bottled water--yes or no?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I still can't wrap my head around the fact that there are people who consider bottled water a grocery item. The stuff flows out of your taps. Why would you pay extra to buy water that flowed out of a different tap before it was bottled? It's all tap water at the end of the day, there's nothing special about bottled.

Bottled water is super cheap. Convenient, too. I'd bet most people's water camelbaks or whatever water containers are filthy with mold and they don't even realize. I like a new clean bottle of water, which I can throw away when I'm done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do not put the stuff that comes out a tap in my body. Anything less than a commercial grade filtration system is not adequate if you have legacy lead in the pipes. People with small kids should be extra extra careful as even small amounts of lead exposure can cause long-term problems. To me buying bottled is a no brainer - why take the risk with what you are putting in your body.

+1 Not thrilled with the plastic, but in terms of health it's the lesser of two evils imo.

The bottling company puts tap water in the bottle. You know that right?
You're paying for someone else to put water in a disposable water bottle for you.

That is not correct. Not every bottling company does this. If you are drinking a mass market brand like Dasani or Aquifina, absolutely you are getting municipal water. If you are paying up for something like perrier or fiji, that is natural source water passed through a filtration system.

We aren't talking about Perrier and you know it. How many tourists from Iowa do you see carrying around a bottle of Perrier? None. They have Kirkland brand or Aquafina. But you're right. Not every bottling company does it ,but most of the water people are carting around in cases behind their third row is tap. They all buy the hype and think it's triple washed and reverse osmosed when it is the same stuff I with which I flush my toilets.

I'm a bottled water drinker, and I'm only talking about Perrier, Fiji, or Evian.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This discussion is excellent. Can anyone provide a link to a water testing company? I want to put water from my tap and send it for analysis.
Secondly, what reusable bottle options are there? I would actually prefer a stainless steel container with a filter inside. I know one company that offers a bottle with a filter inside, but it is made of plastic (#4).

Actually, it looks like D.C. will test your water for lead for free: https://www.dcwater.com/lead-testing We paid an extra fee to our home inspector to do it when we were getting our house inspected before we bought it. (At the time, no one had lived there for three years, which the inspector said would mean the lead results would show the highest possible lead amounts, because frequently using the pipes for normal household activities flushes the lines a bit, but our results still came back well below levels the federal guidelines say should cause alarm.)

As for a water bottle, there are tons on Amazon. Here's one that's stainless steel with a filter: https://www.amazon.com/Erba-Stainless-Activated-removes-Chlorine/dp/B01NBEISS4/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1498240659&sr=8-15&keywords=water+bottle+with+filter But a few more minutes of poking around would probably turn up many more options.

there is no amount of lead that is safe for young kids. I would not risk even a trace amount with kids around. I don't care how many mountains of bottles are being created not giving my kid water out of decades old pipes.

Lead exposure is the leading cause of making kids dumb and criminals...read for yourself:

http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2016/02/lead-exposure-gasoline-crime-increase-children-health/

We have our kids tested for lead exposure at every checkup, and they've never shown any amount in their blood despite drinking D.C. tap water in a century-old home. As that Mother Jones story points out, the fact that the U.S. now bans lead as a gasoline additive probably means all of us who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s had far more lead exposure than our children do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am the OP and I asked the question specifically with the spring/mineral water in mind. Many bottled water brands are spring, including deer park, TJ's, just to name a few. Mineral I think stands for springs of mineral water that are known to be not simple springs but special enriched water sources. The Whole Foods sparkling mineral water is a case in point. It comes from an Italian mineral spring. I am torn between the good taste and cleaner feel of these waters and the more economical filtered tap.

I'm the PP with the Perrier habit. I'm not giving up my bubbles. I drink one of the large Perrier bottles in a day.

I want to try the soda stream, but it's got its own waste issues, too. Maybe I should switch to a sparkling water that's made here, at least, instead of getting it shipped from France.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am the OP and I asked the question specifically with the spring/mineral water in mind. Many bottled water brands are spring, including deer park, TJ's, just to name a few. Mineral I think stands for springs of mineral water that are known to be not simple springs but special enriched water sources. The Whole Foods sparkling mineral water is a case in point. It comes from an Italian mineral spring. I am torn between the good taste and cleaner feel of these waters and the more economical filtered tap.

I'm the PP with the Perrier habit. I'm not giving up my bubbles. I drink one of the large Perrier bottles in a day.

I want to try the soda stream, but it's got its own waste issues, too. Maybe I should switch to a sparkling water that's made here, at least, instead of getting it shipped from France.

I have a sofa stream. What is the waste?

[Anonymous]

Soda stream! Lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This discussion is excellent. Can anyone provide a link to a water testing company? I want to put water from my tap and send it for analysis.
Secondly, what reusable bottle options are there? I would actually prefer a stainless steel container with a filter inside. I know one company that offers a bottle with a filter inside, but it is made of plastic (#4).

Actually, it looks like D.C. will test your water for lead for free: https://www.dcwater.com/lead-testing We paid an extra fee to our home inspector to do it when we were getting our house inspected before we bought it. (At the time, no one had lived there for three years, which the inspector said would mean the lead results would show the highest possible lead amounts, because frequently using the pipes for normal household activities flushes the lines a bit, but our results still came back well below levels the federal guidelines say should cause alarm.)

As for a water bottle, there are tons on Amazon. Here's one that's stainless steel with a filter: https://www.amazon.com/Erba-Stainless-Activated-removes-Chlorine/dp/B01NBEISS4/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1498240659&sr=8-15&keywords=water+bottle+with+filter But a few more minutes of poking around would probably turn up many more options.

there is no amount of lead that is safe for young kids. I would not risk even a trace amount with kids around. I don't care how many mountains of bottles are being created not giving my kid water out of decades old pipes.

Lead exposure is the leading cause of making kids dumb and criminals...read for yourself:

http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2016/02/lead-exposure-gasoline-crime-increase-children-health/

We have our kids tested for lead exposure at every checkup, and they've never shown any amount in their blood despite drinking D.C. tap water in a century-old home. As that Mother Jones story points out, the fact that the U.S. now bans lead as a gasoline additive probably means all of us who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s had far more lead exposure than our children do.

I wouldn't generalize here. Lead in pipes is building/house specific. Just something to be very careful about with kids - adult only HH don't have the same concerns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I still can't wrap my head around the fact that there are people who consider bottled water a grocery item. The stuff flows out of your taps. Why would you pay extra to buy water that flowed out of a different tap before it was bottled? It's all tap water at the end of the day, there's nothing special about bottled.

Bottled water is super cheap. Convenient, too. I'd bet most people's water camelbaks or whatever water containers are filthy with mold and they don't even realize. I like a new clean bottle of water, which I can throw away when I'm done.

Its not the cost or convenience that's the issue with bottled water-its the huge amount of waste from the empty plastic bottles. Doesn't this bother you?

[Anonymous]

I always SDMH when I see people buying lots of bottled water. Just such a dumb waste of money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:cool! good for you all. I wish my DH would get rid of his addiction to bottled water.

99% chance you're buying it and bringing it into the house. Stop doing that

[Anonymous]

We drink tap water (unfiltered) at home but I buy bottled water to throw in my purse and take with me. I take medication throughout the day that requires me to drink a lot. Unfortunately, I've yet to find a reusable bottle that's light-weight, easy to clean, and doesn't make the water taste like crap. I don't love the environmental impact but we do recycle the empties pretty religiously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I still can't wrap my head around the fact that there are people who consider bottled water a grocery item. The stuff flows out of your taps. Why would you pay extra to buy water that flowed out of a different tap before it was bottled? It's all tap water at the end of the day, there's nothing special about bottled.

Bottled water is super cheap. Convenient, too. I'd bet most people's water camelbaks or whatever water containers are filthy with mold and they don't even realize. I like a new clean bottle of water, which I can throw away when I'm done.

I'm paranoid about this as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I used to drink only bottled water but I learned it can cause health issues since most don't contain magnesium or Fluoride. Now I try and drink tap water as much as possible but still take a bottle of water anytime I leave the house for convenience.

Ditto.

Convenience.

Would filling up a reusable bottle REALLY be that much less convenient? It'd be cheaper and save a lot of plastic.

I don't care.

The low dose obesogens and endocrine disruptors will make you fat and give your DH man boobs and low libido. Epigenetics for future gens unknown but under study in animals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Soda stream! Lol

no man boobs, but west bank settlements

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I still can't wrap my head around the fact that there are people who consider bottled water a grocery item. The stuff flows out of your taps. Why would you pay extra to buy water that flowed out of a different tap before it was bottled? It's all tap water at the end of the day, there's nothing special about bottled.

Bottled water is super cheap. Convenient, too. I'd bet most people's water camelbaks or whatever water containers are filthy with mold and they don't even realize. I like a new clean bottle of water, which I can throw away when I'm done.

wondering if you're over 65? my ILs buy a lot of bottled water at Costco.