Distilled Water Vs Purified, or Spring Water

[SuzeOFan]

What kind of water do you drink? And why?

[thriftymom]

Filtered tap water because it's supposed to be the best kind, plus it's cheaper. From what I've heard, there are stricter guidelines on it than bottled water as far as what it contains/doesn't contain. Also, bottled water is old and there is always a chance of bacteria growth in there.

[Fern]

From the tap. I used to drink from my very shallow well (27 feet deep) and it tasted great, i gues due to the minerals, but it nearly dried up a few summers ago so i hooked up to the private water company lines; it took a while getting used to, but now that tastes ok too.

Bottled water i think is a waste of money; they just had another story on the news this a.m. where they tested and compared the test. Some of the bottled water is actually just treated tap water. NYC water is very good. Those were some of the surprises. Plus all those empty water bottles really clog up the landfill. I think people like to drink from them becus it makes them feel "athletic."

[kashi]

I drink filtered tap water. I avoid bottled water primarily because most bottles end up in landfills, even though they can be recycled in many areas. It seems like such a waste to me. I hate paying for a bottle of water, too.

[Fern]

A woman after my own heart, kashi.

[SuzeOFan]

You all have very good points and really, you're all right.

I used to get distilled water delivered to the house. This avoids the landfill issue - but isn't great on the pocketbook...So I recently switched to buying it buy the jug to save $$.

When I was a child, we had our own well water in rural Connecticut which was the best tasting water I ever had.

My husband also grew up on well water, but in rural Massachusetts. Then along comes Grace Chemical Company and pollutes the ground water in the surrounding towns. My husbands' oldest brother died of leukemia at 18.
His family (although they feel Grace Chemical was responsible) never pursued any legal action. I suppose they were too devastated by the loss of their child.

But upon hearing that, I wouldn't trust any water coming from the tap.
I might be convinced to use tap water if I knew a filter that would eliminate dangerous chemicals, but even then, I'd still be wary.

As far as bottled water goes, I don't trust it either.
So that's why I drink distilled. Nothing can hide in distilled water (that I'm aware of). And it may not even matter where it comes from. All the bad stuff is left behind in the processing.

But I agree about the landfill issue. It's an important issue.

So what is the best water filter to use?

[zakity]

We have a well and a reverse osmosis filter.

[Ima saver]

I have a gensis water distiller and purifier that I bought 11 years ago. It is worth it's weight in gold. I make my own water almost every day. That is all I drink (except for cocktails in the evening)

[Fern]

i think Suzieofan's comments just highlight the fact that, as in all matters of personal health and safety, we all have to exercise vigilance and due caution in taking care of ourselves and don't expect the government to do it for you.

When i had my own well, i tested it every year for chemicals becus as you said, S*** happens.

[SuzeOFan]

The Daily Money Saving Challenge 04/18
is coincidently on topic of this discussion.

Ditch The Bottled Water - Daily Financial Tip [url=http://www.pfadvice.com/2006/04/18/ditch-the-bottled-water-daily-financial-tip/[/URL]


But does anyone really trust the FDA? I know I sure dont!

So I guess the best solution is to do a little research and find the best water filter that takes care of both chemicals and other contaminants.

I agree with the article that it may be a good investment in the long run.

What could be better than saving your health, the enviroment AND some money at the same time??

[Likeke]

My findings have brought me to believe that drinking filtered water by reverse osmosis is the absolute best, with certain purified brands coming in at a close second. Distilled is a great choice if consumed in moderation. According to the article I reference below, too much distilled can actually have unwanted side affects on your body.

essortment.com/family/typesofwaterd_syul.htm

I do agree, though, with some here, that our first choice should be to drink what comes from our faucets if it is good water. However, I don't trust the FDA either. I have a shallow well. I have my water tested frequently. Our water always tests within the "minimum" EPA and FDA standards. Since I don't trust that those "minimum standards" are acceptable, we use a filter or drink purified water.

The faucet water at our church "should not be consumed" even according to these standards, so we have a water delivery service. Thus, the bottles are reused, and the cost is not that bad.

When it comes to filters, reverse osmosis is supposedly the best from all the reports I have read. But who am I? I'm just a consumer like yourselves.

You never know what you get with spring water. In my experience, studies have shown that anything can be in there. After all, deer pee in springs. Right? And I'm not sure how well the natural filtering process (rocks) works. Another question I have when it comes to spring water is, are the water companies taking it directly from the springs, or or they adding additional filtering processes?

When it comes to purified, Consumer Reports did a study a few years back showing that Aquafina was the purest amongst its contenders. Distilled, however, is reported to be the purest, although it can pull minerals from your body if you consume too much. More about that in the article I referenced above.

So my preference is to filter using reverse osmosis, with drinking purified water as a second choice.

As far as the land-fill issue, I believe that is a myth anymore these days, or quickly becoming one. With all the concerns about recycling, and becoming green, most of our trash these days is being recycled whether or not it is placed in a recycling container.

I believe it was on the Science Channel two years ago, that I saw a documentary on this. It showed how land fills filter through all the trash brought there, first by machine, then by hand. The bulk of the trash would be filtered by conveyors and sorting mechanisms. Whatever could not be filtered by machine, was then filtered by hand. An assembly line of human sorters would pull out anything and everything that could be recycled. Anything that absolutely could not be recycled would go to the land fill. But this was not the end of it.

The land fill was not just a land fill. It was also an electric power plant. The plant was set up to harness the methane gasses produced by the landfill. The gas was then channeled and used to turn electric generator turbines that produced electricity for a nearby community. I live in a small rural town in easter PA, and we have one of these plants probably no more than fifteen miles away.

So your water bottles are not just becoming land fill that will lie around for twenty years. Besides this, the plastics that are used these days for consumable items are made to degrade much faster than in previous years or unlike other plastics that are created for a more durable purpose, such as a juice pitcher or a gas can. If you don't believe me, go bury one in your back yard and then dig it up in a year or two. I think you will find there is not much of it.

One more thought on this subject. People are concerned so much about what kind of water they are drinking and usually overlook one element that is equally or even more important. The real question is, "how much water am I drinking?"

The truth is, most people don't drink nearly enough water on any given day. I have been challenged with certain health conditions for decades, so I am always looking for ways to fight my condition and feel better. One thing I have learned is how important it is to drink the proper amount of water each day. Our bodies are made up of 70 to 75 percent water, so the amount of water we consume each day is crucial to how we feel and our overall health. We should be consuming at least half our body weight in ounces of water each day. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, you should be consuming 75 ounces of water each day. Consuming the correct amount of water each day will not only keep you hydrated, make you less tired and feel more energetic, it also helps to flush your body of toxins and helps your body maintain a healthy immune system, fight its daily battles, and do it's daily repairs.

And if you are a coffee or soda drinker, you should consume an additional amount of water for every cup of coffee or soda you drink. That is, for each cup of coffee, you should drink an additional equal amount of water. The reason being is that caffeine tends to dehydrate your body. If your body dehydrates, it will start pulling minerals and vitamins from your bones and organs to compensate which is very hard on your systems.

The only downside to drinking this amount of water is you might have additional runs to the bathroom. Although this might be an inconvenience, this is actually a good thing. Every time you discharge you are eliminating contaminates from your body. So drink pure, and drink often for the best of health. Water that is, not beer!

[disneysteve]

We drink tap water. We have a 5-gallon water cooler in our kitchen. When the bottle is empty, I refill it from the tap. When we first got it (back in our stupid days), we were renting the cooler and paying for water delivery. Then we bought the cooler and stopped the delivery and just started refilling the bottle.

My wife does use a Brita pitcher for her coffeemaker because it removes the minerals that gunk up the machine but for drinking and cooking, we use tap water.

[Eric80]

i dont mind tap water but we got a brita filter jug which works a treat and can tell a small difference

[GrimJack]

I love sparkling water but hate paying for it so I make my own - I bought a CO2 tank, tubing, and connectors along with a 2-stage regulator. Seattle's water is pretty darn good and the CO2 is acidic so it stores well.

When you distill your own water, keep in mind that all organics are volatile at approximately the same temperatures as water (when I worked in a science lab using 'mega-pure' water that went through reverse osmosis, 3 different filters before being distilled - I was always told to keep volatile organics in mind). When we lived in Tucson, CAP came to town and we were told it safe to drink but do not use it in your fish tanks or give it to your pets so we bought distilled water for all our cooking and drinking needs.

The difference between distilled water and the water in your tap is so minimal that drinking enough distilled water to do damage is approximately the same amount of tap water that would cause the electrolytes to be diluted to the point your organs stop functioning - so don't worry about any electrolytic imbalances.

Drinking liquids to maintain your health is a good thing - coffee, orange juice, tea, tap water, it does not really matter compared to what your body needs. The liquid in our bodies is closer to seawater than pure water and coffee is closer to pure water than it is to seawater.

[justinblake]

How about alkaline water? Ever heard of it?

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Alkaline water? Yes, of course. Our city water runs average pH 9.14, which really surprised me the first time I tested it.

[sweatervestspence]

We have a refrigerator filtration system for drinking water and reuse old bottles when leaving for home. The refrigerator water filters last six or eight months and one costs about the same as two cases of bottled water.

We are fanatics at saving water:

I love my rain barrels that capture our roof water and let us use it in the garden. Also have built an outside sink that runs off the house and drains into the yard. I take a lot of messier and larger pots and pans out there to scrub and let the run-off slide into my garden and yard. You gotta keep the detergent to a minimum, and I usually soak several hours before running. I tend to use less water in washing this way and am watering the lawn, so the grey water gets used twice.

[sweatervestspence]

We have a refrigerator filtration system for drinking water and reuse old bottles when leaving for home. The refrigerator water filters last six or eight months and one costs about the same as two cases of bottled water.

[GREENBACK]

Straight from the tap(through a softener). Shallow well water that tastes fine. I'm as averse to paying for water as I would be to buying air.

[Archiba]

Our whole body consist of 40-45 percent of water. We can't live without water. Drink 14-15 glass of water daily. It is beneficial to digest the food and also helps to reduce the weight.