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I'm Wirecutter's water-quality expert. I don't filter my water

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Re: I'm Wirecutter's water-quality expert. I don't filter my water

#111

Post by an_aparallel »

margalabargala wrote: post #34
hollerith wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In your second paragraph you seem to be describing carbon-block filtration. Particularly, the maintenance of an RO system consists of a lot more than just replacing cartridges every year or two.

Could you elaborate? I have an undersink RO filter. Maintenance consists of changing filters every year or two.

You need to change filters as recommended, change o-rings, and bleach the fittings. Algae will develop on those. Thats pretty much it.

I wouldnt run bleach through the filters. The filter medium saturates, and any further use will just recontaminate water

Re: I'm Wirecutter's water-quality expert. I don't filter my water

#112

Post by s0rce »

micromacrofoot wrote: post #37
cinntaile wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's the mechanism here? Because it's not like there is B12 supplements in the water.

reverse osmosis removes minerals like cobalt, which are used for b12 production if you only drink ro water it can creep up on you, but takes some time

How much Co is in your water compared to your food. EPA says just 2 ppb in tap water. This means if you drink about 40 fl.oz. per day you only get 2ug of Co from your water. Per the EPA you get about 2-20x more from your food. Pretty much in no cases is your water a source of nutrients.

refs:

https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2016-09/documents/co...

https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/php/data-research/fast-facts-w...

Re: I'm Wirecutter's water-quality expert. I don't filter my water

#113

Post by s0rce »

zahlman wrote: post #66
cypherpunks01 wrote: post #13

A surprising amount of Americans refuse to drink tap water entirely, in their own suburban homes with quality municipal water, or anywhere else they travel, holding the opinion that plastic bottled water is safer and better. Of course bottled water is regulated far less than tap water, and contains an ungodly amount of microplastics from manufacturing and storage. Under-sink RO systems seem pretty great to me, anywhe…

> ... bottled water ... contains an ungodly amount of microplastics from manufacturing and storage. Is it worse than the other groceries we can't readily get without them being wrapped in plastic? Or storing leftovers in plastic bags at home?

My guess is yes, because they can more easily get into the liquid. Unless you are talking about other liquids like juices or canned foods, those I would expect are similar or vary depending on the type of plastic.

Re: I'm Wirecutter's water-quality expert. I don't filter my water

#115

Post by foresto »

> It is also certified for Particulate Class 1, which is a surrogate for microplastics.

Based on a web search, it looks like Particulate Class 1 means particles in the 0.5 to 1 micron range. Several carbon block filters are rated at 0.5 µm, so I guess they're meant to handle those microplastics, but it leaves me wondering:

Do any smaller microplastics exist? Are they likely to be present in municipal water supplies?

All the filter cartridges that I've seen, and almost all the housings and tubes that hold them and the water, are made at least partly of plastic. Given that water typically sits in these filtration systems for hours or days at a time when the tap is closed, could it be that microplastics are leaching into the water from them?

Re: I'm Wirecutter's water-quality expert. I don't filter my water

#117

Post by s0rce »

recursivedoubts wrote: post #45

I'm a dude who doesn't care to run a chemical analysis of my municipal water every couple days. I filter my water.

If you don't test it how do you know what filters are needed to remove the contaminants. You may be filtering out things that aren't there and not filtering the actually hazardous things in your water. Although you probably guess things like PFAS and microplastics which appear to be ubiquitous now.

Re: I'm Wirecutter's water-quality expert. I don't filter my water

#118

Post by s0rce »

thrill wrote: post #53
Crye wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

does it taste better because of temperature, aeration?

Far less of everything that is bigger than a water molecule.

Are you filtering your water with molecular sieves? Most water treatment doesn't work by size.

Re: I'm Wirecutter's water-quality expert. I don't filter my water

#119

Post by s0rce »

torqueehmada wrote: post #87
internet_points wrote: post #63

How much PFAS does the average water filter add to your water? (How much PFAS do you get from plastic-bottled water / soft drinks instead of the stuff coming out of metal pipes?)

Go find out and tell us. That would be really helpful information.

You can probably review the wetted materials but fluoropolymers are more expensive and not required in consumer water filters so I would assume not much PFAS. If its some activated carbon and IEX resins then its likely not making things worse.
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