What's in your water?!

misterjover said: "This is not entirely stock-related. So, I opened this up in the General Discussion section. There are cliffnotes at the bottom if you don't want to read through this entire story. I went to my local water store yesterday to get a my tanks refilled, and I asked the store owner a question, "Hey did you ever notice that Arrowhead water tastes like tap water?". He told me with excitement to go across the street to buy a bottle because he wanted to show me something that would blow my mind. I came back with a brand new, sealed bottle of Arrowhead water, and he took out a small device from his desk called a TDS tester (total dissolved solvents), which measured the total number of floating solvents within a given water sample. He dipped it into water from his store, and it gave a reading of 2 PPM, which is rather low for purified water, almost as low as distilled water. When he dipped it into the Arrowhead water, the device went immediately to 210 and stopped at 222 PPM. He tested the tap water, and it read 228 PPM. This means that bottled water has just about as much, iron, lead, magnesium, ions, and chemicals as our tap water. I was disgusted by the fact that people pay for bottled water and receive nothing but tap water or worse in some cases. Drinking non-purified water leads to thyroid cancer, gall bladder stones, diarrhea, and liver complications. There's a chart at the bottom of this website that displays the various levels of TDS in your water, and I urge everybody to begin drinking purified water with TDS readings of 50 or below. I also did some research regarding firms that deal with water purification, and I came up with IPUR and BUGS. BUGS is a firm that treats microbial infestations in water supplies, and IPUR is a company that makes filtration products. Cliffnotes: - America is poisoning its people via its public water supply. - This is not publicized because it feeds the medical industry. - TDS samples in Arrowhead water and tap water are nearly identical. - Drink purified water with a TDS of 50 PPM or less or you will die. - Have a happy new year and invest wisely! :)"

Heather said: "Water purification is sort of interesting. After the horrible tsunami, one of the greatest needs is for clean drinking water. I suppose that would be the case for any kind of "emergency".. I have never heard of that brand of water before. Normally I get Aquafina or Dasani. Have you tested those kinds before?"

HappyHarry said: "All I drink is water. If this is true, I should do something about filtering it. But of course something is wrong with the water. Have you seen people lately? :eek:"

misterjover said: "[QUOTE=Hathor]Water purification is sort of interesting. After the horrible tsunami, one of the greatest needs is for clean drinking water. I suppose that would be the case for any kind of "emergency".. I have never heard of that brand of water before. Normally I get Aquafina or Dasani. Have you tested those kinds before?[/QUOTE] Arrowhead and Crystal Geyser were tested to be higher in TDS content than any major water brand. However, I will bring bottles of Aquafina and Dasani to the water shop to test them next time I go. Give me a couple weeks on that because I just refilled my water. :)"

ToastMonger said: "[QUOTE=misterjover] - Drink purified water with a TDS of 50 PPM or less or you will die. [/QUOTE] So if I drink purified water with a TDS of 50 PPM or less I will never die?"

HappyHarry said: "[QUOTE=ToastMonger]So if I drink purified water with a TDS of 50 PPM or less I will never die?[/QUOTE] Yeah. That's how it works ;)"

bobjitsu said: "[b]Dannon[/b] water tastes like distilled dogcrap. :( P.S. we need more smilies. :cool:"

Heather said: "I've never had Dannon water. Maybe it has leftover yogurt in it? LOL."

HappyHarry said: "I'm a tap man, myself. 1) Get a gallon milk 2) Empty 3) Fill with water 4) Chill overnight in the fridge. 5) Drink I use a 3 Jug System for best results."

bobjitsu said: "[QUOTE=HappyHarry]I'm a tap man, myself. 1) Get a gallon milk 2) Empty 3) Fill with water 4) Chill overnight in the fridge. 5) Drink I use a 3 Jug System for best results.[/QUOTE] In Las Vegas we get our water from Lake Mead, where the homeless and illegals bathe and the vacationers jet ski....I'll take bottled. :eek:"

HappyHarry said: "Lake Erie water is no picnic. But I'm used to it from the tap."

Heather said: "I've been to lake Meade! You could probably drink from your eaves these days in Nevada. :)"

HappyHarry said: "Water is very good as a diet food. I guess all this bad news about tap water will make sales of bottled water go through the roof."

Darius said: "As an environmental engineer who designs water and wastewater treatment plants I have to stop the BS here. Ok 99% of the people in the United States have good tap water because it comes from fairly pure sources i.e. ground water or relatively clean surface water. Those taking water from major rivers or lakes are the exception. Yes there are things in the source water that aren't removed by treatment processes and can harm you, but that is why there is stringent environmental protection legislation. And Iron, Magnesium, Calcium are vitamins that our bodies need to survive. You will not have liver failure, gall stones, or diarrhea caused by drinking water. Diarrhea is caused by bacterial infection and a contaminated DW system in the U.S. is an extremely rare occurance. Chlorine kills everything and persists throughout the distribution system to maintain sterility. BTW Dasani isn't "purified" water...it is merely the water they use to make Coca-cola and must be consistent in it's properties in order to keep Coke tasting the same. It is probably run through reverse osmosis and then has some chemical feed systems to keep the recipe constant. Bottled water is a scam unless your treatment facilities are poorly designed or overloaded and don't remove minerals to a level that is aesthetically suitable. If you dont like the taste, fine. But there is no other reason in the U.S. to buy water for more than $.06 per gallon (most tap water rates). If you wanted to look into this further, the Clean Water Act was implemented in the 70's and most wastewater treatment plants need retrofitting or rebuilding now. Might want to look into buying Siemen's or ITT's stock for a long-term investment strategy."

WellsTrader said: "Way to ruin all the fun of scaring up some tap water stories Darius. LoL. I used to be from Colfax Iowa and years and years ago they were the huge place for Mineral water. there tap water is so full of minerals you can find little things (I call them Floaties) in the water. Its distgusting and there water for an outsider has almsot the same effect the water in mexico has. So they must fall into that 1% of nasty water places."

HappyHarry said: "Wow, great post Darius. And I've always been a fan of clean drinking water. If you look at any chart at the difference between infant mortality 100 years ago and now, you'll be amazed at how much the numbers have improved. The cause of this improvement? Mostly the effort by major countries to vastly improve their infrastructures and improve the quality of drinking water! Something we take for granted was unheard a few generations ago. That's progress. I lift my cup of Lake Erie Tap and toast you all. :rolleyes:"

Heather said: "The town I live in ran out of water when the 'lectric went out in the summer of 2003. I remember the water tasted weird leading up to it. Supposedly it's fixed, and we won't run out of water.. Well water is nasty. Yuck. Bottled water is popular because it's like a bottle of pop without the sugar, flavorings or syrups. If you're going to workout, it is easy to take with you no matter if you drink well water, tap water or bottled water. The only things I drink are hot or cold teas or just water..."

bobjitsu said: "I'm a Dr. Pepper drinker myself...not a big fan of water unless it is summer."

HappyHarry said: "Bob, please get the book [url=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0962994235/qid=1105142635/sr=8-6/ref=pd_ka_2/104-4393839-1365503?v=glance&s=books&n=507846]Your Body's Many Hidden Cries for Water[/url] It will change your life when you read it."

bobjitsu said: "[QUOTE=HappyHarry]Bob, please get the book [url=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0962994235/qid=1105142635/sr=8-6/ref=pd_ka_2/104-4393839-1365503?v=glance&s=books&n=507846]Your Body's Many Hidden Cries for Water[/url] It will change your life when you read it.[/QUOTE] Interesting, I'll pick it up!"

AlfredSokol said: "I figured "desert folk" would drink lots of water."

bobjitsu said: "[QUOTE=AlfredSokol]I figured "desert folk" would drink lots of water.[/QUOTE] I'm an exception...I've always like cola's. Maybe now that I'm in my 30's I ought to look at water. :("

Heather said: "Really cold water is the best. Sometimes with a slice of lemon. Hits the spot every time. :)"

WellsTrader said: "I think the slice of lemon ruins it. Now, a little black velvet and ice cubes with both goes a long way."

misterjover said: "[QUOTE=Darius] BTW Dasani isn't "purified" water...it is merely the water they use to make Coca-cola and must be consistent in it's properties in order to keep Coke tasting the same. It is probably run through reverse osmosis and then has some chemical feed systems to keep the recipe constant. [/QUOTE] I didn't mention that Dasani was purified water. I know that it's regular bottled water similar to Arrowhead and the others. By the way, that was a good post, and it helps us sleep a little better at night, but I know what I saw in those measurements, and I still believe that purified water is superior to tap and bottled water. Here is a link to another water issue by the EPA. Perchlorate is a substance that causes thyroid issues. [URL=http://www.epa.gov/safewater/ccl/perchlorate/perchlorate.html]http://www.epa.gov/safewater/ccl/perchlorate/perchlorate.html[/URL] I'm just getting this news out to ensure that everyone knows the risks involved with drinking water with rich solvent content."

AlfredSokol said: "The amount of "metals" in water causes some concern."

Darius said: "Wow! You all have come back with interesting and important concerns, some of which are disturbing. Especially the one where the power goes out and the water pumps don't work anymore. The DNR would flip out if it knew of such a system without backup generator power. The perchlorate post by misterjover is also interesting, but I think is fairly limited to areas with groundwater contamination from military production facilities or related industries. It should be addressed accordingly, but is not of widespread concern. Metals are another issue since most water plumbing in houses is copper with lead sodder. And even OLDER houses had lead piping back in the day. If lived in a house with lead piping, I'd either have it replaced or move. If you have concerns about your local drinking water quality, you could very easily call up the public works department and ask for a tour of the water facility. And if that doesn't satisfy your needs, then have Culligan come in and install a reverse osmosis system at one of your faucets and that will remove most impurities outside of chemical ones. Most chemical impurities can be removed by an activated carbon filter, like those found in Brita water containers (except better of course). And yes well water does suck...my uncle's cabin has high sulfur and iron levels which don't hurt you but they make it seem like you're drinking turpentine. :p"

HappyHarry said: "[QUOTE=bobjitsu]I'm an exception...I've always like cola's. Maybe now that I'm in my 30's I ought to look at water. :([/QUOTE] Yep. Things change with age. There are several very outspoken doctors around who feel most hyper-tension could be avoided if people drank more water. There's a lot of information on it and I'm convinced. If you force yourself to drink 1 gallon of water a day for a month, the results will amaze you. You will then be unable to drink pop or any thing the way you used to. You'll be pissin' a lot, so bear that in mind as it relates to your job, but you flush out a ton of toxins and you feel "hydrated". Constant dehydration is what's occuring to most people. If you drink beer at night and coffee to wake you up in the morning, you're totally short on essentional H20. Put down a bowl of whiskey and a bowl of water and which will an animal drink? And man is supposed to be smarter than an animal."

misterjover said: "[QUOTE=HappyHarry]Yep. Things change with age. There are several very outspoken doctors around who feel most hyper-tension could be avoided if people drank more water. There's a lot of information on it and I'm convinced. If you force yourself to drink 1 gallon of water a day for a month, the results will amaze you. You will then be unable to drink pop or any thing the way you used to. You'll be pissin' a lot, so bear that in mind as it relates to your job, but you flush out a ton of toxins and you feel "hydrated". Constant dehydration is what's occuring to most people. If you drink beer at night and coffee to wake you up in the morning, you're totally short on essentional H20. Put down a bowl of whiskey and a bowl of water and which will an animal drink? And man is supposed to be smarter than an animal.[/QUOTE] I had a husky named Mr. Chubbs who drank beer whenever I poured it into its bowl. He didn't live very long but he sure was a friendly dog. :)"

AlfredSokol said: "I too have seen a beer-drinking dog, he was trained by lesbians of my acquaintance. He would drink until he passed out. Just like them."