In July my husband and I moved into a new place in Kansas City, KS. Our home had to have new plumbing and all new fixtures installed before we could move in, but little did we know that we'd be faced with the biggest frustration we've ever had to endure (outside of matching up wallpaper patterns).
Our water was so foul in taste and smell we started bringing in bottled water. Bottled water! I write for a eco-friendly website and I'm bringing in bottled water! The horror!
We stayed in temporary housing the first few weeks after our move and so we didn't quite realize what was going on until a few weeks later when we finally moved in officially. We had seen neighbors lugging in bottles of water and like horrible judgmental people we scoffed, usually muttering something about how many water bottles it takes to go around the globe and how many of them come from our own neighbors.
And then we drank our first sip of tap water... and then we spit it right back out. Although the city has verified it's within potable limits, it emits a smell that's literally gagging (especially when brushing your teeth... ew). We didn't really have time to look into filters outside of our Brita pitcher as we had major construction issues to deal with that were more pressing.
So we started bringing in bottled water. At previous residences (even those with less than desirable water quality) we've always just drank tap water, or from a refrigerator filter or Brita filter. The Brita didn't even make a dent on what we were facing and so we started picking up water by the case and filling gallon jugs at a local water by the gallon refill station. The amount of waste it generated was insane, the stairs we had to take it up (43 to be exact) was insane, and most of all, paying for water was insane!
At that point we had horrible guilt for making fun of the neighbors in the past as it is really the only choice. At this point it's safe to say that the chemical makeup of our tap water is not dissimilar to that of Optimus Prime (yeah, the Transformer).
Bottled water is ridiculous, going through filters (that don't work all that well) on pitchers at the rate of 8 gallons a filter is ridiculous. We're looking into in-line whole home filters but we're curious if you've had any experience with them in your own home?
Do you have a suggestion to cure our water woes? Let me know in the comments below! I'm all ears!
Related: Drink Local: Sexy Tap Water Is In
(Image: Flickr member wwarby and Risager licensed for use by Creative Commons)
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We have a well with an extremely high sulfur and iron content. I suggest getting the water tested to see what you're dealing with first. Our house already had a water softener, so to get rid of the iron, we just used a salt with an additive to combat the iron in the softener. The sulfur was a little trickier. We happened upon a used residential sulfur filter and picked it up for $50 (I think it's well over $500 normally). Before that though, we went to waterfilters.net and found an activated carbon filter and put it after the softener. The awful sulfur smell was GONE! We also bought a sediment filter from there that is reusable. No more spending $$ on paper or string based sediment filters.
Due to the previous owners not taking care of the sulfur in the first place, it ruined our copper pipes. My husband and father-in-law spent 4 days completely replacing the pipes in our home. The sulphur had turned the interior of the copper pipes to black sludge.
You can always just get a reverse osmosis system for your kitchen if you don't want to treat all of the water for the house.
Depending on the problem, in-line filters might not help; you may need to compensate for minerals, for example, which is specific to what's there already. I would get it tested and find out exactly what is causing the taste/smell before you invest in solutions.
I feel your pain...the water in LA is undrinkable and filters don't help at all. My family has been here since 1948 and hasn't dared drink out of the tap since the '70s. (Sometimes, the water runs rust-brown. Ick!)
My solution? I'm getting the hell out of here and never coming back!
I guess you first need to know what the problem is, but keep in mind that some things dissipate naturally.
A summer camp I worked at was on well water with a really hig sulfur content (easter egg smell). Showers weren't so fun, but we just filled up the drinking coolers the night before and left it open. Magic! Perfectly drinkable water in the morning.
So maybe not a perfect solution, but refilling your bottles yourself and leaving them out for a while could help you keep from generating more plastic waste while you figure out a long-term solution.
You might try a Berkey, you could see if someone in your community has one so that you aren't shelling out big bucks ahead of time.
Buy juice or other beverages that come in glass bottles. Save and wash out the glass bottles and find a place (maybe a neighbor with a well? Next town over with decent tap water?) to fill up.
It's obscene that Nestle can get more fresh water than townspeople. That plastic nasty bottled expensive stuff probably is tap water. I think we should all write to town officials and demand they do better with our water supplies.
Don't forget to check your pipes and faucets too, those can be a source of contamination.
We also have water with an extremely high iron content (the water taste like blood with the water softner off). We got a water softner which really helps and also saves our plumbing from mireral build up and our bath from reddish stains (well... any further stains).
Have you tried a Brita filter? Or even just leaving the water in the fridge for a day or seems to really diminish the taste somehow. After a few years, you will get used to it though.
get the water tested, then go from there.
Pittsburgh has some pretty funky water as well. It seems to vary heavily in quality too - sometimes I can drink it out of the tap, and sometimes I find myself spitting out chlorine water I can't stand to swallow.
As a renter I don't have the option of better filtering. The best I can do is just use a brita, which is a pain and makes the water taste like charcoal. But at least it doesn't taste like pool water.
You might possibly need a water softener. I know where we live you need a softener to take care of the hardness. Then to have a good taste we have to have a Reverse Osmosis system, which consists of four different filters, and finally out that tap comes bottled water quality water.
We use a filtration installed next to the sink. We installed it in our rental with our landlord's agreement. About $200. Our water isn't bad (Los Angeles) but it doesn't good. My parents always had a water softener when I was a kid. Reverse Osmosis might help too if it is really funky.
I was also going to recommend trying a Berkey system. It was highly advised by our oncologist and man, when your ocologist highly recommends something, one tends to listen. Upon purchasing, one of the filter-leak tests involves tinting the water with food coloring and noting if it comes thru clear. It sure did. I was quite impressed.