Re: -I- humidifier smell

CatwhispererALH <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

>BTW, we put a PUR water filter in the kitchen so my folks would not have to go
>to the store and do water bottle refill as often, but it tastes just like tap
>to me. 

Does your tap water taste that bad?  Generally the only reason to 
filter tap water is to get rid of taste and odour, which is done 
with activated charcoal only.  Nothing else gets rid of taste or 
odour.  Anything else you do to tap water is likely to increase 
the amount of bugs in it, rather than decrease it.  Tap water in 
those dozens of countries where you can drink it safely is one of 
the most maligned high-quality products in the world.  (Sometimes
if you live in an unfortunate location you'll get pipeline grit
stirred up by surges such as water main breaks, but aside from
looking crap it won't hurt you).

>So look carefully at how water is purified. I have to drink "reverse
>osmosis" water. Not sure any more what it does, but it makes tap taste like
>swimming pool water!

Why do you have to drink it? (I don't understand what you're saying)

The reverse-osmosis water (purified by molecular transport across
a membrane through which little can pass) is mostly free of ions 
(depending on the quality of the system), which of course makes it 
taste like crap because it tastes of nothing.   Distilled/de-ionised
water tastes awful.  Water that tastes good (or of anything) has a
certain amount of hardness to it: i.e. minerals, primarily calcium 
(hence "mineral water").  Water softened by water softeners tend 
to replace the calcium and magnesium ions with sodium, and so 
make the water both taste  less good, and be far less healthy.

Summary: use a charcoal-based jug in the fridge if your tap water 
tastes bad.  Otherwise, drink tap water.  The cost of making
every drop that comes out your pipe perfect for human consumption,
and then only going into washing shit out of your toilet or 
watering your lawn, is a crying shame.

-- 
Ken Tough