Storing Drinking-Water in Copper Pots Kills Contaminating Bacteria (2012)

Post by vram22 » Sat, May 27, 2017, 7:11 PM UTC

Red_Tarsius wrote: post #46

vram22 wrote: post #37

Using copper vessels to store water for drinking is somewhat common in parts of India. Seen it in Maharashtra. Lead vessels were traditionally used (and may still be) to make certain dishes (like rasam, a watery lentil-based sour soup) in South India. No idea about any benefits or the reverse. Update: Also, I've seen relatives of the previous generation to mine (in India), sometimes eating from silver plates. Not sur…

Varg Vikernes (author of Burzum) mentioned that European barbarians used to clean water by letting it stand in a copper vessel over night. The custom of throwing coins into sources or wells might come from this pagan tradition.

Post by kpil » Sat, May 27, 2017, 7:19 PM UTC

jessaustin wrote: post #34

LgWoodenBadger wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is storing it in copper pots significantly different than "storing" it in the copper pipes prevalent in a majority of houses in the USA?

That's true for houses of a particular age and value. New stuff is all PEX, and has been for some time. Old enough houses would have been cast iron. Cheaper houses (mobile homes, for example) were all PVC for a long time. I had to dig up and repair a sewer pipe yesterday, and was somewhat surprised to find that it was made of clay tile .

Post by smcl » Sat, May 27, 2017, 7:39 PM UTC

throwaway5752 wrote: post #40

vram22 wrote: post #37

Using copper vessels to store water for drinking is somewhat common in parts of India. Seen it in Maharashtra. Lead vessels were traditionally used (and may still be) to make certain dishes (like rasam, a watery lentil-based sour soup) in South India. No idea about any benefits or the reverse. Update: Also, I've seen relatives of the previous generation to mine (in India), sometimes eating from silver plates. Not sur…

Just as a PSA, lead in any quantity is toxic and particularly so for children. Copper, silver, and gold are in the same family of elements (group 11) and lead is in the carbon family. Very different characteristics. edit: I should also note (since bringing up families of elements) that - supporting your anecdote - silver has known and studied antimicrobial properties ( https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16766878 ).…

Post by ComputerGuru » Sat, May 27, 2017, 7:52 PM UTC

Moto7451 wrote: post #61

zxv wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Silver sulfadiazine 1% cream is a highly effective antibiotic for preventing infections in deep burns. In my experience, while while the wound is open, this was the only cream that had no skin reactions, and that made it far easier keep it on 24/7. The cream kept air out, greatly reduced pain. Eliminating infection allowed more rapid healing. I don't know whether it's prescribed today, but it was the only cream that…

Yup, it is still prescribed. They gave it to me after I had surgery on ingrown toenails on both sides of both big toes [1]. My Podiatrist used acid to burn away part of the nail matrix to prevent the outer quarter of each toenail from growing, reducing my toenail to half width. That prevented the problem from happening again [2]. Silvadine kept my toes from getting infected further and they healed rather painlessly.…

Post by jessaustin » Sat, May 27, 2017, 7:56 PM UTC

kpil wrote: post #74

jessaustin wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's true for houses of a particular age and value. New stuff is all PEX, and has been for some time. Old enough houses would have been cast iron. Cheaper houses (mobile homes, for example) were all PVC for a long time. I had to dig up and repair a sewer pipe yesterday, and was somewhat surprised to find that it was made of clay tile .

Eh, what is the expected lifetime of PEX tubes? The building code in USA is a bit relaxed compared to northern Europe, but can you have PEX tubes inside walls? I think the recommendation here is a dual tube system, with a PEX pipe inside a protective outer tube.