How to go plastic free?

[Mama Soltera]

This is probably the wrong place to put this but I'm wanting to go plastic bottle free. The problem is we have seriously nasty overly treated city water. You can smell the chlorine. What's the best way to do this?

Just wanted to add, we are currently buying bottled spring water. I just want to avoid plastic at all costs if I can. I hate the pollution and I know it leeches (sp) into the water.

[yeahwhat]

Simply pouring city water into a pitcher and letting it sit will let the chlorine dissipate fairly quickly. A brita filter is another alternative, but then you still have plastic.

[blessedwithboys]

check out the Aquasana filter. its pretty good

[Mama Soltera]

I guess I'm wondering about all those things like medications and hormones too. Does the water treatment plant really get rid of all that?

That is good to know about the chlorine dissapating.

I did think of those filters but, yeah, still plastic. Maybe I can find someone with well water who will let me get huge glass jars of it? I don't know much about wells though.

[Toolip]

Originally Posted by yeahwhat

Simply pouring city water into a pitcher and letting it sit will let the chlorine dissipate fairly quickly. A brita filter is another alternative, but then you still have plastic.

Many water treatment plants use more stable chemicals (more stable than chlorine) to treat their water which don't evaporate from the water like chlorine does.

Some treatment plants use filtration as part of the process as well. You should contact your water supplier to get more information about what they use. You could also get the water report to see what is in the water that you are drinking.

I use glass jars and go get spring water from a neighbor for drinking but I really want to do something about the shower/bath water too. I would love to house supplied with spring/well water but the reality is that there is plastic in that too.

[cristeen]

Well, rather than buying bottles, how about getting it by the 5 gallon jug? I used to have a ceramic base for the jug - it's not refrigerated, but it kept it a nice drinking temperature (and it's cheaper and prettier than renting a cooler). You can even get glass carboys from your local beer supply store - although I wouldn't recommend a 5 gallon if you're getting glass... go for a 3 gallon. I can barely lift the 5 gallon when it's full, I wouldn't want to try to flip it over. I know we can fill big containers like that at WF. It's not particularly cheap, but gallon for gallon I bet it's cheaper than buying it in plastic bottles.

[Mama Soltera]

But I'm wanting to avoid plastic for health reasons too -- for the hormones/chemicals it leeches into the water.

I guess it's still sounding like spring water in a plastic bottle is healthier than city water.

[redvlagrl]

We are plastic free. We use a brita filter that screws onto the tap/faucet so the water isn't sitting in plastic. We are probably going to install an undersink filter sometime. We use kleen kanteens.

Personally, I am of the opinion that even unfiltered city water (unless lead etc) is better than water that has been in plastic. The big blue plastic bottles are BPA and are particularly bad.

In some places you can buy filtered or spring water from companies that have access. In Australia I was able to buy aquafer water from an underground basin which was amazing and v cheap. You could fill up as much as you wanted for $1.

[ollyoxenfree]

There are glass Brita water jugs. The fliters themselves are still plastic though. However, the water only passes through the filter briefly. Not perfect, but definitely better than buying bottled water.

[Mama Soltera]

Thank you for your input. It is really helpful.

[~PurityLake~]

You've also got to worry about the added flourine.

Even though I live in a city, the neighborhood I'm in gets it's water from a city well. Once yearly, they mail us and all of the well water recipients, a summary of water analysis. This should be standard from any water supply company. If you're not getting the chemical analysis summary by default, you can certainly call your water company and request one.

[sonja_and_andy]

When I realized most filters don't get rid of the fluoride I started buying the water at Whole Foods. I made the mistake of getting the 5 gallon glass carboys (not 3 gallon) that someone mentioned, and now my husband has to go shopping once a week :-)
I still have one of my original Kleen Kanteens that I got in 2005 or so, and several new ones.
Although I am almost completely plastic free, coconut cream and soymilk come packaged in plastic lined cartons or cans - anyone got solutions to that?

[velochic]

You can buy the Cadillac of filters, the Berkey. This removes *everything*. They are very expensive, though. The filters alone are like $50.

It's also important to note (and you probably already know this, as you seem well-informed) that some "spring" waters have actually turned out to be filtered tap water. If you are getting water from a bottle, make sure it is TRUE spring water and not just treated municipal water.

Hope you find your solution! We just use carbon filters and it takes all of the chlorine taste out of our water. My neighbors have a reverse osmosis filter that they swear by.