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Cool Blue
Being the only roommate with any sort of ambition, Katie had signed up with a direct sales company which specialized in water filtration units and other 'healthy living' products. As her first group of test subjects, Katie was going to show us just what we were ingesting every time we downed our glass of that oh so tasty Seattle City tap water. I can still remember the water from that house; it came out cloudy and luke warm and no matter how long we let is sit, the 'bubbles' that made up the white haze never fully dissipated. Mmmmm. After filling the glass, Katie added the chlorine tester stuff to the water and we waited with bated breath. It was one of those surreal moments I have locked away in my memory; I can still feel the warm breeze blowing through the kitchen; see the cracked white ceramic tiles of the kitchen counter the glass sat upon. I can smell the 3 day old stale beer and garlic reek coming from one of my roommates as we sat and watched in amazement. The water we had been so thoughtlessly drinking reported back with a higher concentration of chlorine than what is recommended for a swimming pool. No kidding. I wasn't an uber health freak at the time, but I was completely grossed out regardless.
Katie then took that water and poured it through the funky looking cylinder which turned out to be a travel sized activated carbon water filter. What came out the other end was one of the most beautiful looking glasses of water I had ever seen. It wasn't that it was just clear, I had seen clear water at restaurants and on the shelves of the grocery stores. No, it was more than that. It was... well, blue. I don't know if you've ever noticed this (or spent most of your life looking at unfiltered tap water like I had), but clean, clear water has a blue tint around it's surface edges. Light sparkles and dances through it and it is literally one of the most beautiful substances on earth. I had never realized that the surface area tinge of our tap water was yellow. And the taste, oh the taste of that crystal clear glass of water. After unknowingly sucking down who knows what toxins in tap water - that clear, blue glass of water was so sweet and pure, every cell in my mouth awoke to it's liquid glory. That glass of water was a defining moment in my adult life. It was at that moment I embarked on a journey to a healthier lifestyle. It was at that moment that I became a water nazi.
It's been 17 years since that day and I have touted and spewed forth the evils in tap water to any one who had the patience to listen. I have continued to research different filtration methods and convert as many of the poor, uneducated water drinkers as possible.
I am by no means an expert on all things water. It's just that I can't imagine the gunk that I scrape off of my ceramic pre-filter on a bi-monthly basis, coursing through my or my precious children's veins. I don't think folks would want it too either if knew what was in their tap water. Below I have referenced some excellent sites that go into detail about the different kinds of water filters out there, the different types of water (ie: living water, dead water, bottled water), etc; and have included a picture of one of my pre-filters after two months of use next to a new pre-filter from my water system. The referenced sites explain filters and water types so much more eloquently and thoroughly than I ever could. What I can do is share with you a few things that I have learned along the way, and hopefully inspire you to think twice about how you drink your water.
Remember - I'm not a water expert and these are just opinions made over the past 18 years. I challenge you to research the wealth of information out there on tap, bottled and filtered water and make the choices that are relevant for your own life.
By the way, here are those pictures of my pre-filter. The white one is new - the brown is after two months of use filtering water from our tap (notice the white nick in the brown one where I scratched off the gunk to see if the filter was still white underneath). Sure looks tasty - huh?
-Stashka Lepera
Our Water Filter Suppliers:
Nikken, Inc - Manufacturers of the PiMag Water Technologies (this is a link to my personal 'Wellness Consultant' for Nikken's site). This is my choice for both our drinking and shower filters. It helps to have a distributor who goes the extra mile to remind you when your water filters are in need of change to! Greenfeet.com - one of our featured merchants. They have a nice selection of shower and tub filtration units (along with a cooler choice for almost all of your household needs!). Giam.com - another of our fabulous merchants. Experience Cleaner Healthier Water with Gaiam's powerful water filtration systems as low as $109.
Resources:
The National Resources Defense Council - from the article: Bottled Water; Pure Drink or Pure Hype The National Tap Water Quality Database provided by the Environmental Working Group Article: A tiny investment that will save your skin - posted on Buzzle.com TheGreenGuide.com - a fantastic article on water filters
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I was 18 years old when a roommate of mine came storming into our house yelling, 'Hey! Come check this out!'. There were 8 of us at the time in our tiny Seattle house perched on the top of Capitol Hill and between the housemates, our various boyfriends, girlfriends, and 'squatters' she had gathered quite a crowd in our butt bumper of a kitchen. On the counter in front of her was a glass of water, a chlorine pool testing kit, and a super funky looking cylinder about the size of the empty Pabst can it was sitting next too.
