Drinking Water question for city dwellers

Kaela Parakaleo · 11-18-2014, 05:38 AM

What kind of water do purchase for drinking? Or do you use a filter? If so, which filter and why? TIA.

MidnightCafe · 11-18-2014, 06:50 AM

We live in a city known for it's safe and clean tap water, but we still have an under-sink reverse osmosis filter. My father-in-law has worked closely with the city parks and recreation board and has discussed tap water with city officials in the past. He told me that the contaminants most difficult to filter out of tap water are hormones from birth control pills and residue from other prescription medications, and these things are not included on the clean water report for our city (I checked today).

A reverse osmosis filter is known to be one of the only ways to successfully filter hormones and prescription meds from drinking water. It also filters the chlorine used by the city to purify the water and the fluoride added to the water by the city. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about fluoride, but my dentist tells me that if there's fluoride in my toothpaste, that is sufficient.

We prefer filtered to bottled water because it's less expensive than purchasing water all the time, there's less waste involved, and the water isn't stored in plastic. The taste difference between filtered and non-filtered water is incredible. My daughters refer to the filtered water as "sweet."

Having said all that, we seldom drink straight water. We make a lot of tea and coffee around here. It's important if you use a reverse osmosis filter to be sure you are getting enough trace minerals. Aside from drinking tea, we use sea salt and do our best to eat organic foods that have not had the trace minerals all swept away. We also take multivitamins. (We'd do that anyway, even if we didn't have a water filter, but it helps with the necessary minerals.)

mamajane · 11-18-2014, 06:56 AM

I don't live in the city but I buy drinking water

. We fill five gallon jugs from the grocery store filtration/osmosis machine. You kind of need to buy a dispenser for the five gallon jugs for it to be convenient to use.

Dandelion · 11-18-2014, 07:04 AM

We use a Berkey. We used to buy reverse osmosis water, but dh insists that is really bad

. My parents have been drinking reverse osmosis for 15+ years and we used it for nearly that long before switching so I am not sure how bad it can be.

tazmom · 11-18-2014, 07:23 AM

I use a Berkey and added the white filters to take out more of the

stuff. We have a case of water available for last second grabbing. The case last about a year and I don't think the water in it is any better than tap water. I know the local WM bottled water is literally bottled local tap water.

Kaela Parakaleo · 11-18-2014, 08:59 AM

We used a reverse osmosis filter for 8 years but we moved and we are renting. I worried a little bit about the lack of minerals in the long term. we have settled for the moment with a refrigerator filter that just takes out the chlorine, not sodium fluoride (which I am NOT a fan of). I'm a bit conflicted so thank you all for your input.

mamacat · 11-18-2014, 10:24 AM

We also use a Berkey now but used to use the machines a previous poster spoke of and the 5 gallon water containers

Kaela Parakaleo · 11-21-2014, 12:09 PM

Well, after reading some other threads on water here on GCM, I'm happy to report that I have busted out our Berkey (that we bought for emergency purposes). A member wrote that she had her Berkey water tested and that the water was ALKALINE (the tap water before running it through the filter was tested as acidic). YIPPY!!!! And, even better, when I bought the Berkey, way back in 2008, I bought the black filters that take out the fluoride. I'm a happy camper!

mommylove · 11-21-2014, 03:42 PM

The white filters remove fluoride in the Berkey. I've never checked the pH ... How great if it made the water more alkaline. I'm not ready to invest in a Kangen system, and the Berkey fit my budget. I have no complaints.

Kaela Parakaleo · 11-22-2014, 04:37 AM

Ack! I was wrong. I was doing what my kids do: trying to speak into reality what I really want! It turns out that the black ones do NOT filter out fluoride. I've been on the website; they sell separately post-filters that filter out the fluoride. And they don't even sell the white filters any more so I'm not sure now of the difference between the white and the black. We bought it in 2008.

BriansLovie · 11-22-2014, 05:42 AM

We use the Berkey water system with the fluoride filters.

ReedleBeetle · 11-22-2014, 07:27 AM

We use a Berkey with the black filters and the fluoride filters when needed. The black filters take out a lot more impurities than the ceramic ones....so that is why they quit selling them. They do not do fluoride on their own though.

LilacPhoenix · 11-22-2014, 08:09 AM

We use Niagara bottled water. http://www.niagarawater.com/faq/ Albertsons brand water is Niagara with a different label so I buy it sometimes too. At least once a month, one of those two go on sale for $2.25-2.50 for a 24-pack so I buy 4-8 when they're on sale and they last till the next sale. We use it for drinking and cooking.

ViolaMum · 11-22-2014, 10:33 AM

We also use a Berkey. We keep a case or two of bottled water and some distilled water on hand for emergencies, though.

11-18-2014, 05:38 AM	#1
Kaela Parakaleo Rosebud One day at a time; Keep it simple; Be grateful; Smile Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Troy, Michigan, USA Posts: 89	Drinking Water question for city dwellers What kind of water do purchase for drinking? Or do you use a filter? If so, which filter and why? TIA. __________________ Unschooling, AP, gentle mama to three boys and soul mate to hubby since 1998! Kaela is Hebrew for beloved. My radical identity is that I am deeply and fully loved by God. Parakaleo is Greek and it means (among other things) to encourage. I pray that every word that I speak or write is an encouragement to others.

11-18-2014, 06:50 AM	#2
MidnightCafe Rose Garden Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 5,187	Re: Drinking Water question for city dwellers We live in a city known for it's safe and clean tap water, but we still have an under-sink reverse osmosis filter. My father-in-law has worked closely with the city parks and recreation board and has discussed tap water with city officials in the past. He told me that the contaminants most difficult to filter out of tap water are hormones from birth control pills and residue from other prescription medications, and these things are not included on the clean water report for our city (I checked today). A reverse osmosis filter is known to be one of the only ways to successfully filter hormones and prescription meds from drinking water. It also filters the chlorine used by the city to purify the water and the fluoride added to the water by the city. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about fluoride, but my dentist tells me that if there's fluoride in my toothpaste, that is sufficient. We prefer filtered to bottled water because it's less expensive than purchasing water all the time, there's less waste involved, and the water isn't stored in plastic. The taste difference between filtered and non-filtered water is incredible. My daughters refer to the filtered water as "sweet." Having said all that, we seldom drink straight water. We make a lot of tea and coffee around here. It's important if you use a reverse osmosis filter to be sure you are getting enough trace minerals. Aside from drinking tea, we use sea salt and do our best to eat organic foods that have not had the trace minerals all swept away. We also take multivitamins. (We'd do that anyway, even if we didn't have a water filter, but it helps with the necessary minerals.) __________________ Wife to DH, friend of my soul... Mama to Mane (age 14), Vespera (age 26), and Niteo (son-in-law)

11-18-2014, 06:56 AM	#3
mamajane Rose Garden Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 3,675	Re: Drinking Water question for city dwellers I don't live in the city but I buy drinking water . We fill five gallon jugs from the grocery store filtration/osmosis machine. You kind of need to buy a dispenser for the five gallon jugs for it to be convenient to use. __________________ ISFP Ds 15 DDs 13, 10,and 7

11-18-2014, 07:04 AM	#4
Dandelion Rose Garden Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 5,508	Re: Drinking Water question for city dwellers We use a Berkey. We used to buy reverse osmosis water, but dh insists that is really bad . My parents have been drinking reverse osmosis for 15+ years and we used it for nearly that long before switching so I am not sure how bad it can be. __________________ aka, mamacheetah, Nicole wife to one daydreamer mama to seven - six boys with a girl in there somewhere B 8/99 O1 5/03 V 6/05 M 7/07 L 11/10 H 11/12 O2 11/15

11-18-2014, 07:23 AM	#5
tazmom Rose Garden Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 7,740	Re: Drinking Water question for city dwellers I use a Berkey and added the white filters to take out more of the stuff. We have a case of water available for last second grabbing. The case last about a year and I don't think the water in it is any better than tap water. I know the local WM bottled water is literally bottled local tap water. __________________ Michelle Bearer of the Sceptre of Sympathetic Strength Wife to the car guy for 21 years Mom to my kids T - Fifteen A - Thirteen Z - Ten

11-18-2014, 08:59 AM	#6
Kaela Parakaleo Rosebud One day at a time; Keep it simple; Be grateful; Smile Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Troy, Michigan, USA Posts: 89	Re: Drinking Water question for city dwellers We used a reverse osmosis filter for 8 years but we moved and we are renting. I worried a little bit about the lack of minerals in the long term. we have settled for the moment with a refrigerator filter that just takes out the chlorine, not sodium fluoride (which I am NOT a fan of). I'm a bit conflicted so thank you all for your input. __________________ Unschooling, AP, gentle mama to three boys and soul mate to hubby since 1998! Kaela is Hebrew for beloved. My radical identity is that I am deeply and fully loved by God. Parakaleo is Greek and it means (among other things) to encourage. I pray that every word that I speak or write is an encouragement to others.

11-18-2014, 10:24 AM	#7
mamacat Rose Garden Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 26,473	Re: Drinking Water question for city dwellers We also use a Berkey now but used to use the machines a previous poster spoke of and the 5 gallon water containers __________________ ~Catherine~ Mama to 5: C W C J S And Grandma to 3: A ,K and baby C

11-21-2014, 12:09 PM	#8
Kaela Parakaleo Rosebud One day at a time; Keep it simple; Be grateful; Smile Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Troy, Michigan, USA Posts: 89	Re: Drinking Water question for city dwellers Well, after reading some other threads on water here on GCM, I'm happy to report that I have busted out our Berkey (that we bought for emergency purposes). A member wrote that she had her Berkey water tested and that the water was ALKALINE (the tap water before running it through the filter was tested as acidic). YIPPY!!!! And, even better, when I bought the Berkey, way back in 2008, I bought the black filters that take out the fluoride. I'm a happy camper! __________________ Unschooling, AP, gentle mama to three boys and soul mate to hubby since 1998! Kaela is Hebrew for beloved. My radical identity is that I am deeply and fully loved by God. Parakaleo is Greek and it means (among other things) to encourage. I pray that every word that I speak or write is an encouragement to others.

11-21-2014, 03:42 PM	#9
mommylove Rose Garden Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 9,120	Re: Drinking Water question for city dwellers The white filters remove fluoride in the Berkey. I've never checked the pH ... How great if it made the water more alkaline. I'm not ready to invest in a Kangen system, and the Berkey fit my budget. I have no complaints. __________________

11-22-2014, 04:37 AM	#10
Kaela Parakaleo Rosebud One day at a time; Keep it simple; Be grateful; Smile Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Troy, Michigan, USA Posts: 89	Re: Drinking Water question for city dwellers Ack! I was wrong. I was doing what my kids do: trying to speak into reality what I really want! It turns out that the black ones do NOT filter out fluoride. I've been on the website; they sell separately post-filters that filter out the fluoride. And they don't even sell the white filters any more so I'm not sure now of the difference between the white and the black. We bought it in 2008. __________________ Unschooling, AP, gentle mama to three boys and soul mate to hubby since 1998! Kaela is Hebrew for beloved. My radical identity is that I am deeply and fully loved by God. Parakaleo is Greek and it means (among other things) to encourage. I pray that every word that I speak or write is an encouragement to others.

11-22-2014, 05:42 AM	#11
BriansLovie Rose Garden Striving to be a gentle mama and enjoying my littles. Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Virginia Posts: 7,696	Re: Drinking Water question for city dwellers We use the Berkey water system with the fluoride filters. __________________ Kara *Sharing life with a special man* Mama to J - 11, J - 9, & A - 5 & Two angels 9/2007 & 1/2008

11-22-2014, 07:27 AM	#12
ReedleBeetle Rose Garden Hangin' on for dear life! Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: WV, I'm a mountain momma Posts: 25,579	Re: Drinking Water question for city dwellers We use a Berkey with the black filters and the fluoride filters when needed. The black filters take out a lot more impurities than the ceramic ones....so that is why they quit selling them. They do not do fluoride on their own though. __________________ RiAnnon infj Single Momma to LegoCraft May 2005

11-22-2014, 08:09 AM	#13
LilacPhoenix Rose Garden E's newborn feet; G's 3-yr-old feet Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: South Louisiana Posts: 8,478	Re: Drinking Water question for city dwellers We use Niagara bottled water. http://www.niagarawater.com/faq/ Albertsons brand water is Niagara with a different label so I buy it sometimes too. At least once a month, one of those two go on sale for $2.25-2.50 for a 24-pack so I buy 4-8 when they're on sale and they last till the next sale. We use it for drinking and cooking. __________________ CMB Wife of P (May 2018) Mommy to two terrific boys, E (July '07) and G (Dec '09), and "bonus mommy" to B (Sept '11) INFPs are a FiNe SiTe to behold! DYT 1/2 My recipe blog! Recipes "I need to live life like some people never will... To ride the wings of dreams into changing horizons." Dream Theater

11-22-2014, 10:33 AM	#14
ViolaMum Rose Garden Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 5,542	Re: Drinking Water question for city dwellers We also use a Berkey. We keep a case or two of bottled water and some distilled water on hand for emergencies, though. __________________ Darcy married to my Photographic Genius (1/00) Mom to: Prima, Secunda, Tertia, and Quarta Youth and Beauty are fleeting, but the ability to bake a great chocolate cake lasts forever!

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