? Are they just selling snake oil...

They swung by my place the other day. Their rep did some electrolysis thing on my water—it turned pitch black, looked greasy as hell, and smelled pretty nasty too!

Asking because I was actually thinking about installing one of their units!

The water changes color during electrolysis because of the chlorine levels in there..
It could also shift color due to limescale buildup, but let's be real, limescale isn't actually harmful

If you're still skeptical, I guess you could try this: just grab 5 liters of water and boil it until it all evaporates... then you can see whatever gunk is left at the bottom... it's the simplest experiment you can do

Kyle Nelson2 said:The water changes color during electrolysis because of the chlorine levels in there..
It could also shift color due to limescale buildup, but let's be real, limescale isn't actually harmful

If you're still skeptical, I guess you could try this: just grab 5 liters of water and boil it until it all evaporates... then you can see whatever gunk is left at the bottom... it's the simplest experiment you can do

I don't care about chlorine or limescale. I'm talking heavy metals and how much of them are actually in our drinking water... just the way water travels through old pipes can contaminate it before it even reaches you.

Kyle Nelson2 said:The water changes color during electrolysis because of the chlorine levels in there..
It could also shift color due to limescale buildup, but let's be real, limescale isn't actually harmful

If you're still skeptical, I guess you could try this: just grab 5 liters of water and boil it until it all evaporates... then you can see whatever gunk is left at the bottom... it's the simplest experiment you can do

I drink spring water, nothing's left after boiling it out...
not really a huge believer in filters...

Well, those experts who actually analyze water quality were definitely talking about those devices...

The difference is that these filters—though most of them barely change the actual composition of the water, so you're basically just throwing money away—don't just strip out the chlorine; they also filter out the good stuff. Plus, filtered water is microbiologically "unstable," if that's even the right term, unlike tap water. It’s honestly better to drink straight from the tap, and save the filters for places where the tap water isn't reliable. In those cases, filtered is better than unverified.

So, the bottom line is this: if you want to sleep better at night, go ahead and buy the filters, but realistically, you aren't doing much for your health or the actual quality of the water.😁

wiredmarlin20 said:I don't care about chlorine or limescale. I'm talking heavy metals and how much of them are actually in our drinking water... just the way water travels through old pipes can contaminate it before it even reaches you.

Metal isn't even soluble in water by default.

Kyle Nelson2 said:Metal isn't even soluble in water by default.

And what is lead if not a metal? It’s in the water. It didn't get there because we're out here tossing fishing weights into the lake; it comes from standard pollutants leaching into the groundwater.
Iron is soluble—corrosion happens!

Let me rephrase: we're talking about heavy chemical elements that are definitely not meant to be part of the human body!

Since December 8, 2003, the Environmental Protection Agency's Water Testing Department has been accredited under ISO/IEC 17025 standards to test the following indicators in drinking, groundwater, and surface water using these specific methods:

* determination of dissolved anions (fluoride, chloride, nitrate, nitrite, bromide, phosphate, orthophosphate, and sulfate) via ion chromatography (ISO 10304-1:1998)
* determination of dissolved cations (ammonium, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, lithium) via ion chromatography (ISO 14911:2001)
* determination of metals and metalloids:
o total chromium (ISO 1233)
o copper (ISO 8288)
o iron (DIN 38406-32)
o lead (ISO 5961)
o cadmium (ISO 5961)
o manganese (DIN 38406-33)
o arsenic (ISO 11969)
o mercury (ISO 1483:1998)
* determination of anionic surfactants via methylene blue index:
o anionic detergents (ISO 7875/1:1998)
* determination of lipophilic substances and hydrocarbons:
o total oils (DIN 38409:1971 H18)
o mineral oils (DIN 38409:1981 H18)
* determination of triazine herbicides:
o atrazine (ISO 11369 n 1997 (E))
o desethyl atrazine (ISO 11369 n 1997 (E))
o simazine (ISO 11369 n 1997 (E))
o prometon (ISO 11369 n 1997 (E))
o propazine (ISO 11369 n 1997 (E))
o terbutryn (ISO 11369 n 1997 (E))
* determination of aromatic hydrocarbons:
o BTEX (ISO 1123-2:1997)
o benzene (ISO 1123-2:1997)
o toluene (ISO 1123-2:1997)
o ethylbenzene (ISO 1123-2:1997)
o xylene (ISO 1123-2:1997)
o styrene (ISO 1123-2:1997)

For wastewater, they are authorized to test these indicators using the mentioned methods:

* determination of chemical oxygen demand (COD) in concentration ranges above 15 mg O2/L (DIN 38409 T41:1996)
* determination of nitrogen by Kjeldahl—mineralization method with selenium (DIN EN 25663:1993)
* metals and metalloids:
o total chromium
o copper (ISO 8288)
o lead (ISO 8288)
o cadmium (ISO 8288)
o mercury (ISO 1483:1998)

SOURCE:
http://www.publichealth-chicago.gov/ma...d=27&Itemid=64

Okay... so was that actually an argument for being afraid of bad water, or against it?
(I mean, great, if it's being tested on the EPA level)

As for the corrosion thing...
I'll ask around tomorrow to see what those pipes are actually made of, but don't you think that if they were just basic iron, they'd start rusting way faster in a municipal system? I guess the combination of dissolved oxygen and chlorine would pretty much speed that process right up.

Kyle Nelson2 said:Okay... so was that actually an argument for being afraid of bad water, or against it?
(I mean, great, if it's being tested on the EPA level)

As for the corrosion thing...
I'll ask around tomorrow to see what those pipes are actually made of, but don't you think that if they were just basic iron, they'd start rusting way faster in a municipal system? I guess the combination of dissolved oxygen and chlorine would pretty much speed that process right up.

😁 😁
They listed everything under the sun!

Regarding corrosion...
I'll ask the crew tomorrow what the pipes are actually made of, but don't you think standard water main pipes would rust way too fast if they were just plain iron? That mix of dissolved oxygen and chlorine would speed things up big time.

The plumbing inside buildings is iron, but the stuff underground isn't—it's some kind of plastic. I saw them installing it (black and blue color), and I know my water tasted like plastic or rubber for about six months straight...🤮

No clue what the old pipes were before these new ones went in!

When it comes to the tap water here in the States, I don't think it's an issue to drink straight from the sink. I honestly only reach for bottled water if the news reports some kind of contamination issue or if there’s construction work happening on the pipes.
And it's not like I drink just a little—if anything, I'm a bit of a water fanatic. 😬 In the winter, I'll go through maybe 3.5 to 4 liters, but during the summer when I'm working hard, I can easily hit 10 liters, even though my miserable average sits around 7 liters. 😬

Anyway, I'm originally from San Diego, but I'm living in Chicago now. I have to say, the Chicago water has less chlorine, but I actually prefer the taste of the San Diego stuff (even though, technically, water shouldn't have a "taste" at all).

Bottled water doesn't even come close to being as good as what you get from the tap. And people can claim that bottled water is just as good as spring water all they want, but they can tell that to someone else. I've had plenty of chances to drink both natural spring water and, say, water straight from Niagara, and it is incomparably better than anything you'll find sitting on a store shelf or running through city pipes.

Look, don't be naive—there is a massive difference between tap water and spring water. Sure, tap water is microbiologically "safe," but that's only because it’s been absolutely nuked with chlorine and heavy metals. Most of those metals just end up building up inside your pipes anyway. Honestly, you're better off sticking to bottled water, even if the quality of that can be pretty hit-or-miss depending on what you grab.

And what if studies have already shown otherwise? That plain tap water actually outperforms anything flashy in a bottle?

So, they were just testing standard tap water from people's homes... not some fancy "spring water"?

Man, I’d love to actually see those studies. So you're saying there was chlorine at the source, but none coming out of the tap? That's wild.

Jamie Rivera78 said:Man, I’d love to actually see those studies. So you're saying there was chlorine at the source, but none coming out of the tap? That's wild.

Tonitko isn't just claiming that even the flashy bottled stuff doesn't come close to the source water.

Jamie Rivera78 said:Look, don't be naive—there is a massive difference between tap water and spring water. Sure, tap water is microbiologically "safe," but that's only because it’s been absolutely nuked with chlorine and heavy metals. Most of those metals just end up building up inside your pipes anyway. Honestly, you're better off sticking to bottled water, even if the quality of that can be pretty hit-or-miss depending on what you grab.

Personally, I just head straight to the spring, like I do... there are plenty of them around Chicago

wiredmarlin20 said:No clue what kind of pipes they had before this new setup!

Lead, most likely. And lead is terrible for brain development...