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Toxic Water - Page 3

post #41 of 100
2/15/10 at 4:47pm
Thanks for all this info. I am just now learning about toxic water and shower filters. We filter drinking water, but now I am learning about the shower. My state is also on the top 10 list.

I found this product review site for shower filters and am thinking about this shower filter. It's only $30 and it removes chlorine and heavy metals. The reviews are good. Does anyone have it? It's from Sprite Industries.

V

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post #42 of 100
2/16/10 at 11:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Violet2 View Post
I found this product review site for shower filters and am thinking about this shower filter. It's only $30 and it removes chlorine and heavy metals. The reviews are good. Does anyone have it? It's from Sprite Industries.
V
I used that one awhile ago. It does seem to remove chlorine pretty well. They claim it doesn't need to be changed for 1 year. However, I was getting a rash and suspected the filter. I removed the filter and that rash went away. So, I don't use a shower filter anymore. I suspect if I changed the filter at 4 or 6 months it might not have caused me the rash, but I just don't want to mess with it.
post #43 of 100
2/16/10 at 11:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by KimPM View Post
I used that one awhile ago. It does seem to remove chlorine pretty well. They claim it doesn't need to be changed for 1 year. However, I was getting a rash and suspected the filter. I removed the filter and that rash went away. So, I don't use a shower filter anymore. I suspect if I changed the filter at 4 or 6 months it might not have caused me the rash, but I just don't want to mess with it.
Oh thank you! It does seem that the filters have to be replaced earlier than stated. I've heard that on several different brands.

V
post #44 of 100
2/16/10 at 11:52am
Does anyone know if the filters that come built in on the fridges do anything? What exactly do they remove? Dh feels they're good enough but I think he doesn't really believe that tap water could be that bad since he grew up on it.
post #45 of 100
2/16/10 at 4:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lmk1 View Post
Does anyone know if the filters that come built in on the fridges do anything? What exactly do they remove? Dh feels they're good enough but I think he doesn't really believe that tap water could be that bad since he grew up on it.
Don't quote me, but I think they remove at least heavy metals and germs. Not sure if they neutralize chlorine or not--you may want to call the manufacturer.

V
post #46 of 100
3/25/10 at 3:34pm
Thread Starter 
Anyone know of this Berkley water purifier? Apparently, removes heavy metals lead, mercury, arsenic, flouride and chlorine and doesn't require electricity. But does not remove the beneficial minerals from the water.

http://www.berkeyfilters.com/



Pat
post #47 of 100
3/26/10 at 11:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by WuWei View Post
Anyone know of this Berkley water purifier? Apparently, removes heavy metals lead, mercury, arsenic, flouride and chlorine and doesn't require electricity. But does not remove the beneficial minerals from the water.
Pat
The Black Berkey filter is essentially an improvement on the Doulton ceramic filter, which has been used since Queen Victoria's time (!) to purify water.

We got one for my mom - that's the water filter she wanted. It was a great birthday/Christmas gift combined. We got her the Berkey Light - the see-through one, because that's the one she wanted. We also got a travel Berkey for DH's office.

Pros: The Black Berkey filter removes bacteria and cycsts (you can purify even dirty pond water!). You can take it camping or on vacation or to places where you are not sure of the water quality. It also removes lots of other things from water...chlorine, etc. The water tastes good. The pH of the filtered water is good (I tested it ). You can renew the Black Berkey filter element by scrubbing the outside. It's better water quality than Brita-filtered water (what mom had before), and probably cheaper over the long run. Get the Berkey Light unit - I know it's plastic, but it's transparent to see the water level. Plus, see my comments below regarding issues with the stainless steel unit.

Cons: The Black Berkey filter itself does NOT remove fluoride. You need the add-on activated aluminum post filter to remove fluoride. My mom got the fluoride post filter, and she did not like it. It imparted a bitter taste to the water, no matter how much she flushed it out. I wasn't really keen on the idea of an activated aluminum post filter without anything after it to filter out any aluminum that might escape. So, she's using the Berkey without the fluoride filter. It's not connected into the plumbing, so you have to fill it regularly. The filtration speed slows down as the water level gets lower. The filtration speed also slows down when it needs scrubbing on the outside. (This could also be a positive feature.) You have to clean it regularly...like once a month I think. Sometimes the tap spigot can leak. The tap spigot on ours (the Travel Berkey) is different than the one that comes on the Berkey Light (and they are NOT interchangeable because of the size difference). We have a problem with the water where we are at reacting with the black rubber washer material that is used to create the spigot seal. The filtered water reacts to it, and smells & tastes really bad. When we filter into a glass jar instead of the regular Berkey bottom, the water tastes fine. Mom doesn't seem to have this problem with her Berkey Light - which has a white colored washer material that is obviously a different material than ours. We have had no luck trying to get something that works from the Berkey manufacturer. And I have looked ALL over trying to find a food grade washer that will work; I can't find one. So we have an expensive doorstop, while mom's unit works fine. Oh, and I almost forgot...there is a logo physically punched into the metal Berkey unit, both top and bottom. Residue from the manufacturing/steel punching process gets into the logo (inside the Berkey unit) and you have to take at least an hour of scrubbing and picking with a toothpick and brushing with a toothbrush to get it out.

You may see it suggested online that the Berkey filter element can last for 11 years....but when the unit comes, the documentation that comes with it tells you only 2 years.
post #48 of 100
3/26/10 at 12:19pm
FWIW, for our in-home use, I found a calcite/GAC post-filter for our RO unit, and I'm quite happy with it now. The water has a smoother taste and is definitely less reactive, based on my tests before and after adding the calcite filter. I tested both room-temp filtered water and then some of that filtered water put through a stainless steel water heater unit. Before calcite filtering, the RO water was picking up a fair amount of something from the stainless steel (tested by TDS meter). After calcite filtering, the TDS's on the hot and cold water were almost the same - therefore it was picking up less or nothing from the stainless steel. The pH is better, still not perfect, but I'm happy with it.

If I didn't have the RO unit, I'd be using some kind of 4-filter plumbed-in system involving a Doulton ceramic, carbon block, fluoride filter, and then a carbon/VOC post-filter. That'd be pretty close to RO quality water. The one thing that the RO removes that this type of filtration system does not is radioactive substances.
post #49 of 100
3/26/10 at 1:26pm
Thread Starter 
Kim, wow! That was very informative and helpful. Thanks for the time typing it all out.


Pat
post #50 of 100
3/26/10 at 3:20pm
in 2001 I had a whole-house filter installed. The brand is Aquathin and it was expensive. The filter did not need replacing for 5 years, but that cost a couple hundred $$. It removes Everything, which is what I prefered.

I supplement with minerals from Youngevity. http://www.youngevity.com/products-y...myproductframe
I buy the plain Plant Derived Minerals.

As to the question - how much to take? I take 1 ounce / day. I have no idea how much and of what kind of minerals anyone gets from their tap water. Personally I don't think the possible mineral content of tap water is worth the price of the pollutants and contaminants, and pharmacuetical drugs (birth control, cholesterol, statin, insulin, etc, etc).
post #51 of 100
3/26/10 at 11:54pm
From what I've read the only filter to remove all contaminants is distillation....I know it even removes all the good stuff but doesn't that seem the way to go since you can just add minerals back in?
post #52 of 100
3/27/10 at 12:53am
Thread Starter 
No, we really can't replace mother nature, imo.

There are microminerals and even minerals we haven't identified yet, I imagine. And there are minerals and nutrients we don't even know we receive from REAL water. And yet, our polluted water is scary.


Pat
post #53 of 100
3/27/10 at 3:17am
One of my best friends has had a Berkey for about 6 months and she loves it for all the reasons already listed. The water is very nice tasting too. If I hadn't just purchased a latex bed and air purifier, I'd get one myself.
post #54 of 100
3/27/10 at 9:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by WuWei View Post
No, we really can't replace mother nature, imo.

There are microminerals and even minerals we haven't identified yet, I imagine. And there are minerals and nutrients we don't even know we receive from REAL water. And yet, our polluted water is scary.


Pat
True true....polluted water IS A HUGE FEAR OF MINE!!! I wish we could get well water.
Quote:
Originally Posted by californiajenn View Post
One of my best friends has had a Berkey for about 6 months and she loves it for all the reasons already listed. The water is very nice tasting too. If I hadn't just purchased a latex bed and air purifier, I'd get one myself.
I just bought a air purifier too, we need a toxic air thread
post #55 of 100
3/27/10 at 11:55am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mom61508 View Post
I just bought a air purifier too, we need a toxic air thread

Here you go: Toxic Air and what you breathe...


Pat
post #56 of 100
3/27/10 at 12:22pm
Was just reading this this morning:

Dangers of Drinking Water from a Water Fountain
Is it safe for your child to drink from the school water fountain?

Interesting - my dd's teachers have told students not to drink the school fountain water. But they're also not allowed to carry water to class.
post #57 of 100
3/27/10 at 9:36pm
My DH just took a herpetology class and they stated that there is no safe water-all contains birth control at some % and they are seeing drastic effects because of it-we are not just talking streams here, public water as well.
post #58 of 100
3/28/10 at 9:27am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by serenbat View Post
My DH just took a herpetology class and they stated that there is no safe water-all contains birth control at some % and they are seeing drastic effects because of it-we are not just talking streams here, public water as well.
Quote:
"A vast array of pharmaceuticals — including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones — have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows."

"• Officials in Philadelphia said testing there discovered 56 pharmaceuticals or byproducts in treated drinking water, including medicines for pain, infection, high cholesterol, asthma, epilepsy, mental illness and heart problems. Sixty-three pharmaceuticals or byproducts were found in the city's watersheds."

"Yet officials in six of those 28 metropolitan areas said they did not go on to test their drinking water"
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/...ap-water_N.htm

Quote:
Pharmaceuticals are now being found in drinking water, according to a study conducted in England. The study looked at 12 pharmaceuticals thought to pose an environmental threat, including painkillers, antibiotics, and antidepressants, and it found traces of these pharmaceuticals in both sewage waters and drinking water. It also found traces in the rivers downstream from the sewage treatment plants.
http://www.naturalnews.com/001891.html


I wonder if any of the water purifiers remove medications?? I'm thinking an RO system might?


ETA: not to mention the chemicals we ADD to drinking water, chlorine and fluoride~!


Pat
post #59 of 100
3/28/10 at 9:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by WuWei View Post
Thanks Pat
post #60 of 100
3/28/10 at 8:12pm
Quote:
I wonder if any of the water purifiers remove medications??
we were told by local state workers and well as two grad students - NO! none to, and we have a great local water treatment center as well
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