I have found out what’s in my tap water–Brown nasty chemical-smelling crap. And it’s not just in my water but yours too. I used a water distiller on 2 gallons of my tap water and the leftover is shown in this photo. Go ahead and click on it for the full image. I dare you. It’s darker than a lager beer and smells of deadly toxins. Would you drink this? No, I don’t think so. But you probably are if you are not using a distiller or high quality filter.
Megahome Countertop Water Distiller
I purchased the Megahome Water Distiller so that I can remove fluoride from tap water. This is something a regular water filter cannot do. I could go on and on about why fluoride is not safe for you. But instead, I’ll point you to the warning label on the back of your toothpaste:
“WARNING: Keep out of reach of children under 6 years of age. If you accidentally swallow more than used for brushing, get medical help or contact a Poison Control Center right away.”
If it says that on toothpaste then why is it a good idea to put fluoride in our drinking water? I don’t understand it and I don’t want to get in a debate with any dental hygienists or conspiracy theorists. I’m just going to remove it from my water.
In summary, if you drink tap water then you might as well be drinking out of the toilet. Once you see and smell what is in your water, you will stop drinking it, and switch to bottled water or distill it like me. I’m still using my ZeroWater filter too. But now I pour the distilled water into that. It really makes for some great tasting water.
If you decide to buy any of these items please go through my online store so I get some Amazon credit. That way I can get more filters. Or maybe just cash. That’s nice too.
Read What’s in your water – Part 1 to learn more about water filters
First of all, this is the first time I’ve checked your blog in months. What do I find? Bad water.
Background info: Water Treatment Facility Operator/Manager for 10+ yrs
Honestly, where did that water come from?
Straight out of your tap?
Did that come out after you removed another filter/aerator or anything?
You can easily get water like that just by removing your usual aerator and open the faucet. The increased flow due to less restriction will cause the added turbulence to dislodge those particles.
Next, what is the plumbing like in your building? (Copper, galvanized, plastic?) Older buildings used to have galvanized which would basically rot away or corrode closed over time. Some older buildings have had most galvanized lines replaced, but still left some going through walls/floors/ceilings to save on cost.
Do you have any other treatment systems in your building? Water Softeners, Reverse Osmosis Systems, in-line cartridge filters?
Did this water come from the hot or cold water side? Or both? Sometimes a new hot water heater install would cause this. (not that you would be drinking a glass of hot water….)
Lastly if your worried about your water, or just curious, its federally mandated that every water system distribute or publish (some states are going to web-based publishing) its own Consumer Confidence Report. If your system has had any violations it will come up in this report. Some systems even put in their treatment method & location. (Which depending on who you talk to is acceptable or non-acceptable due to “Homeland Security”)
On to the TDS meter;
Looks like the setup you bought is working as designed, and yeah the filters probably should have been changed at the same time. However the differences in the TDS result can also be skewed depending on sampling location. If all of these filters are not used on the same tap (faucet) you cannot be 100% certain you are getting a consistent reading. (The disturbing of the faucet would also be a problem as discussed earlier)
Next, the filter technology also will dictate what is removed and how much. This goes hand in hand with what kind of technology your water system is using to treat the water. If your system is using ion exchange (water softening) you will have a higher sodium content which SOME filters do not remove.
Your distiller will take out salt, however I am not sure if Fluoride will be removed. I know there are certain trace chemicals that do transfer over through distillation. Ammonia is one of them.
I’ll stop now.
If you have any questions I’d be glad to help, and if I don’t know the answer I probably know someone that does.
Also, the CDC (Center for Disease Control) has been talking about lowering the acceptable fluoride limits in drinking water to somewhere under 0.90 mg/L. Right now the acceptable range is 0.90 – 1.20 mg/L for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, and I think 0.85 – 1.25 mg/L for the Public Health Department. I’m sure it will vary slightly state to state.
The dirty water in the photo is the leftover from distilling 2 gallons of water. (the stuff that didn’t convert into steam).
Fluoride does get removed by distilling. Let me know if you find data that says otherwise.
Our drinking water in Pontypool Wales UK is
0.50ppi. That’s quite good really, but then welsh water is good and I know they don’t put flouride in the water.
Davies
One last thing.
Toothpaste is bad for children because it has 1000 – 1100 ppm or (mg/L) of Fluoride in it.
Your drinking water has around 1.0 mg/L
Based on your 1.0 mg/L number and consuming an average of 3 liters a day means a child consumes a toxic amount over a span of 333 days. The Mayo clinic says “Every system in your body depends on water” and that “water flushes toxins out of vital organs.” Consuming toxins with drinking water actually delivers them to vital organs instead of flushing them out. Right?
In that theory yes, you would basically be adding toxins. I’m not a 100 % defender of fluoride because I have to work with it, and know that it etches glass and harms your lungs. Either of those two things are a red flag. However I have had basic discussions with Dentists, Doctors, & other people in the water treatment field that have pointed out the decrease in cavity & tooth decay in the general population over the past 50 years. However this could also be due to a change in the American diet over the past 50 years. There are so many variables when it comes to what someone consumes and how it enter’s their body.
All in all, in 20+ years Fluoride will probably be looked at like when doctors prescribed smoking. However I do not see it’s introduction into water systems coming to an end, just at a lowered rate.
Speaking of “vital organs”; I would say the next item of concern is going to be plastics.
The latest laws are going into affect to removed brass that contains small traces of lead from your water service. (Water Meter, valves, etc) (Lead will only break off in water if the water is corrosive. Copper will do this as well. Basically if you know anyone with a water softerner, they can make their water literally too soft which turns if corrosive.)
Most of these fittings are being replaced with plastics.
The more research is conducted on plastics the more we are coming to find out that they do actually leach into the system, although at a much much lower residual than lead or copper. So the next step is to try to find a way to measure/monitor that is feasible. At the moment there is not testing for any type of chemical bleed off through plastic.
There was a study a few years ago that showed (don’t quote me on the element) what I believe was barium reacting somehow with poly piping. I’m pretty sure that barium is used in the production of Sodium Hypochlorite (Liquid Bleach). Basically it was coming out of suspension. Unsure on the quantity.
Did you know that there is still Asbestos Cement (AC) pipe in the US? It is recommended to be removed, but there is a testing program your community will be on if its present to check for corrosive-ness of the water. (Same as with Lead/Copper)
Basically, its my theory that in 50 years we will be looking at plastic in drinking water distribution like we look at Asbestos now. I cringe every morning when the water runs through my plastic coffee maker.
http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/translating-uncle-sam/stories/bpa-is-plastic-poisoning-our-food
But who cares, no one drinks tap water anyways. Its the only commodity where people don’t think twice about buying it, and then paying again to re-filter it. (Except I guess you’ve though about it at least three times for the three different units). What I’m getting at is you don’t buy gasoline and filter it before it goes in your car. (And yes, I know I know, you’re getting a Tesla)
Thanks for the many replys
the argument is not whether fluoride is safe or not. let those who believe in fluoridation to buy fluoride supplement for themselves, and others can drink their clean water. everybody wins.
the point of argument is whether an individual have a right to refuse to drink their medicated water, or are we dictated by the majority?
I’m also using distilled water, but only for making colloidal silver, which I consume on a weekly basis, to help my immune system to behave strong on winter or in the changing weathers. I also have installed in my home a water treatment system, including water softeners and mineral filters to clean the water. To consume only distilled water is an insane, because the human body is a live system, composed of billions of cells with different functions and dynamics, live cells being in a constant interaction with each other and with the environment in which they manifest. I don’t think is a good ideea to live into a crystal globe, isolated from everything around us. Just my thoughts, Cathern!
I’ve heard this growing up, too, that drinking distilled water as a sole source of hydration will lead to cellular damage. Basically the blood cell will become “hypotonic”, engorged with the pure water that is free of the solids/minerals/impurities that are needed to balance the osmotic pressure (wikipedia: tonicity). But I believe that after all the other things we eat and drink, some distilled water in the diet won’t have that big of an effect. I also found this discussion that I’ll let anyone interested read instead of me trying to paraphrase actual knowledge (http://biology.stackexchange.com/questions/2250/death-because-of-distilled-water-consumption). Either way, distilling home water is still mostly beneficial.
As you said, there are so many contaminants in our drinking water. And having a distiller is a nice choice. I have one and I use it to make distilled water. It can provide me with 1 gallon water in 4 hours. So nice and I don’t need to buy bottled water at all.
I have a question we use a old krups t8 coffeemaker it destiles you fill water in the bottom it becomes steam to make coffee. My mother lives near Basel Switzerland pharmaceuticals industry the government claim often the water being safe. Yet the residue should be just calcium as the water evaporates and i use one where i live. The one by my mother has allways large amounts of grey rubbery slime in it like protein its a bit like undercooked egg white from consistancy. What is that stuff…?