BS: What kind of water do you drink?

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: Peace
Date: 20 Mar 04 - 11:13 AM

I ain't havin' none of that there dihydrogen monoxide stuff. Besides, y'all know what WC Fields said about it.

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 20 Mar 04 - 08:05 AM

Now if Coca Cola ever started making beer, perhapd I might need to watch out. Bottled water doesn't impinge much on my life style. Nor does bottled whatever Coca Cola is made out of.

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 20 Mar 04 - 02:33 AM

Ale, ale glorious ale
Served up in pewter it tells it's own tale.
eric

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: Joe_F
Date: 19 Mar 04 - 09:30 PM

I'm very fond of water,
I drink it noon and night;
No mother's son or daughter
Hath therein more delight.

At luncheon, too, I drink it,
And strength it seems to bring:
When really good, I think it
A liquor for a king.
But I forgot to mention --
'Tis best to be sincere --
I use an old invention
That makes it into Beer.

-- Lord Neaves

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 19 Mar 04 - 04:54 PM

They'll change the name, and relaunch.

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: GUEST,Ed
Date: 19 Mar 04 - 02:09 PM

Thanks for the explanation, Kevin. Sounds good enough to me.

I like to wish that 'Dasani' will fail as a product in the UK. Time will tell.

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 19 Mar 04 - 02:02 PM

Bromine is a different element from Calcium. You can't turn one into the other. And without Bromine, you can't have Bromate.

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: GUEST,Ed
Date: 19 Mar 04 - 01:55 PM

I'm no chemist, McGrath. As such I have no idea whether what you're saying is correct or not.

I'd be interested to know more

Ed
(who got a 'U' [unclassified] at Chemistry A Level)

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 19 Mar 04 - 01:33 PM

"In a statement, Coca-Cola said the contamination had been initially caused by its regular practice of adding calcium to Dasani, calcium which in this case "did not meet our quality standards".

As a result, bromate went on to be formed during the manufacturing processes."

Codswallop.What they mean, but avoid saying, is that they have been caught out putting calcium contaminated with bromate into the water. You could add all the calcium in the world to water and that wouldn't guve you a single molecule of bromate.

I hope someone is checking what they put in the Coca Cola!

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 19 Mar 04 - 01:29 PM

In a statement, Coca-Cola said the contamination had been initially caused by its regular practice of adding calcium to Dasani, calcium which in this case "did not meet our quality standards".

As a result, bromate went on to be formed during the manufacturing processes.

Codswallop. What that means is they were adding calcium contaminated with bromate to the water. You could add all the calcium in the world to the water, and you wouldn't produce a single molecule of bromate.

I hope, someone is checking on what's in the Coca Cola, while they are about it.

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: Rt Revd Sir jOhn from Hull
Date: 19 Mar 04 - 12:43 PM

Bottled tap water! are they taking the piss?
I've just heard an interview with a spokesman from Dasani on Radio 4, he did not do too well, i don't believe this is going to be a big sucsess for them, I can hardly believe people were stupid enough to buy it in the first place!

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: GUEST,Ed
Date: 19 Mar 04 - 12:31 PM

I was amused to see that Coca-Cola have withdrawn their "as pure as bottled water gets" Dasani brand from sale in the UK.

Apparently the level of a potentionally carcinogenic chemical, bromate, exceeds legal limits. More details here

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 12 Mar 04 - 07:53 AM

"Uisge" is just a different way of spelling "whiskey"; and it just means water. That must get confusing sometimes if you do just want a drink of water in a Gaelic speaking community...

..........................

Hard water is water with various stuff like sodium and magnesium dissolved in it. Furs up the domestic plumbing, but on the whole it's good for the plumbing in the body, because you need that stuff, and it tastes better. Remove the chemicals and it's called soft, and its better for washing and worse for drinking.

People often have water softening devices in their domestic plumbing systems, to save money on washing and plumbers. Then they have to pay for the water they drink in a bottle. You pays your money and you takes your choice.

Whether the water in your area is hard or soft will depend on where it's come from, and how it's been treated, either by the water company, or in your own system.

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 12 Mar 04 - 06:37 AM

To make ' soft ' water, fill a suitable receptacle with tap water, apply a source of heat at approx. 212 degrees farenheit or 100 degrees celcius, after a while the water gets so soft it floats away.
eric

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: pdq
Date: 11 Mar 04 - 01:23 PM

In an effort to reconcile the differences between my Leftist "folkie" friends and the local population, many of whom wear cowboy hats, at my next get-together I will feature barbequed Perrier.

Another classic will also be served, salmon radiatore. That is a large fish that you strap to you pickup truck's radiator. It cooks as you drive home.

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: Rapparee
Date: 11 Mar 04 - 12:47 PM

To make hard water, I fill a bowl with regular water and put it in the freezer until the water gets hard.

It's more complicated than that to make heavy water, and involves a centrifuge, manacles, whips, and other stuff I don't want to go into.

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 11 Mar 04 - 10:41 AM

Your trouble is in coming from that cultural black hole where you live is that you don't recognise culture. And you live just up the road from the brewers of the worlds best beer.
The black Sheep last neet was on reet good form, so I indulged myself. I'm going to the Sportsman at Ploughcroft t'neet to indulge in some shite called Tetley's
eric

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: ced2
Date: 11 Mar 04 - 08:27 AM

Bludy 'ell Eric, a new language. What's wrong with English, Yorkshire or Foul we are both conversent in those.. Was there someting in the "Pinebury Brown Water" the other night.

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 11 Mar 04 - 07:27 AM

Uisge beatha, the water of life.
eric

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Mar 04 - 12:48 AM

Water ye going to give me for the answers?

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: Blackcatter
Date: 11 Mar 04 - 12:42 AM

Great story Art!


Speaking of hard water - I know how to make hard cider and hard liquor - how do you make hard water (and what's the typical proof)?

And what about heavy water - if still waters run deep, do heavy waters run wide?

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: Art Thieme
Date: 10 Mar 04 - 11:48 PM

We live in the country and have wonderfully pure well water usually. Just about a month ago it started getting cloudy and it tasted different too. So we called the University of Illinois to come and test it. Their recommendation was that we should either quit using the well or quit using the outhouse. We quit using the outhouse---and two days later the well dried up.

;-) Art Thieme

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 10 Mar 04 - 06:39 PM

"...refrigerating chlorinated water just makes it colder, nothing more." Strictly true - the point is if you leave water standing for a few hours in an open container, a fair bit of the chlorine is going to disperse. It'd happen more effectively at room temperature, but the fridge is a handy place to leave it, and anyway with colder water that in itself masks the taste. (The same reason they persuade people to drink beers ice-cold in some parts of the world...)

Hard water tastes much better than soft water I think. Though maybe that's a matter of familiarity. Any time I'm somewhere and the water is great for washing and the soap lathers up fine, I know that I'll think the water tastes vile.

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: GUEST,rock chick
Date: 10 Mar 04 - 04:57 PM

we have softened water in the house that is filtered for drinking (takes the salt out, plus everything else) it's so bland I hate it, so I drink bottled water, don't fancy the tap stuff, it smells of chlorine.

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: *daylia*
Date: 10 Mar 04 - 09:52 AM

I'm very fortunate to have a well that's over 200' deep. My seemingly infinite supply of water is ice-cold, crystal-clear, chemical-free and relatively "soft" too. Tastes just as fresh as bottled water, takes a few months to scale up the coffee pot (if I use it every day).

Last house I lived in was on a well too, and the water was excellent but VERY hard.   

I peed out rainclouds for about 30 years. Now I pee out golden sunset sh...

*WHHHHACK!*




uh, AHEM! what a refreshing thread! My cup just runneth over ... cya!

daylia

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: Rapparee
Date: 10 Mar 04 - 09:43 AM

Were I thirsty enough, I'd drink any water. Push the sludge to one side, lap it up, wipe the scum off my lips afterwards. Go to the hospital when I got home. But, it's easy enough to set up a solar still apparatus -- you only need a source for moisture, a vessel to collect the water in (rusty can will work), a piece of plastic wrap or other such material (clear is best), and a few rocks. It might take a little bit, so start before you are desperate.

Someday I'm going to try distilling wine in a solar still. If it works, no tell-tale smoke for the revenooers to follow.

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 10 Mar 04 - 08:07 AM

Wilfried - water is all I drink! Tap water at home & filtered at work cos we have filter thingies in all kitchens. I usually carry a water bottle around, filled with tap water. If I'm out I tend to get sparkling mineral water - if I have to pay for water I want bubbles, otherwise I might as well have tap water (& I do, too)

I have never liked tea or coffee (yukky stuff coffee, I hate the smell & taste) & rarely drink fruit juices, nor do I like fizzy sugary /fake sugary drinks.

oops, my glass is empty, gotta refill it

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: Teribus
Date: 10 Mar 04 - 07:20 AM

McGrath of Harlow - 09 Mar 04 - 01:41 PM

"I'm sure if I started bottling the stuff that comes out of our tap I'd get in big trouble."

Don't see why Kevin, a swimming coach down on the south coast of England, took advantage of a survey of water published in one of the UK papers. Taking all the "designer" bottled water into account, the best water available in the UK turned out to be what came out of the tap in Manchester. Now a hell of a lot of bottled water gets drunk at swimming galas, so this enterprising individual had tap water bottled up in Manchester and sold it at 50p a bottle. No complaints, people were prepared to buy it - she was after all selling the best water in the UK according to that survey.

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: Wilfried Schaum
Date: 10 Mar 04 - 03:26 AM

Mineral water from a spring about an hour's walk from my hometown. Its citizens have the privilege to collect it free since 1548, when the community paid 4 fl per annum; now its € 10,-.
Tap water is good in Germany; in North Africa I only used boiled water (tea, coffee) or spring water (in the Atlas; delicious!)

But anyway - who drinks water?

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: dianavan
Date: 09 Mar 04 - 10:46 PM

At home I drink spring water. Last week-end I drank island, pond water. My favorite is glaciel water.

d

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: Joybell
Date: 09 Mar 04 - 09:09 PM

We have tanks that fill from our roof. Old fashioned water supply - free, except for the cost of the setup, clean and pure. There's a bit of possum and bird poo but otherwise it's just as it falls from the sky. No chlorine. Tastes great. Joy

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: hobbitwoman
Date: 09 Mar 04 - 09:03 PM

Oh, dear. I was about to sing the praises of Dasani and then I read the post(s) about it being London tap water! I don't think that will stop me from drinking it though.

I was using a Brita filter and filtering tap water, and still do for tea, etc., but forgot to bring some to work one day, bought a bottle of Dasani in a pinch, and decided I liked it better. I'm not sure whether I really want to know where it comes from! (Can I pretend it's from a crystal clear spring here in the Shire, sans dead deer head? Well, hell, if I'm going to have a fantasy life it might as well be a rich one!)

Annie

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: Blackcatter
Date: 09 Mar 04 - 08:52 PM

Try looking at the water sources for all of the bottled waters at you grocery store. Some actually come from great places - natural aquifers, special springs and the like. Dasani (Coca-Cola) typically comes from the water source that feeds the local bottling plant (as does the water they add to the coke syrup).

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: Scoville
Date: 09 Mar 04 - 08:50 PM

My brother has one of those water-filtering pitchers and I honest to God cannot tell the difference between water before it goes through the filter and water after. Do they actually work? I can see them not working here in Houston because the water is absolutely disgusting and I'm not sure anything could get rid of all the crud in it, but maybe they help in places where the water has less baggage.

We lived in Colorado when I was a kid, where you don't need water filters except occasionally in the summer when in got extra hot (in my neighborhood, there were always a few days in August when the water inexplicably tasted like soap). The Iowa water I drank in college was OK, at least until we tested it in chem lab and realized it was full of sodium. *Full* of sodium. I think those filter things work by ion exchange so afterwards, there was probably even more sodium than there had been before.

Like I said, I drink cheap machine water. I was really thirsty today and a glass of it tasted just like [clean] melted snow. Mm-mm good.

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: bbc
Date: 09 Mar 04 - 08:25 PM

I'll bite. Poland Spring. I like the green label & it's convenient to have in my car. :)

best,

bbc

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: Burke
Date: 09 Mar 04 - 08:00 PM

I filter my tap water with a Brita filter. I was buying gallon jugs. After hearing something about people in Wisconsin fighting a Perrier plant I realized there were issues about water as a commodity. That on top of questionable health standards, I decided it would be better to filter the tap water. One place to find out more about water issues is:
Save America's Water.

I don't like soda so I do seem to end up buying plenty of bottled water when I'm out & want something to drink. It keeps me stocked with bottles to fill with my filtered water. I just don't ever seem to have a bottle with me when I want it.

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: michaelr
Date: 09 Mar 04 - 07:28 PM

I drink the beer-flavored kind.

Cheers,
Michael

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 09 Mar 04 - 05:19 PM

That special kind they make out of hydrogen and oxygen.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: Allan C.
Date: 09 Mar 04 - 05:15 PM

You're right, Rapaire, aereating is one way to dissipate chlorine from the water. Exposure to sunlight will also do the trick. Many of the filters we now have will remove chlorine also. But, I'm sorry to be the one, McGrath, but I've got to tell you that refrigerating chlorinated water just makes it colder, nothing more.

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: GUEST,harpgirl
Date: 09 Mar 04 - 03:53 PM

I hope this thread is distracting you from other, more weighty issues Thomas. Godspeed....

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: Rapparee
Date: 09 Mar 04 - 03:36 PM

I suspect that if you stirred up the tap water really well, or poured it back and forth between two containers (using only one container doesn't work well), it would aereate the water and allow the chlorine to dissipate.

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 09 Mar 04 - 03:12 PM

Maybe it won't taste too good, Kim, whatever you do, but the tip about leaving it to stand for a few hours before you drink it will make it a lot better.

My fridge isn't set that cold, Stilly River - just makes the water a biy cooler.

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: Kim C
Date: 09 Mar 04 - 03:01 PM

Some tap water is good. Most of it around here tastes like chlorine.

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Mar 04 - 02:39 PM

None of the water tastes like chlorine. Fridge water tastes about the same as tap, just colder. The fridge has an automatic ice maker so it also has a spigot. It would be more trouble to keep it in a bottle than it is to just push on the dispenser. I don't like drinking super-cold water. At the library where I work it's a challenge to get a drink from any fountains--they're all chilled so much you freeze your teeth! I walk down to the second floor where the cooler on the fountain is broken.

In the winter our library water is really cold, and we don't have plumbing for hot water in our building. Don't know why--stupid move--cost savings, most likely. It was built back in the 1960s. It warms up nicely in the summer. In the summer at home you can almost take a shower with just "cold" water here its so warm from the tap.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: ced2
Date: 09 Mar 04 - 02:27 PM

The sort that contains the maximum amount of H2O. Keep off that which has a large amount of D2O as that tends to lie heavily on the gut.

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 09 Mar 04 - 02:15 PM

If the kids like chilled water, all you need do is stick in a jug or an open bottle in the fridge - and that gets rid of the chlorine, if that's a problem, giving the water a chance to breathe. (And artbrooks, you hadn't been reading the previous posts had you?)

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: Rapparee
Date: 09 Mar 04 - 02:07 PM

My father, when young, used to walk two miles (each way) to get a drink of cold ice water at the local train station.

Unfortunately, drinking "wild" water these days -- almost anywhere -- leaves you open to giardia and worse. Too many people....

Once, while training with the National Guard up in Wisconsin we put a few cases of beer in a beautiful, cold, swiftly flowing creek to cool. That evening we enjoyed truly GREAT beer, even though it was Budweiser. The next day we found the very, very dead cow in the creek, about fifty feet upstream and around the bend from our beer. No ill effects from it, except a couple of hangovers.

Another time, during a very hot July, I was setting tombstones for a living and we had to install one of those full-grave-length jobs in a rural cemetery. We brought our own drinking water, and used the cemetery's well water for mixing the cement for the foundation (hey, these things aren't just laid on the ground!). When we ran out of the water we brought, the boss went into town and bought beer. We never drank the water from the cemetery well -- seems like it was downhill from the graves and had this odor to it....

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Mar 04 - 01:58 PM

Art, trouble with much of the "flourdiated" water is that the chemical used to generate the flouride effect isn't a simple application of flouride. I have a cousin who studied this--and told me some time ago that in fact the material used is a by-product that comes from a really toxic chemical industry. I can't remember the rest--I'll email her and ask for the particulars.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 09 Mar 04 - 01:53 PM

Tap water. The kids seem to prefer "fridge water," that comes through that filter. I think they mostly like it chilled. Bathroom sink water seems to taste better than kitchen sink water, though the kitchen water is prefectly good.

MMario, don't drink out of the end of the hose any more. They are often lined with materials that include PCBs that can get into the water you're drinking. I didn't know this until last year when I heard a story about it. Hose water when you're out working in the yard on a hot day has always tasted pretty good. But until I know what my hoses are made of, I won't drink it that way any more.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: What kind of water do you drink?
From: artbrooks
Date: 09 Mar 04 - 01:42 PM

Didn't I read last week that Coke had admitted that the water they sell in England is filtered London tap water?   Tap water is good, and I've never lived anywhere that it wasn't drinkable. Since I grew up before floridated water, and have a mouthfull of metal to prove it, I'd just as soon take advantage of some aspects of modern life.