I don’t drink my tap water because that shit dries white and I’m not trying to get a kidney stone
I'm Wirecutter's water-quality expert. I don't filter my water
201–210 of 222 posts
Re: I'm Wirecutter's water-quality expert. I don't filter my water
#202Earlier quoted context omitted.
Question: Is there some implied negative critique of Consumer Reports here? I rather enjoy their work and the fact they're reader funded, but I wouldn't be surprised if there's something I should be aware of that's not clear from it (the way they test or how they accept another type of money). I know they review too many cars (every issue lately features a car banner at the top of the cover).
Incoming anecdata: I'm in my 50's and consult consumer reports whenever I need to buy a white-box appliance. I've moved a few times so I find myself having to do this more than most people. The qualm I have with CR goes back to the 1980's when I was a bike mechanic for many years. I had a broad knowledge of all the current brands, and knew which bikes were cheap junk. CR had incorrectly ranked the quality of the bicy…
I was a big believer in Consumer Reports until I started following their advice. Beginning in 2000s, CR has been repeatedly wrong about which brand of TV is reliable, which dishwasher, which car. I spent a decade following their advice and having nothing but trouble.
Maybe CR gives something a good review and demand goes up and quality suffers a as a result; but they seem useless and as good as a shot in the dark.
Re: I'm Wirecutter's water-quality expert. I don't filter my water
#203Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not the person you asked, but I find consumer reports useless because they typically conflate functional evaluation (does the product do what it’s supposed to) with non-functional factors (warranty, price) in a one-size-fits-all manner. If I’m shopping for a hand mixer, I want to get a list of the best ones and then make my own call on price / performance. I don’t want to be told a $19 product is the best and have to…
So what review site would you go to if you're shopping for a hand mixer, or is there no such animal?
I follow advice I learned from a friend who moved to the US from Germany. She said the German philosophy when researching is "Preis-Leistungs-Verhältnis" (PLV)
PLV isn't just the sticker price - it's the total cost of ownership when considered against the utility and convenience it provides.
I no longer set a goal to find the very best #1 thing in every category by reading reviews when I'm buying something. Reviews can be hit or miss, anyway. Instead, I focus my energy on getting good value and buying the best when it comes to things that make me happy or I use a lot.
A computer monitor is a great example of something where PLV for a developer is totally different than a casual user, but the equation serves them both well in pre-purchase considerations.
Re: I'm Wirecutter's water-quality expert. I don't filter my water
#204Earlier quoted context omitted.
Wirecutter is just a worse version of Consumer Reports where they don't guarantee they aren't running ads and accepting money from the retailers whose products are featured in the media
If I need something I usually just buy what Wirecutters recommends and I'm rarely disappointed.
I haven't shared your good experience. The WireCutter seems to have found some experts so deep in the niche they miss the mark, and in other areas it almost seems like no thought was put into the review critera.
I think the practice of only reviewing/considering items they can hope will stay in stock with affiliate links really limits what they even consider.
Re: I'm Wirecutter's water-quality expert. I don't filter my water
#205I love products that are regulated, like water filters. You can look them up and verify that they meet specifications that make a difference.
Right now, I prefer the Brita Elite. Refills available everywhere and it makes my chlorinated tap water taste clean. (Not the same as regular Brita).
I tried about 40 brands over the years. Brita Elite is the first one with no drawbacks that make me want to keep looking for something better.
Re: I'm Wirecutter's water-quality expert. I don't filter my water
#206Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 …
A tertiary source aims to be non-authoritative. Wikipedia tries pretty hard at it.
Re: I'm Wirecutter's water-quality expert. I don't filter my water
#207Earlier quoted context omitted.
True. But have tasted distilled water? Tastes metalic. Probably just my imagination but I feel like it pulls stuff from the mucous in your mouth and tastes like blood.
It is your imagination. I drink distilled water all the time and it tastes great, not metallic at all.
you sure it's distilled? if you measure dissolved solids with a water quality tester does it read 0?
Re: I'm Wirecutter's water-quality expert. I don't filter my water
#208> 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?…
I had the same conclusion in searching for filters that specifically address a microplastics concern. I was unsuccessful in finding one that was not made of plastic.
Re: I'm Wirecutter's water-quality expert. I don't filter my water
#209Earlier quoted context omitted.
Even if safe, municipal water where I live (San Jose, California) contains a ton of chlorine and is super hard, making it unpleasant to drink. In contrast, bottled water consistently tastes fine.
San Jose water is absolute trash. There may not be (much) lead, but there are a host of other minerals and contaminants. It’s also a roll of the dice whether you’ll find Legionnaires' disease in your pipes. I have a whole-house soft-water filter for general use, and for drinking/cooking get 5-gallon bottles filled with RO purified water from The Water Spring on Homestead in Santa Clara. The municipal source for RO wa…
Re: I'm Wirecutter's water-quality expert. I don't filter my water
#210Earlier quoted context omitted.
Water is chlorinated in Germany [1]. There may be less as ozone may be used as primary disinfectant. [1] https://www.lenntech.com/processes/disinfection/regulation-e...
At imperceptible levels. Compared to that, in New York, I can definitely taste it and it took some getting used to. (Ironically, at this point my senses seem to have been rewired to associate the taste of chlorine with fresh, i.e. non-stale tap water.)
Depends on where in .de it is sourced. "Uferfiltrat" meaning from deep wells next to, or near a river, deep wells reaching into other groundwater sources, and dammed reservoirs.
Uferfiltrat=shitty, deep well=depends, dammed reservoirs=mostly good/usually soft water.
Can even vary within larger cities, where different parts get water from different sources.