OT water filters

[Why?]

Dear all My daughter has just moved into a flat at Brighton. She is scientific (of sorts) She wishes to remove oestrogen, chlorine and a variety of other alleged or actual contaminents from her drinking water and, it appears, her shower water She has cited a UK Water filter

seems to me merely to filter (reverse osmosis plus filters) drinking and cooking water at a slow rate and store it under sink for later reuse

I am unconvinced that ordinary tap water is so bad as to need to do this but could be with the right data

My questions are: Does anyone know the pressure in Brighton? How could one get the contaminants or other contents of water over the internet - surely it is in the public domain? has anyone experience of doing this for bath (ie whole house water) which seems most improbable likewise has anyone done this for cooking and drinking (very likely) and if so what do the recommend? It seems to me to be money for old rope with the cost of filters etc and that for drinking and cooking there must me a gravity filtration or ion exchange system that would be cheaper I may be wrong and in which case if a reverse osmosis system is the answer - any recommendations? Chris

[jonesst2608]

Hi,

If Brighton is Southern Water Have a look at:

search google with

"Water Quality Report" site:

Cheers Steve.

[Peter Parry]

The operative words in your description seem to be "of sorts" rather than scientific.

Indeed.

Ordinary tap water needs no such treatment.

Water company carry out very frequent analysis of water at pumping stations and at the point of delivery (over half a million tests per region per year). They will supply you with copies of their latest analysis if you request it.

covers the subject comprehensively.

the 2008 report covering Brighton.

covers the periodic Oestrogen scares which appear in newspapers where the science correspondent also covers sport and "lifestyle" issues.

is a selection of reports on various subjects concerning water analysis.

a simpler version.

Does the house have a water tank in the roof? if so you could always fit a larger RO filter such as

use the water tank in the roof as a buffer. You may have to give up the kitchen to fit the filter in to the house but as a scientific person (of sorts) she will understand that.

Tap water. De-chlorinating is done by simply leaving the water to stand in a jug for an hour or so. If you find the water to be hard use a Brita filter jug.

It is. The effectiveness of these cheap domestic units is also very variable. Usually, the higher the flow rate the less effective the filter (for a given size). Quite a few simply don't work even to their own declared standards (which are sometimes not very good to begin with if you examine the figures). As there is nothing of worth for them to filter in tap water no one ever notices and the cost of periodic analysis is such that no one bothers doing it so their failures remain undetected.

Brita jug.

You are not.

[NT]

Recommendation: a realistic look at the death rates from all the major causes. Hopefully she'll soon forget about the death rate from tap water, which is extremely small.

NT

[Derek Geldard]

good stuff

Best aquire the self discipline to put a big jug of fresh tapwater covered with a net or piece of kitchen towel in the fridge before retiring for the night.

Filters are much cheaper in SEARS in the USA. I was going to buy a load and bring them back last time I went but the sales assistant asked me which I had, "Odour" or "Sediment", in my water. TBH I had neither. Then my uncle told me their market was for people (like him) who have both well water (for drinking) and a septic tank in the garden. 8-(

Much to be said for her getting someone with a Makro or Costco pass to obtain it (H2O) by the caseload for her, plenty cheap enough for drinking purposes, can be sparkling or not, and should she choose can come in lunchpack sized bottles to take to work.

Oh, forgot to mention, you get to choose whether you want your water to be freighted from the Scottish Highlands, Miss Marple-Esque Harrogate, Pagan Wales, The Cotswolds, Sicily, or 50,000,000 year old water (Best Before Feb 2010) from the Volcanic region of the Massif Central in France. Oddly all cost more / less the same price which doesn't seem to vary with the exchange rate. 8-|

That's a good answer.

Derek

[The Medway Handyman]

Yerbut that dihydrogen monoxide is lethal - its 'scientifically' proven.

[The Medway Handyman]

Without wishing to be rude, your daughter needs to get a life.

[Tommy]

I Disagree Dead rats, cats, birds, squirrels, cockroaches, in storage tanks in attics often give people the heebie jeebies about their water supply.

[PeterC]

"An American junior high school student won first prize at a Science Fair by attempting to show how conditioned we have become to alarmists practicing junk science and spreading fear of everything in our environment. In his project he urged people to sign a petition demanding strict control or total elimination of the chemical "dihydrogen monoxide."

And for plenty of good reasons, since:

1. it can cause excessive sweating and vomiting
2. it is a major component in acid rain
3. it can cause severe burns in its gaseous state
4. accidental inhalation can kill you
5. it contributes to erosion
6. it decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes
7. it has been found in tumors of terminal cancer patients

He asked 50 people if they supported a ban of the chemical.

• Forty-three (43) said yes,

• six (6) were undecided,

• and only one (1) knew that the chemical was water."

Also:

[Peter Parry]

Fitting a water filter (of any sort) on the incoming feed would only make the problem of any decomposing wildlife in the attic tank worse as it will remove some of the chlorine from the water before it gets to the tank.

Perhaps a webcam looking into the attic tank so it can be inspected for vermin before each shower would be cheaper? (or of course simpler, cheaper and more reliable - fit a lid on the tank).

Incidentally I notice the device quoted in the original post has a maximum capacity of only 50 litres a day and must be fed by water which is already drinkable. This does rather bring into question its ability to filter anything of significance.

[dennis]

So fit a lid that complies with the regulations. Once you have a proper lid there is enough chlorine in the water filling the tank to keep it clean if she washes each day. the other solution is a combi or some other mains hot water system. You do not want to remove chlorine from wash water unless there is a specific medical reason.

>

[Dave Liquorice]

supply.

No proper lids on the tanks here when we moved in. All manner of stuff in the bottoms from brick dust and rocks to dead centipeeds beetles and a mouse. Didn't do us any harm and all the water we use goes through those tanks as they were installed before mains water arrived and the incoming supply was a bit erratic.

[Dave Liquorice]

I'd rather drink tap water, it has less contaminants and lower bacterial load than bottled water.

The only reason for a "filter" on the mains water in this country would be if it's very hard or if you have a private supply from a spring or well. In which case you may well still be better off with UV treatment to kill the bugs rather than a filter.

Maybe it is worth reminding this "scientific (of sorts)" daughter that the human animal has a very effective immune system and that the vast majority of the planets human population does not have a purified and clean water supply. You don't, *generally*, see the human population being ill or dying from water bourne disease.

[The Natural Philosopher]

or even water borne ones. ;-)

[Derek Geldard]

Or boar bourne ones, although Boarbourne biscuits are very nice.

Derek

[John Rumm]

Nope.

You can get water quality reports...

Its more usual to do a tap in the kitchen...

There are two reasons to filter water generally, to remove harmful content, and to improve its aesthetics. The former almost never applies in the uk unless you are on a private supply etc. The latter comes down to a question of taste (literally in some cases). Particulates like grit, rust, or even water worms are generally not harmful, although they certainly make it less appealing. Chlorine will boil off if water is left in a jug etc - although a filter will take it out on demand. Filters may also remove unwanted smells, and colourations.

So for the purposes of drinking, much depends on what she perceives is wrong with her supply. It might be there are genuine aesthetic problems and a filter will make them go away, or alternatively there is just fear of "unknown stuff", which I suppose a filter may also make go away - but for different reasons!

[Andy Dingley]

Lay your own pipeline and get water piped in from somewhere civilised. Brighton's tap water is disgusting.

If I lived in Brighton I'd have a Brita or two in the fridge (and a bigger fridge) for starters. RO water isn't the most pleasant stuff to drink either.

[ARWadsworth]

Particulates like

Stick a worm in Tequila and people will pay more for it!

Adam