After seeing a blurb in the news mega about the US needing nearly half a trillion dollars for drinking water infrastructure, I wonder about my own family's water safety.

I have up to now been under the impression that tap water is safe to drink, eschewing borrowed water for environmental purposes but maybe I should be thinking about a filtration system.

We live in an apartment with old bones in a city that has had lead in its school pipes in the past.

How do the netizens of Hexbear filter and enjoy their drinking water?

  • Cummunism [they/them, he/him]
    ·
    2 years ago

    my gf got a Berkey which is like a water jug that filters. i thought about a reverse osmosis system but they take up so much room. They also can be pretty wasteful with water since it strips everything from it. You can get water tests. The shit that happened in Flint was because they changed water sources and it caused lead pipes to corrode. Otherwise, lead pipes do develop a sort of coating on the inside that mostly protects the water from lead.

    my city govt got money to replace lead pipes so im getting the pipe from the street to my house replaced for free.

    • Aceivan [they/them]
      ·
      2 years ago

      berkey takes up comparable space to an under-sink RO, maybe more really, while doing a worse job (and said space is on your countertop rather than out of the way under the sink... plus the damn things are so expensive).

      I'm a little salty because a berkey-toting 'functional medicine' nutjob is working on converting my mother rn but seriously... there has to be a less scammy option than berkey right?

      Like they aren't certified to an actual standard, their testing methodology seems pretty misleading by design (testing brand new filters instead of filters that are at the end of their life), and they make claims that are probably just not even possible

      second source: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/big-berkey-water-filter-system/

      • Cummunism [they/them, he/him]
        ·
        2 years ago

        sigh, my partner impulse buys shit all the time, shit that is advertised on podcasts and social media. i did mention to her that Berkey isnt NSF certified.

        i had a reverse osmosis system purchased but we both didnt like how much room it takes up under our kitchen sink. We don't have much storage in our kitchen to begin with. Then one day she was just like "i bought a Berkey." like ok I guess.

        edit: i didnt see this style last time i looked, i like the tankless design and it's all in one unit instead of the filters plus a tank. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Waterdrop-Reverse-Osmosis-Water-Filtration-System-600GPD-Tankless-3-Stage-Under-Sink-NSF-Certified-with-1-Extra-CF-Filter-B-WD-G3P600-CFSET/325393553 way more expensive than the cheapest ones though.