'Dodgy' tap water

[ash_dac]

Hi,

Does anyone have 'dodgy' tap water where they live ?

The tap water where I live smells like swimming pool water but is free of bugs (I hope).

I've read that female hormones are also present in tap water!

Is the solution to buy bottled water or collect rain water from the sky ?

[SY]

That female hormone thing might explain why Europeans are so fascinated with nancy sports like soccer.

At my office, the water smells like TCA, a common contaminant in wine corks. It's got a wet-newspaper/musty basement aroma. Humans are fantastically sensitive to it- I've been tested at 5ppt parts per trillion sensitivity and I'm not atypical.

In our last house, the water tasted and smelled OK, but was so laden with minerals that every glass in the house had to be soaked in vinegar after washing. We rationalized this by observing that people pay a premium for water like that in a bottle.

Bottled water, for all the hype, is just someone else's tap water.

If off-aromas and off-flavors are the issue, an activated charcoal filter will work wonders.

[ash_dac]

Originally posted by SY
That female hormone thing might explain why Europeans are so fascinated with nancy sports like soccer.

At my office, the water smells like TCA, a common contaminant in wine corks. It's got a wet-newspaper/musty basement aroma. Humans are fantastically sensitive to it- I've been tested at 5ppt parts per trillion sensitivity and I'm not atypical.

If off-aromas and off-flavors are the issue, an activated charcoal filter will work wonders.

What does TCA cause ?

Office water is great it's refridgerated to ice cold! Need it aswell with all the computers!

Yes the deposits in the water aren't so bad here as I've seen in some parts of the UK!

Could that charcoal filter thing be a diy project?

Could you activate charcoal easily by grinding in a pestle and mortar ?

[SY]

Trust me, activated charcoal filters are something you want to buy, not build. They're not expensive and aren't prone (as diy jobs are) to causing little black bits from showing up in the water.

[pinkmouse]

Why bother, the filters are cheap enough to buy...

http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/...66394&id=16747

[ash_dac]

Originally posted by pinkmouse
Why bother, the filters are cheap enough to buy...

http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/...66394&id=16747

Cheers

[CBS240]

Originally posted by SY


At my office, the water smells like TCA, a common contaminant in wine corks. It's got a wet-newspaper/musty basement aroma. Humans are fantastically sensitive to it- I've been tested at 5ppt parts per trillion sensitivity and I'm not atypical.

In our last house, the water tasted and smelled OK, but was so laden with minerals that every glass in the house had to be soaked in vinegar after washing. We rationalized this by observing that people pay a premium for water like that in a bottle.

Bottled water, for all the hype, is just someone else's tap water.

If off-aromas and off-flavors are the issue, an activated charcoal filter will work wonders.

The water at my parents's house actually tastes better when not filtered. It comes from a natural spring in the hills of east Tennesee. It is actually bottled and sold, can't remember the name though, comes from Unicoi Tenn. There is a lot of limestone in that area and that filters the water nicely and naturally, but leaves a little bit of calcium and other minerals. I think this makes it taste better. I mean, have you ever drank distiled water? Kind of bland. Not many places can you just turn on the tap and drink good tasting clean water. I always took it for granted, but I now realize what a great comodity it really is.

[maxro]

I assume the "swimming pool" smell is chlorine and not children's pee. Just pour some water in a pitcher and put it in the fridge. The chlorine will gas off over a day or two.

Max

[ash_dac]

Originally posted by CBS240


I mean, have you ever drank distiled water? Kind of bland.

Nope never drunk it. We always used it in chemistry class all the time.

[CBS240]

Originally posted by ash_dac



Nope never drunk it. We always used it in chemistry class all the time.

Well I do suppose it is much better than the funk that flows in a lot of places. I travel a lot with my work and some places are pretty foul. I do carry a Brita filter with me though. It helps quite a lot with clorine, sulpher and most types of funk. Don't think it has much affect on iron, but I should research that.