When we bought our current home in the fall of 2005, we had the usual water test done. After the sale was completed, my husband examined the test results closely and saw that the amount of lead in our water was above acceptable limits, not something we should be drinking!
I should have read the test results more carefully prior to completing the sale. I say “I” because my husband was out of town on the day we got the results and signed the sale papers; I had power of attorney to finish the deal. But would we have backed out? I don’t know…
I have a bit of a beef with the testing company for not starring the lead value (as they did other out of range numbers). The usual practice is to set off numbers that are out of range so you can see at a glance what should concern you. They missed the lead level.
So We Got a Filter
Our only option then was to figure out how to make the drinking water safe. We settled on an under-the-sink reverse osmosis filter, renting it for $25 per month. The downside to using a reverse osmosis filter is that it takes all the minerals out of the water, but we preferred that to consuming lead.
We paid for another $32 water test to confirm that the filter was doing its job of removing the lead from the water. The test came back clear, with lead at undetectable levels. And so we could drink the (filtered) water. This was in October 2005.
These 5 Years
The water filter has done the job for us for almost 5 years, preventing us from consuming lead. But with only a maximum of gallon and a half of it available at any one time, it has been challenging to stretch it to last for a morning’s cooking. With soaking sprouts, starting beans cooking, and other cooking tasks, not to mention drinking, many times I ran out and we’d have to wait a half hour for the tank to fill again. But this was okay.
Without a way to figure out exactly where the lead originated, our best guess was that it came from the soldering on the old, old pressure tank. The whole water system was kind of jimmy-rigged, so my husband re-did it last summer and fall. We laid new water and power lines to the well and put in a 2500 gallon storage tank and a new pressure tank up near the house, in the barn. The only thing we didn’t replace were the pipes and the pump down in the well.
Until yesterday, we continued to use our filtered water for drinking and cooking, waiting for the “dust to settle” in our new system. Then two weeks ago, I filled a jar with our cold tap water (unfiltered) and took it to the testing lab. We prayed.
All Clear!
The results came in yesterday’s mail: the level of lead in our (unfiltered) drinking water is undetectable – the same as the filtered water.
Mikah went right to the sink and downed a glass of cold, pure water.
What Does This Mean?
- Extra minerals for my cultures, especially water kefir.
- Plenty of water for all kitchen tasks.
- The pleasure and freedom to drink our own pure water.
- Saving $25 per month on rental of the water filter.
- Extra space under the sink when the filter tank is gone – you can bet I’ll be calling them today to come and get it.
What About You?
Do any of you have contaminated water of any sort – city, nitrates, metals? What do you do to make your water safe and healthy?
About Wardeh
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Wardeh,
Who do you go to to get your water tested? I would like to do this. Just curious.
Although L.A. water is bad, I already know. The Jet Propulsion lab is here, so we have a lot of perchlorate (rocket fuel) in our water. Plus I know our water is fluoridated.
We buy giant jugs of reverse osmosis water. We’re planning to buy a R.O. system soon — but we buy the jugs in the meantime. it’s not too expensive.
I am curious too if anyone knows what are the best mineral drops to add to the water? I have not been adding any because I wasn’t sure which are the best. I have heard of Concentrace — are those good?
.-= Ann Marie @ CHEESESLAVE´s last blog post… New Podcast: Baking with Sprouted Flour with Peggy Sutton =-.
Ann Marie – We used Umpqua Research Company in Myrtle Creek, OR. It was a good hour’s drive for us, and couldn’t be mailed in. You should search in your area – I’m sure you have many more labs than we do and closer!
I do not know about the mineral drops, but there is one gal who reads here that might. I will ask her to chime in.
To do the mineral thing w/o drops, we use a homemade seasoning salt liberally, to which I add as much kelp as I can. And then we use mineral-rich sea salt. We perhaps should have done the mineral drops, but I was always hoping we would finish the water project and be lead free so I didn’t have to worry about it anymore. And I always add an egg shell to the water kefir (like I learned from you) and the grains loved it!
Can you believe what cities, counties and industries do to our water? It just makes me sick.
Yay! While I haven’t lived with this experience, we did have some water issues with a new well and that stress was enough!
There is a woman named Melissa who writes a blog called The Cellulite Files. She talks a lot about cellulite and other skin issues — she said she discovered the connection w/ fluoride and her own cystic acne and cellulite. She said whenever she eats in a restaurant, her acne comes back if they cooked anything in fluoridated water. Amazing. Just goes to show you that fluoride IS toxic, despite what the government and toothpaste companies tell us. The body is trying to eliminate it via the skin, which is a detoxifying organ.
Here’s Melissa’s story — so interesting!
http://www.celluliteinvestigation.com/2010/01/cellulite-stories-declassified-codename_20.html
.-= Ann Marie @ CHEESESLAVE´s last blog post… New Podcast: Baking with Sprouted Flour with Peggy Sutton =-.
Christie – I never realized how important water until the last 5 years. We’ve had days without water (putting in the new system), frozen pipes, and what started it all was lead. I won’t ever take water for granted again. You’re right – putting in a new system, not having water for a time, or what not – is stressful.
Ann Marie – I love Melissa’s blog! Her story with fluoride is so interesting and not surprising at all. I’ve been so busy with the eCourse that I have not kept up on my blog reading and missed that post.
Twitter: fritchbeetle
says:
Wardeh, we live in the city and use a New Wave water filter.
http://clubfritch.wordpress.com/2007/07/26/water-water-everywhere-and-not-a-drop-to-drink/
.-= gilliebean´s last blog post… Almond Butter No-Bake Cheesecake w/ Brazil Nut Crust =-.
Twitter: homesteadreviva
says:
Wardeh, I’ve never had our water tested, but I’ve always assumed it wasn’t great. However, I just use the filter on my fridge for drinking since I drink lots of water (and change it every 6 months). On occasion we’ve added mineral drops back into the water, but not regularly.
Recently, a friend started bring us water from a special filter called Kangen. It is high alkaline (most water is acidic) and is suppose to help with all kinds of issues. I’ve not researched this and wondered if anyone had some thoughts on this. Supposedly, bodies that have to much acidity are at greater risk for things like cancer. So the Kangen alkaline water is suppose to leave the minerals in and remove some of the acidity and impurities. Sounds like miracle stuff to me – which makes me skeptical form the get go. Any thoughts on this?
gilliebean- Looks like you found a great deal!
Amy – I have not heard of Kangen. But I haven’t looked into this for awhile, either, so that is not surprising. It sounds ideal – to remove impurities, and not remove minerals. I, too, would like to hear what anyone else has to say.
We refill H2O from the grocery store. It’s reverse osmosis and our pediatrician’s nurse keeps telling me how concerned she is that my kids aren’t getting their fluoride. I think she might flip if I tell her that I give them raw milk for their teeth.
I just recently found your site. Our kids are important and I like to get the word out for others to read more sites that promote health. Well done!
.-= tea and chopsticks ´s last blog post… Getting outdoors in the frigid air =-.
Wardeh, thanks for this. We use RO water from the store simply because of taste but I sure like the idea of testing the water. Actually, never thought of it. I’m a new reader and I like what you’re doing here. Thank you. I’m also new to NT and thus, my next question to “everyone” out there including tea and chopsticks….
*Do you all keep some of this lifestyle on the down low, say, when the nurse expresses a concern about not enough flouride? Or do just get new doctors? Just wondering because I’m about to completely move out of the mainstream with just about everything I’m learning about the NT! Thanks!
Ann Marie…..you can have your water tested with your County Health Dept.. They’ll have a pkg. you must get to fill with water for the test…at least that is how it is done here in Kansas.
Once again…Wardeh, very happy for you all, Enjoy all those minerals!
.-= Pamela @ Seeds of Nutrition´s last blog post… Sunday Seeds: Grace! ’tis a charming sound =-.
Jen, this is a good question regarding ‘opting out’ and how you communicate your family choices. Personally, I am very open with my doctors about our nutrition practices (I think mainly because I’m really proud of our decisions) and I just ignore any sort of disdain that I pick up from them.
I’ve told my midwife that I drink raw while being pregnant and she didn’t even bat an eyelash. Our mainstream doctors are the ones that find this type of stuff hard to believe and they share their concerns. I’m not too phased by it though. The only thing I keep on the down low is where we get our milk from since it’s illegal to buy and sell raw in our state. I do think it’s great to get many perspectives from health providers but there are some things that we’ve just made up our minds in and that’s that!
.-= tea and chopsticks ´s last blog post… Getting outdoors in the frigid air =-.
Josh and I drink the filtered water from our refrigerator door even though our county water company tests regularly for impurities. We just think it tastes better.
.-= RazorFamilyFarms.com´s last blog post… Walnut Grove & Stewart-Matheny Farm, Part Two =-.
@Lacy (Razor) – My kids are actually missing the taste of the filtered water. So I know what you’re saying.
@tea and chopsticks & @Jen – Hello and good to meet both of you! I am not as forward as you are (tea and chopsticks) so I admire your spunk! Jen, I think you should listen to her.
When I’m out and about, sometimes I mention things and sometimes I don’t. It depends on whether I think it will do any good – not that I’m always right in this, but I think most times I can tell if it would be productive to mention alternatives.
When I had a woman’s exam about 2 or 3 years ago, the doctor was asking me all about my birth history. This was one of those times when I felt led to be very honest, so I shared our story somewhat proudly. In a nutshell, 1st child – C section; 2nd & 3rd children – home birth assisted by lay midwife. (I’m proud of this!) She said, “Honey, if I was your doctor then I would have slapped you upside the head for even considering home birth after a C-Section!” My goodness, I have never felt so put down – I was stunned and didn’t know what to say. I had no words to defend it or make her see that it was actually a reasonable choice. I have not gone back to that doctor. Though whether I would find anyone better, I don’t know.
Last time we were at the dentist, I had just recently decided no more fluoride and I declined all fluoride for the kids. They took it well. No one challenged it. I was grateful. I think sometimes you can just say no and you don’t have to explain it. I have to admit, I do like to shock people and mention raw milk. I do get a kick out of that!
Wardeh,
I am shocked (as it sounds you were) to know that a doctor said that to you. I never thought of declining fluoride at the dentist but it totally makes sense. My son has only been once so I haven’t had to face the decision a lot yet.
I think I get a bit of a rush telling people about raw milk too. I’m still learning a lot about health and nutrition so I’m open to learning from doctors too. I just haven’t found that they are very open to traditional medicine and diets. It’s the vaccination issue I keep getting stuck with. I haven’t given shots for about two years now with my kids but they had some when they were little. Wardeh, do you have any posts on vaccinations that you could recommend? I’d like to read more.
.-= Tea and chopsticks ´s last blog post… Getting outdoors in the frigid air =-.
@Tea and Chopsticks – I haven’t written anything on vaccinations. I’d suggest looking around at the Weston A Price foundation website. http://westonaprice.org/
Our kids are the same as yours – they got some, but didn’t finish all the courses. At one point, we considered giving selective vaccinations that were formaldehyde-free, but our doctor then didn’t have enough patients to make the purchase of those (not very shelf stable) vaccinations cost effective. And I really don’t know much about this, as its been a long time since I read anything. My youngest child is 9-1/2 and I did my reading back when he was 2 or so.
Wow, Wardeh! You are an inspiration! Thanks for sharing your story.
I wanted to do a home birth with my first but ended up having to do a C-section (she was breech). I would like to get pregnant again this year, and I would like to do a VBAC (not sure about home birth yet — we’ll see what resources I can find here in LA — there are not even any decent birthing centers near me!).
Anyway, it’s also a concern (to doctors anyway) because I am 41, and will turn 42 in July. But so what! My housekeeper told me that in Honduras, where she is from, they have babies until they are 50.
Re: pedicatricians – We fired ours! THey were always going on about vaccinations. I had Kate vaccinated up until about 6 mos — before I knew better. Then I told them I wanted to wait and do more research. They acted like I was a monster, said, “If your baby dies of whooping cough, it will be your fault.” I walked out of that office feeling horrible but I never went back. I got a referral for a homeopath/MD pediatrician who we’ve been seeing ever since. She’s awesome. She wasn’t WAPF when we started seeing her — but I just found out she joined our local chapter.
@ Pamela Thanks I will call my county health dept
.-= Ann Marie @ CHEESESLAVE´s last blog post… New Podcast: Baking with Sprouted Flour with Peggy Sutton =-.
Ann Marie – Have you seen this website? http://vbacfacts.com She’s down in southern CA and has a website FULL of great info – plus she’s really nice! Her name is Jen. She knows her stuff. You could probably build quite an arsenal of information if you run into trouble with VBAC or home VBAC.
When we had both of ours – home VBAC – it was during a time when VBACs were encouraged, though home birth wasn’t. Naomi’s birth was so funny. We had an HMO, went to all the appts though I always finagled an appt with a midwife, not a doctor. Every time I saw a doctor I had to endure chastisement for not consenting to the blood glucose test. I insisted that if I didn’t have any symptoms, why should I have to take that test? While enduring these appts, I had a lay midwife on the side – we planned a home birth, but didn’t tell the HMO.
Anyway, I was THREE WEEKS late with Naomi – during those 3 weeks I had to dodge calls from the HMO because they were trying to get me in for an induction. They were acting like it wasn’t my choice. So I kept rescheduling all my appointments. I was not very direct, was I?
Then Naomi was born, at home, very fast, everything good. I called the HMO and said, “Oops! She arrived!” The nurse on the phone said, “You were planning this all along, weren’t you?” and that’s when I admitted it.
The third birth, we didn’t have the HMO and no doctor would take us on to be our backup, in case of emergency. So that birth was all out in the open. And it went well. We had the same lay midwife, just an awesome lady who at that time had helped birth 1200 babies!
Anyway… check out Jen’s site. And yay for trying to get pregnant this year! I hope you have the birth of your dreams and a healthy, glowing child. Awesome you found a good MD!
We use something called WaterWise, it distills the water. It was pretty spendy. I am thinking that it probably takes the minerals out, I am wondering if you can replace those minerals by eating sea salt? I don’t know. All I know is that I am glad to not be tasting chlorine and drinking things other than water.
Kelli -
I was just looking at the WaterWise distillers. Someone was just telling me that the distillers are better than the RO machines, and he recommended WaterWise. How do you like yours?
The same guy told me that you do need to put the minerals back in. He uses Celtic sea salt — he particularly recommended the Fleur de Sel. He said to put in 1 TBS per gallon. We get the big 5 gallon jugs so I’ll just start adding 5 TBS per jug.
He also said that he was recently diagnosed w/ leukemia (2 years ago). He said he didn’t do any drugs or chemo. Just ate a traditional food diet (grass-fed beef, etc.), drank lots of freshly squeezed pomegranate juice, and used DISTILLED water (he insisted that distilled is better than RO) with added Celtic Fleur de Sel sea salt.
He said that for a while he felt the need to take even more salt, so for every 16 oz, he added 1 TBS. He said he did that like 12 times a day (?!) for 3 months. I can’t believe that — it’s a lot of water — I’ll have to ask him again when I see him if that is right.
Anyway, during that time that he was drinking a ton of water with a LOT of sea salt (1 TBS per 16 oz) he said his hair started growing back. Prior to that, he was completely bald he said. His head was full of sprouting hair!
I’ve heard this from others — either using molasses or kombucha and their grey hair turns black or they start growing hair. Have also heard of people using MSM (sulphur, a natural mineral) to grow hair. Very interesting!
.-= Ann Marie @ CHEESESLAVE´s last blog post… Learn to Cook Traditional Food: An eCourse with Wardeh Harmon =-.
Ann Marie – Just wanted to let you know that when we lived in Santa Monica we used DrinkRite for Reverse Osmosis. We were renting so the filter was already installed so we didn’t have to pay for installation/rental, however it only cost us $12/month ($36/quarter) for use. It was plugged in to our kitchen sink and refrigerator filter. It was GREAT, the water tasted fantastic, and my sister would fill up her water bottles at our house rather than drink the water from her kitchen tap in Venice!
http://drinkrite.com/
Also, I’ve heard of people placing a little bit of pure high-mineral clay in the bottom of their water jug that they fill with filtered/RO water. If I find the details, I’ll come back and post a link!
Best,
Sarah
.-= Sarah´s last blog post… Two Thai Soups =-.
Does anyone have any experience with Berkey Systems? They seem reasonable and their website says that the filters remove fluoride without removing the trace minerals our bodies need. They claim that you can put pretty much any water (tap, lake, river) in them and it will come out “clean”. Apparently, people in the Peace Corps use them.
http://www.berkeyfilters.com/berkeytech.htm
Thanks! Katie
Twitter: homesteadreviva
says:
I have a Big Berkey. I bought it for Y2K ten years ago. It worked really well. Haven’t used it in years, but I just got it back from a friend (long story) and decided I want to try it again. I need to order new filters and research just exactly what it does and doesn’t filter. But, as far as I know the company is reputable. I’ve only heard good things.
@Amy-The Berkey website goes pretty in depth with what the filters do and do not remove. My only concern is that some people are saying on different sites that knockoffs are being made in China that do nothing and are being sold on the Internet. I’ve read that you have to make sure you buy the units and the replacement filters from a reputable source. Do you remember where you purchased yours from?
And, the regular filter does not remove fluoride; you have to purchase an add on filter to do that if that’s a concern for you.
Twitter: homesteadreviva
says:
Katie, apparently you need the PF-2 Fluoride Reduction Elements on the unit to filter fluoride. (see http://www.berkeyfilters.com/berkeypf2.htm) However, I’m not sure they fit on all Berkey models.
Here is an interesting quote from their website. Sorry it’s so long…
“Which of the three methods of water filtration, reverse osmosis, distillation or Berkey purification is the healthiest for drinking purposes?
With respect to the healthfulness of the water, most health experts that are up to date on current research are no longer recommending drinking RO or distilled water on a long-term basis because these methods remove all the beneficial minerals from the water making the water an acidic “hypotonic” solution. A chemist will tell you that any time a hypotonic (de-mineralized) solution comes into contact with a “hypertonic” (mineralized) solution, the minerals within the hypertonic solution will transfer out and into the hypotonic solution until equilibrium is achieved. What this means is simply that when one drinks hypotonic water, the minerals in the blood and lymphatic system, which are hypertonic, transfer into the hypotonic RO or distilled water that is consumed and the minerals are flushed out of the body upon urination.
In an effort to re-mineralize, the blood and lymphatic systems then begin to scavenge for minerals from other parts of the body, such as bones and other organs, and this process repeats itself every time de-mineralized hypotonic water is re-consumed. Several studies suggest that people who drink de-mineralized water (hypotonic) over a long period of time tend to be more prone to degenerative diseases such as osteoporosis.
Berkey purification systems do not remove the beneficial minerals from the water but they do extract harmful heavy metals such as lead and mercury as well as sedimentary minerals such as iron oxide. Therefore, the TDS (total dissolved solids) reading will not typically change much unless there are a lot of heavy metals or sedimentary minerals in the source water.”
Interesting. I may have to get my Berkey out and order some new filters this week.
Twitter: homesteadreviva
says:
Opps. Sorry, I didn’t see your post above. I purchased mine from a place called Noah’s Pantry (http://www.noahspantry.org/). I assume it is legit. That was 10 years ago. I looked at my unit and it is made by New Millennium Concepts which is apparently located here – http://www.berkeywater.com/start.main.html. I would think this is your best bet.
Thanks. I read that as well and after reading Wardeh’s information about having to add minerals back into the RO water, I think I may be leaning in this direction. Keep us informed and let us know what you think of the water when you get the filters. BTW…I visited your blog and subscribed. It’s beautiful!
Twitter: homesteadreviva
says:
Thanks, Katie. I just realized I’m going to have to ship these items to my family in TX and then reship them to me. CA laws are notoriously tight and it affects these items.
We bought an Aqua Rain filter a couple years ago when we lived in a village where we had city water, and we wanted to filter out the flouride. I don’t know what it filters out or keeps in, but I”m certain it took out the flouride (thus the reason we purchsed it). My question is, now that I’m living in the country we haven’t been using it. Should we? Should we get our water tested? Everytime I look at a recipe and it says “filtered water” or “pure water” I wonder, but haven’t figured it out yet.
Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Rebecca
Our well water has a lot of sulfur in it, it smells nasty if the well has been pumping a lot and any water that sets out overnight smells better, of course but has white flakes floating in in that also builds up on water appliances.
My question: do you think too many minerals are a bad thing? I mean, I do wonder what our bodies do with the flakes, you know?
We plan to re-vamp the system soon and aerate the water as it fills a tank, then filter the water before coming to the house.
Any ideas on how to achieve a healthy balance of minerals?
AnnMarie,
I’m just getting to this post a little late but I wanted to encourage you not to be afraid of “insisting” on a VBAC. I’ve had 4 naturally since my c-section. Never any problems. I’d suggest that you start talking to your OB before you get pregnant. If he/she is not willing to press towards a VBAC as long as safely possible, don’t be afraid to shop around. There are some possible problems that can arise with a scarred uterus(please excuse the nurse in me talking) but they are not difficult to monitor and they are only possible-NOT probable. Anyway, be encouraged.
Tracy in NC
Hi, Tracy,
Thanks so much for posting that. I am encouraged!
Ann Marie
.-= Ann Marie @ CHEESESLAVE´s last blog post… New Podcast: Finding Safe Organic Beauty Products with Joanna Runciman =-.