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

nytimes.com

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

#151

Post by rsync »

jandrewrogers wrote: post #144
rsync wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow this has gone off the rails quickly. To wit: Arsenic is not an essential micronutrient. "Trace quantities of arsenic have been proposed to be an essential dietary element in rats, hamsters, goats, and chickens. Research has not been conducted to determine whether small amounts of arsenic may play a role in human metabolism." [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsenic

There is substantial evidence that arsenic is a required micronutrient in all mammalian biology. This is not even controversial, you can reliably induce deficiency syndromes in a broad spectrum of animal models, and the operative pathways exist in humans. The effect was first observed in animal husbandry in parts of the world with very low background arsenic levels. It has the same toxicity and micronutrient profile…

If what you are saying is true – and I am not being sarcastic - I encourage you to edit and update the Wikipedia page that I referenced.

The authority that I have appealed to (Wikipedia) is a reasonable one and bias should not be implied in the absence of these supposed corrections you have to make.

I’m open-minded …

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

#152

Post by teruakohatu »

BugsJustFindMe wrote: post #11

Money quote: > readings of PFAS that exceed EPA limits have been found in just 8% of small public water systems (those that serve fewer than 10,000 people) and 15% of large ones 15%! Anyone who trusts their municipal water supply because of *handwave* regulations and reports needs to read that again. Even if my water were 100% pristine as the author's apparently is, which they only know for their own homes because th…

> Anyone who trusts their municipal water supply because of handwave regulations and reports needs to read that again.

A better approach is to decide whether your municipality meets or exceeds guidelines (the 85% that do).

I trust my city (in New Zealand), but there are other cities I wouldn’t because their water infrastructure is old and under funded, or because of known problems in the recent past.

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

#153

Post by lantry »

recursivedoubts wrote: post #92
mihaaly wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you tested your filtered water - in various conditions - or you just trust it based on the words of others?

I just trust the carbon filters. Sorry.

This is hilarious. You don't trust your local government, which is accountable to you and is made up of people living right next to you (drinking the same water); but you DO trust a faceless, unaccountable corporation. I guess the corporation probably has better marketing!

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

#154

Post by unyttigfjelltol »

mometsi wrote: post #48
unyttigfjelltol wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Similar risks regarding removal of sulfate from public water supply, or via filtration.[1] Who knew! Some of us were relying on actual nutrients from the water all along. Pristine water was, and is, a challenge for this cohort. [1] https://biomedres.us/fulltexts/BJSTR.MS.ID.006372.php

In the linked article, rybett@aol.com uses the CORREL function in an openoffice spreadsheet to determine a weak correlation between autism diagnoses and sulfur content in tap water in a few regions of New Jersey. His other publications include a self-published amazon book titled Autism, Enzymes and the Brimstone Demons. [1] [1] https://www.amazon.com/Autism-Enzymes-Brimstone-Demons-Trill...

So does that mean you are persuaded or that the author doesn't have the right pedigree for you to listen? Because when you set aside the author's idiosyncrasies, there is indeed something remarkable.

Drinking sulfate won't repair broken sulfur metabolism, but it's completely plausible that a subset of people maintained adequate day-to-day function with the benefit of sulfate-laden water, and now fall below the threshold with sulfate mostly removed.

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

#155

Post by dzhiurgis »

BugsJustFindMe wrote: post #11

Money quote: > readings of PFAS that exceed EPA limits have been found in just 8% of small public water systems (those that serve fewer than 10,000 people) and 15% of large ones 15%! Anyone who trusts their municipal water supply because of *handwave* regulations and reports needs to read that again. Even if my water were 100% pristine as the author's apparently is, which they only know for their own homes because th…

Have you tested your filtered water in “ half a dozen times with different laboratories”?

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

#156

Post by more_corn »

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…

Didn’t the Trump EPA roll back water quality rules for forever chemicals? Chemicals that accumulate over time and are known to cause organ failure?

If the federal rules allow unsafe levels of PFAs it’s reasonable to expect that municipal water companies adhere to said unsafe limits. So no we probably should not trust our municipal water supplies.

Maybe in countries that have functional governments that’s a safe bet.

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

#157

Post by tguvot »

an_aparallel wrote: post #102
tguvot wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

filters are cheap if you don't use fancy branded system that came up with it's own filter that incompatible with anything else

You generally want to avoid cheap filters as they apparently can be tainted with formaldehyde

standard, 2x10 filters from well known brands (pentek, apec or membranes from dow filmtec) are "cheap" compared to non-standard filters.

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

#158

Post by more_corn »

kadushka wrote: post #32
darth_avocado wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One side effect of RO is vitamin B12 deficiency. And there is some debate around whether that is true or not, but anecdotally, I had developed a severe B12 deficiency to the point that one day out of the blue, I couldn’t move one of my legs. I freaked out and went to the ER, and it turns out, 1 B12 shot later, I went back to normal within minutes. The doctor hypothesized that I had developed a severe B12 deficiency b…

I drank only distilled water for 16 years. No supplements all that time, just regular food. No B12 deficiency or any other health issues.

But did you pair it with pure grain alcohol as directed for maximal protection of your precious vital fluids?

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

#159

Post by miladyincontrol »

laex wrote: post #149
tomatotomato37 wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, water quality matters a lot in coffee enthusiast land. They actually make little mineral packets that you add to a gallon of distilled water to get a "perfect" brewing water - I know since I actually use them for my espresso machine to fight scale buildup from my +10 grain tap water. Note this excessiveness is really needed for espresso though; a regular Brita jug handles more tolerant methods of brewing perfect…

Do you have a brand name or amazon link for the mineral packets ?

Just a suggestion as well, theres countless 'water recipes' that let you easily do the same thing for a fraction the price. They arent doing anything complicated. Some mixes are simple two ingredients, some go up to several, but all are pretty dead simple.

Lets you fiddle and fine tune things more for your own preferences too.

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

#160

Post by tguvot »

Xss3 wrote: post #126
tguvot wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

pre-filters typically have specified "capacity" in gallons. which is measurable. also if water is very dirty filters get clogged and pressure dropped. it's also measurable. "post re-mineralization stage" is actually "ph adjustment".

It isnt merely ph adjustment... You want some amount of minerals in water for your health, plants, and taste. Changing the PH isnt the concern in most cases, its just part of the result.

All those filters are specifically made for PH adjustment (you are welcome to look at specs). There are bunch of different formulations depends on how much PH adjustment is needed.

RO makes water more acidic. if water was somewhat acidic to start with, it can get more acidic or become corrosive.

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