After seeing a blurb in the news mega about the US needing nearly half a trillion dollars for drinking water infrastructure, I wonder about my own family's water safety.
I have up to now been under the impression that tap water is safe to drink, eschewing borrowed water for environmental purposes but maybe I should be thinking about a filtration system.
We live in an apartment with old bones in a city that has had lead in its school pipes in the past.
How do the netizens of Hexbear filter and enjoy their drinking water?
if you live in the states and have municipal water (not a well) you can or should be able to get test report data. if that is hard to find via your water utility's website (i.e. they don't have recent testing results), it's kind of a red flag.
however, the municipal test is only for their post-treatment water quality in the main service lines. your unit/structure's connection to the service line may have lead too, as could the pipes within structure you are inside. lead soldiering at connections inside the house are a thing to look for too, as the pipes may be OK but they may have used lead to connect them.
under the sink filters can be good for drinking water. reverse osmosis is the gold standard, but it wastes a lot of water if that's a concern of yours. in the ultra short term, something you can do is to let water run for 30 seconds to a minute before putting your glass under.
here's an epa guide for checking for lead pipes, verifying service info, and testing resources: https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/protect-your-tap-quick-check-lead-0
We’ve got under sink 3-stage (not reverse osmosis) and it seems pretty decent. I’ve been meaning to get the regular tap vs filtered tap tested at a home improvement store, but it just hasn’t happened yet
I’ll also say that tapping a supply line for a water filter was my introduction to basic “around the house” casual plumbing, which is mostly fucking with shutoffs. I’d definitely recommend it for anyone interested
How do the netizens of Hexbear filter and enjoy their drinking water?
The filter type you want will depend on the type of contaminants in the tap water.
You can search up your utility on https://www.ewg.org/tapwater/ and it'll show the detected contaminants and what filter types are effective against them.
Edit: apparently EWG's "safe threshold levels" are bullshit so just ignore those
:downbear: EWG is not a reliable source they are major fearmongers. There are a lot of things to be worried about with tap water in the US but they just like, make up their own "safe threshold levels" and such and fearmonger over anything they can to promote "natural" alternatives.
Not to say all water filtration is a bad idea they just aren't the place to get your info about whether your water is safe.
wow I hate you thanks for informing me that the local tap water I've been drinking has...EWG is not a reliable source i do not hate you
Vanadium is good for you. Strengthens the chrome in your pre-combustion chamger
If you do RO be sure to remineralize after, some systems include it, but if you don't take that step any sort of tea or coffee will taste wrong and I think you can even damage your organs by drinking ro or distilled water for extended periods
I wouldn't worry about remineralization unless you do notice a taste issue. You (probably) get minerals from other stuff, and RO-filtered water won't hurt you.
Yeah I wasn't sure about the veracity of the danger aspect but had heard it from a few sources. Something about it being a better solvent and being more likely to cause some damage if you were only drinking ro/distilled
You can often pick up cheap lead tests at the hardware store. i think for like 50-80 you can send a sample in to a lab and they'll send back an analysis.
There are a lot of places with bad water, but there are a lot of places with safe water, too. Just don't fall in to the "Flouride is making us a nation of gay communists" John Birch stuff.
Just don’t fall in to the “Flouride is making us a nation of gay communists” John Birch stuff.
Well something has to be the cause.
I know Home Depot sells those kinds of testing kits, but like the other comment asks IDK about their efficacy
I don't know if they're accurate. I actually hadn't considered whether the tests actually work or not. I guess it would be something you'd have to do some research on.
Come to think of it, i wonder if the EPA has any advice posted on how to test for water safety? I Know they've been a bit gutted over the last few years, but can't hurt to look.
My water has 1 freaking gram of calcium per litre, shit is bonkers, but it's still delicious and fresh.
There are services that you can send water to and they will send a report back. I used Ward Laboratories
I used Ward Labs for my tap water since I'm a home brewer. Price was pretty reasonable. In hindsight I really don't tweak the water much so not exactly sure why I did it, but was good to have the info.
I use one of these pitchers. It came with a little sensor to see, I guess, how many electrolytes are in the water and it uses that as a proxy for how much metal contaminate there is. It makes sense, and the sensor isn't just random, I've tested it pretty thoroughly.
my gf got a Berkey which is like a water jug that filters. i thought about a reverse osmosis system but they take up so much room. They also can be pretty wasteful with water since it strips everything from it. You can get water tests. The shit that happened in Flint was because they changed water sources and it caused lead pipes to corrode. Otherwise, lead pipes do develop a sort of coating on the inside that mostly protects the water from lead.
my city govt got money to replace lead pipes so im getting the pipe from the street to my house replaced for free.
berkey takes up comparable space to an under-sink RO, maybe more really, while doing a worse job (and said space is on your countertop rather than out of the way under the sink... plus the damn things are so expensive).
I'm a little salty because a berkey-toting 'functional medicine' nutjob is working on converting my mother rn but seriously... there has to be a less scammy option than berkey right?
second source: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/big-berkey-water-filter-system/
sigh, my partner impulse buys shit all the time, shit that is advertised on podcasts and social media. i did mention to her that Berkey isnt NSF certified.
i had a reverse osmosis system purchased but we both didnt like how much room it takes up under our kitchen sink. We don't have much storage in our kitchen to begin with. Then one day she was just like "i bought a Berkey." like ok I guess.
edit: i didnt see this style last time i looked, i like the tankless design and it's all in one unit instead of the filters plus a tank. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Waterdrop-Reverse-Osmosis-Water-Filtration-System-600GPD-Tankless-3-Stage-Under-Sink-NSF-Certified-with-1-Extra-CF-Filter-B-WD-G3P600-CFSET/325393553 way more expensive than the cheapest ones though.
In my area, about half the population has safe drinking water. The other half is like flint Michigan. It depends what municipality you're in.
I'm so happy that my city has some of the best tap water in the country. It's undrinkable a few miles in any direction due to cattle ranchers pouring nitrates into it, but here it's pure enough to use in coffee or water sensitive plants with.
I use a 7 stage reverse osmosis filter for drinking water. I live in an apartment, otherwise I would install whole house filter if I owned a house/condo.
In my house I installed a 2 stage filter at the supply line. Helps with the longevity of the appliances and filters your tap water. Water system in my area is pretty fucked and my neighbors will occasionally have muddy or cloudy water and mine is perfectly clear. When I do the semi annual replacement for the filters it's very clear a lot of impurities get trapped. If others are able, I'd strongly recommend a whole home filter system like that as our nation's infrastructure continues to crumble.
For OP, I'd probably look into some kind of pitcher filter for the time being or an attachment that can be affixed to the sink you usually get your cooking or drinking water from. You can also get filters to attach to the heads of showers which I did in apartments prior
I drink tap water as well, but there's been some recent cholera outbreaks in South Africa, so I'm unsure of what to do.
Don't forget to learn about oral rehydration therapy in case you or someone you know gets the cholera
