March 23, 2007

water at home

I'm skeptical about the water quality in our home. Sometimes it smells and sometimes looks brownish (not ideal, right?) I looked into a few different water filters, and need to do more research on them. But it has raised the question of, is my water really bad and what exactly is in it? Obviously there could be contaminants from the water supply as well from our home's pipes.

Fortunately there are do-it-yourself test kits available. I plan to try one and see what the results are. The deluxe test kit includes a 75 item check for: Bacteria (presence/absence for coliform and E.coli), heavy metals and minerals, other inorganic chemicals, physical characteristics, trihalomethanes and volatile organic chemicals. There is also an option to test for additional pesticides, herbicides and PCB’s. You take samples and send them to their lab. Results are typically completed and mailed within 10-15 business days from the date samples are received at the laboratory.

In the meantime I will try to educate myself about what levels are safe, and continue to research the plethora of purification options. There seems to be everything from the easy brita filter to a 14-step mega filter system. Until then, bottled.

4 comments:

Manu said...

I am surprised you find your tap water questionable. We also live on Potrero Hill and have never thought there was anything wrong with it. You might want to have your pipe checked out!

Bottled water? That sounds very non-environmentally friendly!

Anonymous said...

Rainbow Grocery sells filtered water at a very low price, just bring your own containers to fill, or you can buy bottles there to reuse. A combination of filters and purifiers (which they also sell - and have detailed information about in binders for you to browse through) removes several different impurities. And the water, it tastes great. Refreshing.

mom go green said...

Hi Emmanuel,
You're right, the problem could be our pipes, so I have ordered a test to see exactly what is in the water. I'll be sure to let you know.

I know bottled water is not ideal. I am buying in as large sizes as I can, just for tea and things when I can taste a difference. I hope to get a water filtration system soon so I can stop buying bottled. I love Kathleen's suggestion about the bulk water and will check that out in the meantime.

Unknown said...

Amy, have you been following the discussion about the multi-stage purifier that Radiant Life sells on the Weston A. Price list? It's super expensive. Over the next 6 months i'm going to do a little more research to see if it's really worth the $1200 or if a lower-cost filter could do the job. Let's keep eachother posted on what we end up doing or finding out...
carla
www.localforage.com