OT sort of; bottled water

[Pete C.]

you take into account Hofstadter's Law.

Convenience is a big one. Shelf life is another.

The water in the bottle is *not* the same as that from a garden hose or tap, even if the initial source was the tap, it is significantly cleaner biologically. Remember that tap water going into the bottling plant is filtered, chlorinated, dechlorinated and reverse osmosis filtered, all the while passing through piping systems that are sanitized with chlorinated water several times per shift along with the bottling line and then it's filled into bottles that have been sanitized as well. It's the same water and process as the soda bottled on the same lines.

Pete C.

[mm]

It's interesting to realize that almost all the water we drink is the same water that has been here since the first water.

There has been a tiny percentabe of water destoyed by electrolyis, and proably a tiny bit made somehow, but the vast majority is original water.

[mm]

Well, if it is really distilled, why would they need the other steps. Maybe they add ozone after the distillation, but the RO and filtration are to remove things that distillation would remove.

I have a friend who only drinks distilled, when he drinks water. I buy a gallon before he viists.

I'm sure you'll get them somewhere elese. I think the ones in water are just a trace.

When chugging a lot of water, I prefer the non-taste

[mm]

The tv news story cited the sketches of snow-capped mountains they said implied the water came from springs. I don't think they quoted anyone else, so I had no way to know if anyone had ever filed a formal complaint about that or if any agency agreed with the newscaster.

[Pete C.]

Don't have a bottle handy, but isn't is orange snow on blue mountains? and how does snow on a mountain equate to a spring? Springs are often found nowhere near mountains, and mountain snow melt mostly ends up in streams and rivers. I see just another case of some eco loons trying to seize on any absurd thing they can to justify an attack on something they don't like.

Pete C.

[gfretwell]

I suppose you could wash it out. I have dishes I have been using for years and I haven't fallen down puking.

[gfretwell]

Simply convenience. A bottle of water is much like a bottle of soda, just better for you. In real life it costs Pepsi/Coke about the same amount to deliver too. If you ever bought a soft drink because you were thirsty you bought a bottle of water, or worse, that $4 cup of sugar water at the movie.

[gfretwell]

That is why UF invented gatorade, football training in the hot sun

[Jim Redelfs]

Same here, and you are RIGHT ON.

While not a "runner", a few years ago I worked a particularly hard day outdoors. It was VERY hot. I trimmed trees, climbed poles and, on one job, and ALL of my ladders out - the works. I sweat like a pig and drank water like it was going out-of-style.

I drank no Gatorade or anything else - just water. Bad move. VERY bad move.

Overnight that night, virtually EVERY muscle in my body cramped terribly. I was in misery the entire night.

Now, on hot days outside, of the fluid I drink, about 2/3 is water and 1/3 is Gatorade. It does the trick as I've had no recurrence of the trouble I had before. Never again.

[Jim Redelfs]

Say what? Concentrate? Powdered water? That's ridiculous!

Concentrated water. Right. I respectfully challenge your assertion and counter that, indeed, "whole" undiluted (huh?) water is shipped - in those little bottles - all across the country.

Now THAT does involved concentrate. It's called syrup. It's mixed with LOCAL, purified, carbonated water at various bottling plants nation/worldwide before distribution.

Concentrated water. Hehehehehehehe!

[Jim Redelfs]

I vote for "willfully ignore". Let's not complicate their debate with facts, common sense or economics.

Aw, I think you're being a bit too rough on tap water, Pete. :)

As an RVer of many years, I have become a quasi-expert on the "care and feeding" of a water system. I'm sure that wine-makers and home brewers are equally, or more, up-to-speed, water-wise.

Of course, my contention that year-old tap water is quite safe and stable requires that the water is in compliance with EPA standards for the municipal system of a first-class city. It also requires careful storage practices: A clean container/system and storage in a dark, temperate environment.

I suspect there is more EMOTION and hype directed at the bottled water consumer than any REAL health or safety benefit. I prefer cheap, bottled water during the summer because, when drinking it in quantity with ice, purified water simply "tastes" better. It has virtually NO taste to me.

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, Mayve he meant neavy water? Yikes!

[Tony Hwang]

Hmmm, You mean tap water is free?

[Jim Redelfs]

Agreed.

Rush commented on the Aquafina "SNAFU" the other day, implying that it is plain "tap water". I was shouting at the radio. (Rare for me)

While bottled water may come from a municipal "tap", when the bottler is done purifying the it, the water is a far cry from what it was.

[Jim Redelfs]

Naw, they use FOOD-GRADE hoses! :)

No sh*t. :\\

Improved/reduced taste and convenience.

We finally came up with something to fill the gap in the waste stream created by the diversion of most "yard waste": Plastic bottles. It took a few years, but we figured it out.

A nice sig but try this: Place two hyphens and a single space (three characters), all by themselves, at the beginning/start of a new line and everything that follows will NOT be quoted by a COMPLIANT newsreader.

[mm]

UF stands for United Fruit, right.

I thought Gatorade was invented by UR, United Reptile.

[Stormin Mormon]

I've got silverware and dishes that are at least 10 years old.

[Stormin Mormon]

I deleted the message too quickly. Someone wrote that UF stands for United Fruit. Well, Gatorade must be made by the HDLPE company.

[Pete C.]

Indeed.

Nope. Having spent a few days at a CC bottling plant I have no doubt whatsoever that the filtered water they are bottling is significantly cleaner than tap water in almost any location. That doesn't meat that the tap water isn't safe of course, just that the bottled water is cleaner since it travels only through a few hundred feet of stainless steel piping that is sanitized probably a dozen times a day vs. tap water traveling through miles of decades old piping of various types that is semi sanitized a couple times a year at best.

I sanitize the water system on my camper at the start of each season and again any time it's sat unused for more than a month or two.

As for wine and beer, I do home brew, and I can assure you that tap water is not used as-is. While it may start as tap water, it is all boiled to kill off the various micro organisms in it before it is used for brewing. Everything the water and beer will contact and indeed everything in the immediate area is also heavily sanitized before brewing.

If you were to boil the tap water before bottling in sanitized bottles it would likely be ok. If you bottle it as-is with all the micro organisms it's picked up traveling through miles of very old water mains, I seriously doubt it will be safe after a year of stagnation.

The health benefit is very real - the convenience of the bottled water makes it more likely that people will drink water vs. soda which certainly is a health benefit. The safety benefit applies most to the bottled water in your emergency kit.

Pete C.

[Pete C.]

I'm not buying it by a long shot. The water from the tap travels through miles of very old water mains that are semi sanitized (by increased chlorine levels) at best a couple times a year, while the heavily filtered water at the bottling plant travels through a few hundred feet of stainless steel piping that is fully sanitized probably a dozen times a day by flushing it with heavily chlorinated water.

They aren't exactly known for objective analysis of facts are they?

Pete C.