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WhateverYouWant

Sous Chef
Joined
Oct 29, 2019
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What kind of water do you drink/cook with?

TL;DR
As far back as I can remember, I have consumed bottled water. Growing up in So. Cal, we had Arrowhead spring water delivered in glass. Since then, I have bought it in plastic at the supermarket, and when I moved up to the sierras, tried RimRock spring water (delivered) which presented some nasty bacterial growth, and have since moved to Crystal Geyser from the supermarket.

Recently I read some rather disturbing info on this company, and am looking to change. I have had my water tested and the results were pretty good (being in the sierras), but I can smell the chlorine in it, and have observed rust (in the shower and around sink drains).

So I am considering filtered water. Reverse Osmosis is something I won't consider due to living in drought state and the waste water it produces, so I am looking for other options (Brita, ZeroWater, Apex MR-2031, etc.)

So what do you all use? And if filtered, what filter are you using? And how happy are you with it?
 
We use a Britta filter. Our tap water is pretty good, but occasionally, we get the chlorine whiff, so we use the Britta.
 
Hi Scott. I hear you with the water quality as I've lived in Ventura County, Ca. all my life. The municipal water has always tasted so bad it's undrinkable so I too have never consumed it. I also use bottled water for all my cooking. Los Angels county has very drinkable water imo and it tastes delicious next to ours. We also use the Crystal Geyser water machines at the supermarket to fill our gallon jugs, and although I understand it to be nothing more than filtered municipal water, it's very drinkable and tastes fine. The plus side is we always have many bottles of water for any emergency, and we store it in the garage. The huge bottles of water that can be delivered are too heavy to handle.

We never ever buy individual bottles of water because of the plastic waste, and we carry personal refillable bottles for our water.
 
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Besides being cheap, I would never buy bottles of water because of all of that plastic waste, plus, much of that is just what I use here - filtered water! I have one filter by my sink, which I use for some things, but most things that I cook I simply use tap water. When I first got the filter, I made some tea, several batches filtered and several without, and couldn't find a difference, even with some of the milder tasting green and white teas. But the chlorine is there, in unfiltered or unheated water, so I use filtered for drinking, of course, but also things like bread, or that kimchi, where the organisms can be killed.

I also have a filter in the water for the ice and drinking water from my fridge, which probably has more water go through it than the one by the sink!
 
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I buy Fiji water in the 500 ml size. I get it for the square shape of the bottle as they stack nicely in the freezer. I refill with tap water about half full and then freeze on their sides. When I want a water, finish filling and I have ice water. After 10-12 washings they start to get gnarly and I buy a new batch. The old ones I fill up and freeze (in the chest freezer) for cooler packs on picnics, I have fresh water if needed and they are disposable. At any one time I have 24-30 bottles in the freezer for drinking.
 
I am truly blessed with a great well. It's 90 feet deep, and so is a pain when the pump fails, and I have to fix, or replace it. But it's doable. But my water is prestine, and tastes great. It's is a little hard, but not with sufur, or other nasty tasting elements. It also has no dangerous contaminants. I can't bring myself to purchase bottle water when I have such great water straight from the tap. I do use a personal water bottle, vacuum steel hot/cold bottle. It keeps ice cold water cold for an entire day

I wish everyone had the Great Lakes practically in their back yard.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
All municipal water has chlorine in it. I've never had a problem with making bread with it.
That is probably true, as I never had a problem, long before I had a filter. But, especially when making sourdough, where I have heard that chlorine can cause a problem, I figure it's better to be safe, than sorry.
 
That is probably true, as I never had a problem, long before I had a filter. But, especially when making sourdough, where I have heard that chlorine can cause a problem, I figure it's better to be safe, than sorry.
Where did you "hear" that from? There is lots of guesswork and misinformation all over the place these days.

I figure it's better to have the facts and make decisions from there.
 
Growing up, I drank water from the tap, hose and water fountains in public and business locations. Today I drink water that has been filtered through the fridge filter and bottled water while on the road. Now it comes in cans. I've noticed that most of the water fountains at the fire stations I service have been disconnected.:(
 
Where did you "hear" that from? There is lots of guesswork and misinformation all over the place these days.

I figure it's better to have the facts and make decisions from there.
I should have stated that I had read somewhere that chlorine can be a problem in sourdough. I will say that two of my favorite bread baking authors - Peter Reinhart and Maggie Glezer - stated that they just use tap water, and have had no problems, even in sourdough. But others, also professionals, who do this for a living, stated that they had found problems using chlorinated water, and recommended bottled or filtered water. Some of the water I have had served in restaurants, while traveling, has smelled so strong of chlorine that it seemed like swimming pool water! This has to kill some of the bacteria and yeast in the sourdough cultures, and since there is more than one species, like you get with dry yeast, there are probably some resistant to the chlorine, and some not, so it would throw off the balance. So why not play it safe, if possible?

I agree, about the mis-information available out there these days, with so many people putting videos and other things on the internet, that really don't know much about the topics they are talking about.
 
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The amount of chlorine in the water probably makes a difference in bread making. Some places chlorinate more. Some places adjust the amount of chlorine based on something, I assume amount of microorganisms. I have noticed that where I live now, there is usually no noticeable chlorine smell to the water. But, usually in summer, we will sometimes have a day of slightly cloudy water, followed by a day when we can smell the chlorine in the water and no cloudiness to it.
 
Yes, the amount of chlorine in tap water is determined by the bacterial load in the water. Other municipalities add fluoride, also.
 
I use tap water.

The Memphis aquifer is still among the best in the world but it is in danger due to recent deliberate neglect and reversals of water management practices and regulations.

Memphis Light Gas & Water adds chlorine of course but for most uses, that doesn't bother me. I do dechlorinate water going into the fish tank, aquaponic system, and worm bins by letting it degas for a few days. If chloramine is added it will take longer. You can find out what is added by hunting down your Utility's Water Quality Report.

Both chloramine and chlorine can be removed by boiling. Documentation for removal by boiling is provided by SFPUC on the bottom of page 28 of this document.
 
We have well water. It tastes great but since we are rural in the middle of vineyards and cherry orchards, we've had it tested and no problems. Traveling we use bottle water.
 
After much research, it came down to the Pur pitcher, the Apex 5 stage under sink (not RO), and ZeroWater. I just ordered the ZeroWater as it was the cheapest, and is supplied with a solids tester (which are half the price of the ZeroWater alone).

I know that TDS is not the major factor in quality, but at least it will allow me to compare my current water with the specifications offered by my water district (which as posted was way back in 2018). It will also give me an idea as to how long the ZW filters will last.

Right now there is no comparison of my tap water to the Crystal Geyser bottled water, both in aroma and flavor. We'll see how the ZW device fairs in that comparison. It will be here next week.
 
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So my ZeroWater pitcher arrived earlier today, and I have to say that my initial tests are impressive. I filtered my tap water (no priming necessary - just screw the filter in and add water). I then half filled three wine glasses with it, the tap water, and the Crystal Geyser bottled spring water I have used for years.

The TDS meter showed 20ppm for my tap water (which is exemplary for tap water - and aligns with the results I got back when I had it tested), which means I should easily get 50+ gallons per filter. The CG bottled water was 76ppm (which is good for spring water considering its minerals). The filtered water was indeed zero ppm.

As for smell/taste, the tap water has an unpleasant chlorine smell and taste. The CG bottled water has none of that, nor does the filtered water. In fact, the filtered water has no detectable smell at all, where as the bottled water does have a smell I might call musty (for lack of a better description) in comparison.

If I indeed get 40-50+ gallons of water from a single filter, I will not only be done with bottled water, but will also avoid using ANY tap water in my cooking.

The construction of the pitcher is so-so. It IS BPA free, but I would prefer not having to take the top lid off to add water (it is kinda clumsy in this regard), and the handle (when close to full) is not well balanced, requiring support from the bottom.

Unless the filter goes bad prematurely (which I will report back if that is the case), this is highly recommended, at least by me. (c;
 

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