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Drinking water of millions of Americans contaminated with ‘forever chemicals’
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 17 Aug 2023
312 points (97.6% liked)
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Exactly. One thing I’ve learned from areas with unsafe drinking water is the beauty of stores dedicated to providing purified water (delivery an added bonus). Going back to the US and drinking “safe” tap water has always been pretty gross after that, even in houses with some filtration systems.
A home-based RO system would be nice, but I’ve always wondered if the ones people usually get (<$500) can compete with the quality of the commercial suppliers/stores that you typically see in other countries. Likewise for the small fill stations common on the outside of US grocery stores. Are all these systems truly of similar quality? I have a hard time trusting those tiny little under-sink setups and the unattended outdoor water fills.
After having one of those undersink systems, I can say they work, the water is very pure coming out, only issue being that it's basically pure water - no minerals, no anything - ~~some issues there with actual hydration since drinking pure water can kill you - look up hyponatremia.~~
edit: might not be the case - see reply
The principle is the same as for the more expensive systems, what you don't get is
If you have around 45 psi of water pressure on your tap, it's good enough, but don't expect to be bathing in the stuff, it takes quite a long time to get usable quantities and I think you get 1L RO water to 4-5 L 'waste' water. Higher pressure - higher efficiency and speed but check the pressures the membrane is rated for. Also if your water is chlorinated you need some activated charcoal pre-filters because chlorine harms the membrane.
Maintenance should also be done regularly to change prefilters once every 3 months and the membrane once every 9-12 months. And it can get slightly messy on cheaper models.
This is a myth. You cannot be harmed from pure water, even distilled water. Lab-pure molecular water tastes like shit, anyways.
https://medicalsciences.stackexchange.com/questions/20837/can-drinking-ultra-pure-water-be-dangerous
The difference between tap and 100% pure water is so slight that it'll never cause hyponatremia. What WILL cause hyponatremia is drinking way, WAY too much water in a short span of time. That'll dilute your blood (hyponatremia) from ions that you need as your kidneys desperately try to get rid of all the water. This is entirely mitigated by eating foods around the same time that are not entirely deficient in minerals like salt (pretty much all foods).
I lived the majority of ky adult life with a roommate who kept a 100 gallon salt water coral aquarium for almost a decade. One of the most expensive, difficult, time demanding hobbies I've ever seen. He couldn't afford to replace the 20 or so gallon that needed to be replaced every couple weeks to keep the salinity and other chemical levels stable, so we had one of those under the sink RO filters. It always tasted great unless he forgot to change the filters. I worked at a Starbucks for quite a while and they basically just have a larger version of that which is changed out whenever the sensors ping their maintenance hq. Water there tasted the same.
Plastic bottled water to me is one of the ultimate fuck yous to the planet's ecosystem that most people could easily stop today. It's telling that the consumable plastic market is primarily owned by the oil companies, hell it's one of the many products that can be developed from the refinery process. Short answer is get a metal thermos or canteen and refill it with RO or some other filtered water, get one of those Brita pitchers if you can't or won't install an RO, and cut back on your plastic containers as much as you feasibly can.
My thoughts are more centered on true purity and safety, but it’s usually a good sign if it at least tastes better! As we learn more about water contamination, it seems like a well-designed and well-maintained RO system is a good idea for people who want to help protect their health.
Single-use plastic water bottles are basically a crime against humanity, especially when used frivolously (drinking bottles filled with tap water of the same quality that comes out of the faucet). But the reusable 5-gallon jugs are a different category, in my opinion. In many places, these large plastic containers are by far the most popular lifeline to safe drinking water. Of course I’d prefer metal or glass, but the logistical challenges and availability make them a problem.
Agree with most everything you said, except the Brita part... Those things are kind of a joke, lookup ZeroWater. IMO it's the best RO alternative you can get (it tests better than RO too in terms of TDS ... but it's way more of a hassle and a few TDS aren't really an issue).
Oh nice! Just checked out their site. Thanks for the tip.
I’m imagine it depends who the service company for the filling machine is. Our delivery is from sparkeletts, and I made sure to get the spring water, not the filtered water.
I agree. ”It depends” seems like the right answer to me.
Having access to clean, tested spring water seems ideal. You’re a lucky one!
But for areas dealing with contaminated water (whether it’s PFAS, lead pipes like Flint Michigan, or literal shit and commercial chemical dumping from areas with lackluster water treatment, mostly outside the US) then “it depends” seems the right answer.
What’s the RO membrane rating? Does the system have UV? Charcoal? Remineralization? And do they perform the necessary maintenance? Seems like these are the critical factors about the system and might be found in someone’s home, might be at the stores, but it depends!