Drinking Rain Water

wiredup

I'm getting pretty fed up with the crap they put in the tap water. It just tastes of bleach and I don't believe fluoride and all the other chemicals are doing me any good.

So I was considering having a well dug but then I thought, being on the west coast and most of the rain coming off the Atlantic it must be reasonably pure.

So does any one know much about this? Does it need to be filtered? Would boiling it be enough? Would it contain the mineral content required? Am I mad?

Macha

If you're anywhere near a septic tank, the minimum distance to a well is 60m. There are other distance requirements from roads, etc. Not as simple as just digging a hole.

FYI-Ireland has v polluted ground water so check out this report:

http://www.epa.ie/downloads/pubs/water/indicators/name,23540,en.html

There are a few maps & specific references to rivers.

Also, I remember seeing a statistic that local authority water schemes were c. 97% pollution free, but private water schemes & wells with a lower water quality. Your water will be coming out of water that has trickled down to an aquifer so this is very relevant

Afraid I don't know much about purifying, etc.

Best place to go for info is your local authority I think.

edit: Just found this link. Might be useful?

http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?p=455385

Steve

I have an in-line water filter on the tap water.
It totally gets rid of the chlorine taste and also filters out other nasty metals contaminants and bugs.
It was easy enough to install myself as well.

wiredup

SteveC wrote: »

I have an in-line water filter on the tap water.
It totally gets rid of the chlorine taste and also filters out other nasty metals contaminants and bugs.
It was easy enough to install myself as well.

All the water I have tried from these taste of salt. How does your taste?
What are the costs of these? The filters look quite pricey.

Macha

Just found relevant stats:

http://www.irishscientist.ie/2002/contents.asp?contentxml=02p66.xml&contentxsl=is02pages.xsl

"In general, the quality of drinking water produced by sanitary authorities remains high (96.7% compliance) and is far superior in comparison to group water supplies (70.8% compliance)."

Yeah, an in-house filter might be cheaper. That way you're pretty much guaranteed a good quality of water & can change the taste. These guys sell quite a few:
http://www.aquaeuro.com/eu/

Steve

wiredup wrote: »

All the water I have tried from these taste of salt. How does your taste?
What are the costs of these? The filters look quite pricey.

I bought it from http://www.simplywater.ie/ , at an ideal homes show 3 or 4 years back - they're advertising it for €250 ish. I put it in because my OH was spending a fortune on bottled water and it paid for itself in no time.

I can't get any taste from it but I guess it could be to do with the quality of the water going into it. The tap water at home isn't the worst but there is still a strong chlorine taste without the filter.

wiredup

Thanks for that guys, I will look into this further.

wiredup

Steve, that simplywater system looks good. How much are the replacement filters?

Steve

I'll check later - have a letter from them at home. From memory €50-60 ish.

wiredup

SteveC wrote: »

I'll check later - have a letter from them at home. From memory €50-60 ish.

Thanks, and can I ask how long they last and how do you know they need replacing?

lostinsuperfunk

Cheap solution: leave the water in the fridge for a day or two after drawing it from the tap. The chlorine compounds will evaporate. The flouride will still be there, but most filtration systems don't remove that either.

Steve

wiredup wrote: »

Thanks, and can I ask how long they last and how do you know they need replacing?

Just my luck - can't find the letter.
According to the instructions on the spare filter you should change it if there is diminished flow (too much muck in the water) or after 12 months. Mine is in 2 years and its still fine. There are also instructions on cleaning the filter by scrubbing and then boiling it to sterilise it.
I guess it would depend on circumstances and the only way to be sure is if someone on the same supply had one that you could try.
My OH's parents have one in Meath (not the same make) and they say there is a taste from it. I guess it depends how bad the water is to begin with.

Oldtree

Have been drinking rain water for years. Down pipe to a 80 gallon tank, raised on bricks and a tap at the bottom, also overflow pipe. The water goes through an ordinary agricultural filter to get out any big bits (about €30, filter refills €7) and then through a britta filter as needed, from recycled 5 litre bottles. No stomach upsets and I cannot drink any other water as I taste the slightest addition to the water.

This could be taken a step further with the addition of an reverse osmosis filter. Could also raise the tank to just below the gutters and have a pipe going into the house.

The only problem with lead flashing according to australian research is if the water pools in the lead flashing or valleys. The water does not pick up any lead if the contact is only quick.

wiredup

Oldtree wrote: »

Have been drinking rain water for years. Down pipe to a 80 gallon tank, raised on bricks and a tap at the bottom, also overflow pipe. The water goes through an ordinary agricultural filter to get out any big bits (about €30, filter refills €7) and then through a britta filter as needed, from recycled 5 litre bottles. No stomach upsets and I cannot drink any other water as I taste the slightest addition to the water.

This could be taken a step further with the addition of an reverse osmosis filter. Could also raise the tank to just below the gutters and have a pipe going into the house.

The only problem with lead flashing according to australian research is if the water pools in the lead flashing or valleys. The water does not pick up any lead if the contact is only quick.

This is really interesting and along the lines of what I was thinking.
I'm also impressed with the simplywater system and according to the blurb on their site the chlorine in the water can also attack your skin. As an eczema suffer who needs to bath/shower daily I'm wondering even I didn't end up drinking rain water I could collect it to use for hot water etc.

baldieman

Oldtree wrote: »

Have been drinking rain water for years. Down pipe to a 80 gallon tank, raised on bricks and a tap at the bottom, also overflow pipe. The water goes through an ordinary agricultural filter to get out any big bits (about €30, filter refills €7) and then through a britta filter as needed, from recycled 5 litre bottles. No stomach upsets and I cannot drink any other water as I taste the slightest addition to the water.

This could be taken a step further with the addition of an reverse osmosis filter. Could also raise the tank to just below the gutters and have a pipe going into the house.

The only problem with lead flashing according to australian research is if the water pools in the lead flashing or valleys. The water does not pick up any lead if the contact is only quick.

Hi,
I've been considering rainwater use, but the official view seems to be all kinds of complex filters for washing and bathing and drinking seems to be a no no. Yet the well water I've been drinking for years, I'm sure is contaminated.
I remember many years ago going to Spain on hols. and your led to believe that you can only drink bottled water. then one year we met some Spanish people who thought we were mad for buying water!! So we drank the tap water and survived.
It would seem that there is a lot of irrational fear about what's safe and what's not.

jobrok1

wiredup wrote: »

All the water I have tried from these taste of salt. How does your taste?
What are the costs of these? The filters look quite pricey.

It sounds like the water you tried was also passed through a water softener. A brine solution is used to remove the hardness from water as its passed through it.

In our house we have the whole house fed through a water softener, but also have an unsoftened, but carbon filtered tap in the kitchen. We still get a little scale floating on top in our cups of tea, but the thats not going to harm anyone.
The garden tap is unfiltered and unsoftened. When you compare a glass of this to a glass of the filtered, the difference is massive. There is a definite smell and taste of added chemicals to the unfiltered and absolutely nothing from the filter.

Belfast

tap water is ok if you usea Brita filter.
make sure you change the filter often
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brita

more tea vicar

Take caution when planning for a rain tank or borehole well where budget is concerned and ongoing water quality concerns, maintenance etc.

Rain tanks generally need to be at least 10,000 gallons in volume and to do the job right expect to pay 5,000 +plus for a completed tank. Then you will need a pump between 3/4 to 1 horsepower and 60 to 80 litre pressure vessel. You could add extra pre-sediment sand and gravel soakage before the water enters the tank to act as a basic barrier for dead organic matter.

Rainwater starts off from the clouds in fairly good nick but picks up a certain degree of atmospheric pollution on its journey down, notably CO2 and other gases, giving it a slightly carbonic acidity, along with dust in the air to elevate its dissolved mineral content to a moderately low level.

The aul birds have a good few shytes on the house roof, so expect a certain level of faecal coliforms ending up in the water along with algae and other water borne bacteria. Along with this, moss on roofs and dead leaves in the gutters will leach decaying organic matter usually in the form of harmless tannins. Lead or copper flashing may deliver certain levels of heavy metals.

The tank walls will usually be shutter poured lime based concrete and will initially leach a degree of calcium and magnesium carbonates and bicarbonates and overall the water may not be the worse in the world, maybe not officially soft by EPA standards but certainly not far off from the start.

Without any form of residual chlorination like you have in public fed group water and public water schemes, rainwater can stagnate when fed up to attic cold storage tanks, and form a slippery build up of ongoing bio-films inside header tanks and pipes.

Not bad stuff to bathe in, but needs sorting out when drinking, unless you build up immunity to the bugs and the bird shyte which most people do effectively, toughens ye up like. Basic filter kits like the sub-micron ceramics start from 100 euro, and go up to 200 or 300 with companies like simply water, just the same but you pay for fancy cardboard boxes and leaflets, even then not too fancy.

RO systems certainly kick ass and take out all nuisances from organic through to chemical, metals and bacteria, and cost from 300 supplied to 800 for good ones installed. Steer well, well, clear of pure H2O rodi filters, just a load of chinese dressed up junk costing shyte loads of heavy sales pressure driven fat profits - the company were the bankrupt ionics firm, re-started. Search in Askaboutmoney for them, no-one likes them and joe duffy keeps doing rogue trader reports on them. They only filter 1% of the household water for 2,200 euro plus the same amount again for ten years service.

Whole house purification of raintank water can cost 1,000 to 2,000 for good systems, usually backwashable 50 litre granular activated backwashable carbon systems, with UV steriliser options. Then the systems go daft into ozone treatment up to and over 5,000 euros. Steer clear.

Well water is ten times as complex and often more costly than raintanks. Always use a qualified laboratory to test water independently and test for everything. Pay around 75 euros all in for full chemical and bacterial analysis. Do not take any heed from salesmen and their dipsticks and tablets.

Bore a hole, usually 300 foot deep nowadays, varies from 100 to 500 foot at 8 to 11 euro per foot for normal ground and rock, to a shocking 20 to 40 euro a foot in sandy gravel based areas. The unexpected extra cost is for steel liners to hold out the sand and gravel.

Most wells cost around 3,000 euros to bore, with the worse gravel type ground going up to 12 k or even 15 k in extreme cases. The bill comes after with the surprise of what its then gonna cost.

Submersible pumps cost around 2,200 to install professionally and need to be 1.5 horsepower, and the type of pump needs careful selection whether a high flow/low pressure, or low flow/high pressure pump, with sand buster options for gritty sand bed bores.

You may hit variable water quality, an underground stream, sulphur or iron bearing stratas, but usually hard water in most parts of ireland.

Hit strong sulphur or high iron and you are in for a big bill for water treament. Expect to pay 3,000 to 5,000 euros for some of the upper end high performance multi cylinder well treatment plants. The dearest should not reach moe than 10 k all in, the cheapest water softener from 500 euros supplied may just be all that is needed.

The best well drillers in Ireland and the most honest, are a crowd from kildare called Dunnes, I think. They have a new 800,000 euros drilling rig, and yet charge low rates.

Often pump installers are separate to the well drillers, some good some bad. Most should supply a good quality Grundfoss or equivalent 1.5 HP submersible pump and suspend it off 2 ropes 20 foot off the bottom of the well, with good "4 square" cable and 1" NG hydrodare pipe. The pressure vessel should be 60 to 80 litre, white, and stainless fittings, plastic inner liner, rust proof altogether.

Watch out for most water treatment companies, they are mostly a shower of bástards, only one or two good eggs. Virtually all in ireland know little about specialist water treatment, wells, lakes, river, springs, raintank, etc. Most do not have examination proven quals, and their methods and warranties are generally questionable. Just be very, very careful, and get a few indepth quotes and grill the bástards as to their credentials.

Good luck.

Steve

more tea vicar wrote: »

Basic filter kits like the sub-micron ceramics start from 100 euro, and go up to 200 or 300 with companies like simply water, just the same but you pay for fancy cardboard boxes and leaflets, even then not too fancy.

WOW - that's some post. You seem to know what you're talking about.

From reading that, the op's best bet is to treat the mains drinking water only with a ceramic filter and anything else would be too expensive to justify.

I'm also interested in your point that they start from €100 - did I get ripped off? Who supplies them at that price?

more tea vicar

SteveC wrote: »

WOW - that's some post. You seem to know what you're talking about.

From reading that, the op's best bet is to treat the mains drinking water only with a ceramic filter and anything else would be too expensive to justify.

I'm also interested in your point that they start from €100 - did I get ripped off? Who supplies them at that price?

Not always so simple just going for 0.5 micron nominal ceramic cartridge filter kits.

They are so fine they only work on certain pre-treated qualities of water, and are prone to clogging due to turbidity.

Turbidity is very fine suspended clays that may give water a slightly cloudy appearance, the larger particles are sediment and grit. Also fine particles of sand or colloidal silica can block up filters badly.

Both turbidity, and colloidal silica along with sediment and grit are not recognised as harm causing drinking pollutants, but are looked upon as aesthetic concerns in drinking water.

Turbidity is measured on lab test reports on average at 0 to 0.5 NTU units on many water schemes, where 0.4 or less is ideal, but some HSE labs giving an advisory level of 1 NTU or less which still may reduce the long term performance of many cartridges.

Many city schemes are meant to be of a high quality within EU and EPA directives often exceeding 95% compliance, but things like turbidity let many supplies down, and ceramic cartridges may get clogged on a weekly basis, some rural schemes if you are lucky may allow ceramic cartridges to last for 4 years or more, it is all a lottery without a test report, or ongoing annual testing.

The best cartridges by far are Doulton Stersyl or Supercarb. The Sterasyl is just ceramic fired high purity white clay, and have high flow characteristics and a lower replacement cost, about 30 to 50 euros on average.

The SuperCarb is ceramic and activated carbon, lower flow, but removes chlorine as well as bacteria. Both types of cartridge come in either high capacity 10" x 2.5" sizes or half the capacity in the 10" slimline candle type. Neither remove limescale, so water is still hard, kettles are still furred up and scum on the tea.

Simply Water do the slimline Supercarb at about 250 - 300 for the kit and is twice what you should be paying for a decent price and half the capacity of the larger and more universal Doulton cartridges. Steer clear.

Get a reasonably priced kit with high capacity cartridges with Sterasyl options and add a second high capacity carbon block filter, which are 25 euros or less for element changes, but test yer water for turbidity.

All the above cartridges do not take out heavy metals, which you should not find in schemes, only on the odd occasion, maybe aluminium at times as alumino-silica is a treatment media used in many large municipal facilites and the fines can elevate aluminium levels. HSE labs often try to avoid testing for this even though it is a listed parameter on their audit reports - they know a bit too much sniffing about by the public on this matter could cause a bit of a political storm.

Also Doulton cartridges being the best at what they do, still do not remove things like nitrates or nitrites, fluorides, chlorides or sodium, (nitrates - are another seasonal worry on rural group schemes).

Reverse osmosis, is yer man. Removes every listed nuisance and harmful parameter in the spectrum of things tested by labs, except excessive levels of some dissolved gases, which you would only find in certain private wells anyway.

more tea vicar

Who supplies stuff? Best bet is google a few irish firms, try a google on - doulton filters ireland, etc and look around for a proper firm.

Oldtree

Over 40% of group water schemes tested in 2005/2006 were contaminated with fetal cloriforms, give me bird shyte any day! and what about the high nitrogen content (and goodness knows what else that isn't measured) of ground waters in ireland.

more tea vicar

Oldtree wrote: »

Over 40% of group water schemes tested in 2005/2006 were contaminated with fetal cloriforms, give me bird shyte any day! and what about the high nitrogen content (and goodness knows what else that isn't measured) of ground waters in ireland.

Bird shyte would be yer source for faecal coliforms in a rain tank, and water travelling through the air would also pick up nitrogen content, although farming methods would put more nitrates and the more deadlier nitrites causing blue baby syndrome regarding infants, into the water.

Oldtree

That was human FC's in the ground water!

It is prudent to boil all rain water for a baby.

more tea vicar

Better still, put through a distiller.

KatCookie

We have our own well for at least 10 years, and in the past few years there have been black specks in the water supply, for many years we didnt know what they were
Recently we found out that the specks were Manganese and apparantly there is no bad side effects of drinking that water (we are all still alive anyways) But as we are on a farm, we have increased the amount of water we use, so when the amount in the well is reduced, the black specks have increased. ...
I was going to ask if it was possible to use rainwater, but now i see that it would probably cost too much..
So is it possible to take out the Manganese out of the water, Without using a Brita Filter? i hate the taste off the filter, and the black specks definitely do have a taste too, i've taken to filling up a 2 litre bottle, drinking over 3/4 of it and throwing away the rest! (even the dogs dont like the water if its too dirty!!)

Oldtree

I am suprised that you get a taste from the britta filter. Do you let it soak for a while in clean (pre filtered) water before using, i leave it soaking for about 2 hours and then put about 5 litres through it and that seems to do the job. Are you changing the filters regularly?

hey i used to have my own well down the country but moved up to Dublin,
in the beginning, coming back to Dublin, my dog would rather drink puddles than the tap water in his bowl. Seriously he wouldnt touch the tap water until the summer came that year and he HAD to drink from the bowl!

Can any of the water experts here explain that?!!!

Im sure the birds shyte over the water reservoirs too! If you purify it twould be grand I reckons

KatCookie

Oldtree wrote: »

I am suprised that you get a taste from the britta filter. Do you let it soak for a while in clean (pre filtered) water before using, i leave it soaking for about 2 hours and then put about 5 litres through it and that seems to do the job. Are you changing the filters regularly?

yeah, the filter is probably about a month old now and probably needs changing but theres always a taste off them, for as long as we've had them....

My dog is the same, always drinking puddles, now we leave a bucket out and he drinks the rainwater from that..

more tea vicar

KatCookie wrote: »

We have our own well for at least 10 years, and in the past few years there have been black specks in the water supply, for many years we didnt know what they were
Recently we found out that the specks were Manganese and apparantly there is no bad side effects of drinking that water (we are all still alive anyways) But as we are on a farm, we have increased the amount of water we use, so when the amount in the well is reduced, the black specks have increased. ...
I was going to ask if it was possible to use rainwater, but now i see that it would probably cost too much..
So is it possible to take out the Manganese out of the water, Without using a Brita Filter? i hate the taste off the filter, and the black specks definitely do have a taste too, i've taken to filling up a 2 litre bottle, drinking over 3/4 of it and throwing away the rest! (even the dogs dont like the water if its too dirty!!)

Manganese is easily removed from well water, its just a matter of deciding on whether to treat the whole house supply or just one filter tap, and checking the level of manganese in the water.

Is the managanese over the 50 mg/l concentration level? Is it far higher?, Is there a wee bit of iron too? What is the pH of the water.

Get a full chemical water analysis, and an appropriate system can be sourced.

Usually a whole house Birm system will suffice, and rates for these vary from 800 to 1800, usually for the same system, just different companies selling them. Birm requires a pH of over 6 and no sulphide, hydrocarbons or high levels of chlorides. They do not need salt and work up to 10,000 mg/l manganese concentrations on normal whole house domestic feeds, and can remove up to 20,000 mg/l of iron or a combo of the two.

A Crystal-Right system can either use CR100 / CR150 or CR200 media for waters from pH 6 / pH 7 / or over pH 7, and is a salt based system, ranging from just over 1,000 to 2,000 euros depending on the company.

Crystal-Right can remove Manganese at levels up to 4,000 mg/l for a standard sized system, and up to 8,000 mg/l of iron or a combination of the two. Also softens the water, removes ammonia, and the CR100 grade elevates pH.

A reverse osmosis system from 300 euros upwards will give manganese free water at a point of use filter tap say added to a kitchen sink, but water may need pre-treatment for manganese if the levels are too high, say over 500 mg/l, as the RO pre-filters will get blocked too frequently.

more tea vicar

Deleted User wrote: »

hey i used to have my own well down the country but moved up to Dublin,
in the beginning, coming back to Dublin, my dog would rather drink puddles than the tap water in his bowl. Seriously he wouldnt touch the tap water until the summer came that year and he HAD to drink from the bowl!

Can any of the water experts here explain that?!!!

Im sure the birds shyte over the water reservoirs too! If you purify it twould be grand I reckons

Dawgs can sense chlorinated tap water and slightly over chlorinated tap water would put them off, way more sensitive to their pallets than us humans, the shyte we are used to eating and drinking.

In summer, elevated water temperatures would easily vent off any dissolved chlorine in tap water making it taste better for yer dawggie, however colder water has a far better hold on dissolved gases and chlorine based disinfectants like sodium hypochlorite.

Bit like when fish swim to the surface of ponds in hot weather to get a gulp of air, the dissolved oxygen content reduces dramatically the warmer water gets.

Musha

Currently doing training with major Irish company regarding RainWater Harvesting and use of filtration equipment to make the water fit for drinking.
We are trying to get samples from highly populated Dublin City center to have it testing in the lab. (anyone?) need about 1.5 liters

We have an undersink unit
Full Kit 3 filters including tapping valve for mains and Swan neck tap for DIY install.
€143 over the counter or + €10 delivery
1st, Meltblown Sediment
2nd Granular Carbon
3rd 3 in 1 Sediment & Activated Carbon
They are made in Germany and are Branded with the Quality Water Assc mark
They are our best seller for the DIY market. Replacement filters are €20/€25 depending on your choice of filter and need to be replaced 3000 gallons. We also have the Big Brother whole house package using the same technology only with 20" Jumbo filters
We have tons of happy customers all over Ireland, and stand by each and everyone of our products and installs.
PM me if you need futher information.:)

blackbox

Oldtree wrote: »

Have been drinking rain water for years. Down pipe to a 80 gallon tank, raised on bricks and a tap at the bottom, also overflow pipe. The water goes through an ordinary agricultural filter to get out any big bits (about €30, filter refills €7) and then through a britta filter as needed, from recycled 5 litre bottles. No stomach upsets and I cannot drink any other water as I taste the slightest addition to the water.

This could be taken a step further with the addition of an reverse osmosis filter. Could also raise the tank to just below the gutters and have a pipe going into the house.

The only problem with lead flashing according to australian research is if the water pools in the lead flashing or valleys. The water does not pick up any lead if the contact is only quick.

Drinking ONLY rainwater is not good longterm as it has virtually no minerals (apart from those picked up from your roof, and you certainly ought to avoid it if it has been in contact with lead.)

RO systems will further remove minerals.

Carbon filters will remove chlorine, but chlorine is put in the water for a reason - to kill micro-organisms. Unfortunately some local authorities seem to add much more than necessary - it should be barely detectable by smelling.

Discussing fluoride will probably bring out the luddites, but I think it is fair to say that dental cavities are significantly lower where it is used.

Oldtree

Whats a person to do with at least 40% of the ground water tested by the EPA being polluted and the situation is not improving.

I supplement my mineral intake with a mulitvitiman and mineral formula (viridian).

As I live in a limestone area would it help to put a lump of limestone into the rainwater tank?

The australian local authority reports about lead were conclusive that no lead is picked up by rainwater unless the rainwater pools on the lead. Will see if I can dig them out.

Musha

blackbox wrote: »

RO systems will further remove minerals.

Not if you install the right one, All our systems can have a Minerial Cartridge installed to give you the best minerials after the inpurities have been removed.

auerillo

more tea vicar wrote: »

Dawgs can sense chlorinated tap water and slightly over chlorinated tap water would put them off, way more sensitive to their pallets than us humans, the shyte we are used to eating and drinking.

In summer, elevated water temperatures would easily vent off any dissolved chlorine in tap water making it taste better for yer dawggie, however colder water has a far better hold on dissolved gases and chlorine based disinfectants like sodium hypochlorite.

Bit like when fish swim to the surface of ponds in hot weather to get a gulp of air, the dissolved oxygen content reduces dramatically the warmer water gets.

I love the idea that your dogs have more sensitive pallets than you have! Having had dogs for 40 years, both as a breeder and owner, I have never met a dog who has exhibited signs of a sophisticated pallet and, indeed, have often seen dogs drinking the foulest looking water with, apparantly, no concern.

Some dogs can be, its true, fussy, but all dogs will drink when they are thristy adn eat when they are hungry.

more tea vicar

auerillo wrote: »

I love the idea that your dogs have more sensitive pallets than you have! Having had dogs for 40 years, both as a breeder and owner, I have never met a dog who has exhibited signs of a sophisticated pallet and, indeed, have often seen dogs drinking the foulest looking water with, apparantly, no concern.

Some dogs can be, its true, fussy, but all dogs will drink when they are thristy adn eat when they are hungry.

You are wrong on this.

Dogs do actually have way heightened senses when it comes to their olfactory system of smell and taste.

Dogs 'Know' with their noses and tongues better than us, whether they are drinking good enough water for them with just a mix of harmless turbity (cloudy looking silts) like you find in natural puddles, and they a far more immune than us when it comes to bacteria in water, - coliforms usually or e.coli.

What dogs may sense a lot easier than us, is the most finite levels of unnaturally toxic and carcenogenic substances that are just not meant to be there in nature in normal circumstances.

Hence chlorine. Not supposed to be in normal puddles in nature.

Chorine is rated equal to Arsenic by concentration in water as a harmful toxin in water, when at normal dosing levels for free chlorine residual.

Dogs can sense this nasty shíte fairly well I'm afraid.

more tea vicar

Musha wrote: »

Currently doing training with major Irish company regarding RainWater Harvesting and use of filtration equipment to make the water fit for drinking.
We are trying to get samples from highly populated Dublin City center to have it testing in the lab. (anyone?) need about 1.5 liters

We have an undersink unit
Full Kit 3 filters including tapping valve for mains and Swan neck tap for DIY install.
€143 over the counter or + €10 delivery
1st, Meltblown Sediment
2nd Granular Carbon
3rd 3 in 1 Sediment & Activated Carbon
They are made in Germany and are Branded with the Quality Water Assc mark
They are our best seller for the DIY market. Replacement filters are €20/€25 depending on your choice of filter and need to be replaced 3000 gallons. We also have the Big Brother whole house package using the same technology only with 20" Jumbo filters
We have tons of happy customers all over Ireland, and stand by each and everyone of our products and installs.
PM me if you need futher information.:)

What is the exact cost including VAT and callout for the ongoing service for the system above, and how often is the service?

more tea vicar

Oldtree wrote: »

Whats a person to do with at least 40% of the ground water tested by the EPA being polluted and the situation is not improving.

I supplement my mineral intake with a mulitvitiman and mineral formula (viridian).

As I live in a limestone area would it help to put a lump of limestone into the rainwater tank?

The australian local authority reports about lead were conclusive that no lead is picked up by rainwater unless the rainwater pools on the lead. Will see if I can dig them out.

No to the lump of limescale in yer rainwater tank.

Yer rainwater tank is made of the stuff.

It leaches out calcium and magnesium bicarbonates (hardness / lime etc) at a level of twice what yer best bottled water like 'Kerry' has in it anyway.

more tea vicar

Musha wrote: »

Not if you install the right one, All our systems can have a Minerial Cartridge installed to give you the best minerials after the inpurities have been removed.

Some good advice here Musha.

Get rid of the impurities, then worry about taste / minerals as an option after.

You probably know yerself, we all eat food therefore we excrete a surplus of the usual minerals from our bodies.

Our bodies only hold on to minerals when instructed by our complex systems which actually require things like Vitamin D and hormonal balances to be right to latch on to the surplus of calcium we get from dairy products and cereals and a lot of other foods.

Other wise without Vitamin D, ye could drink very hard water super high in lime, then multiply that by 10 times the amount found in milk and our food and still ye would get rickets and bad bone development, (bandy legs etc) because no matter how many litres of hard water or milk or dozens of calcium pills you shove down yer neck, your body will not recognise calcium for bone development and other uses without a correct diet and enough Vitamin D, and hormonal and other complex balances that the body needs with correct health and a correct diet.

So all the supplement pill nonsense in health shops, and fear of naturally soft water is all "Snake oil for Suckers", and is talked about by people who have much less idea about minerals than yer average doctor.

Listen to a good doctor, they would tells ya.

Capt'n Midnight

baldieman wrote: »

Hi,
I've been considering rainwater use, but the official view seems to be all kinds of complex filters for washing and bathing and drinking seems to be a no no. Yet the well water I've been drinking for years, I'm sure is contaminated.
I remember many years ago going to Spain on hols. and your led to believe that you can only drink bottled water. then one year we met some Spanish people who thought we were mad for buying water!! So we drank the tap water and survived.
It would seem that there is a lot of irrational fear about what's safe and what's not.

for one thing different areas have different strains of e. coli which may give newcomers the runs for a few days but the locals have already acquired an immunity to. Considering what you spend on holidays the cost of bottled water is a small price , of course if you are moving to a different area for a long time then best off to get used to the local floara.

auerillo

I’m afraid I have no idea what it is you claim I am

more tea vicar wrote: »

You are wrong on this..

.

What got my attention was your claim that dogs

more tea vicar wrote: »

Dawgs … way more sensitive to their pallets than us humans, the shyte we are used to eating and drinking.

.

While it’s ironic that dogs actually eat “shyte”, I have known dogs to drink, for example, water poisoned with rat poison. I have never known a human to drink foul water or to eat excrement, so its hard to work out on what basis you can claim that dogs have “way more sensitive pallets”, when their pallets don’t seem to stop them drinking poisoned water which can, and does, kill them.

Additionally, even if you classify what humans eat as “shyte”, how does that account for us having seen an increase in the average age of 13 years in the past 50 years? While its true that medicine has made great advance, many more of us are living longer and living more healthily, well into our 80’s and 90’s.

auerillo

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

for one thing different areas have different strains of e. coli which may give newcomers the runs for a few days but the locals have already acquired an immunity to. Considering what you spend on holidays the cost of bottled water is a small price , of course if you are moving to a different area for a long time then best off to get used to the local floara.

There are many strains of E-coli, and although most are harmless. The one we try to avoid is e-coli 0157 which can have serious, even fatal, ramifications for humans. it is a mistake to try to build up a "tolerance" to e-coli 0157 as even 10 of these bacteria ( which are usually found in millions) can have serious consequences for humans.

There is a theory that we need to be more exposed to bacteria to "build up a resistance". While it's an interesting theory, bacteria like listeria, salmonella and e-coli 1057 can be deadly, and it would be foolhardy to have a little bit of any of them, as a precaution, as the effect would be serious and, possibly, fatal.

Musha

more tea vicar wrote: »

What is the exact cost including VAT and callout for the ongoing service for the system above, and how often is the service?

The complete system is sold as a DIY install, It comes with a Needle valve for connection on to the mains water line, Tubing, Tap and bracket PTFE tape.
Install in less than one hour for a novice. You will need a drill to make the pilot hole for the Goose neck tap and a screw driver.
Replacement filters range from €20 to €35 depending on your preference.
Filters are good for 3000 gallons depending on the source water quality( mains townwater or Well/Group Scheme)
€143 + P&P if you cannot collect in person from the showroom.

Reverse Osmosis systems are the one we install and service.
starting from €650 installed basic model(4stage) without pump or €1000 installed with pump(6 stage). service is €120 per year.

rainson

I find your posts very informative.
There are actually a few very knowledgeable companies around the county Galway area, who offer very high quality systems at very reasonable prices, which include top class installations. You will find the Clack valve for example which is used on water softeners, well water treatment systems & also rainwater systems is the highest quality valve on the market world wide. Like that the Aquaphor Morion reverse osmosis system is the highest quality drinking water system on the market. Do not automatically assume they will be the most expensive, as there are some very decent companies offering this high quality equipment, professionally installed at very reasonable rates. Check out Aquaphor Morion on FaceBook for example and see if there are any companies that actually show pictures of this system installed, so you get a clear pic of the size of the system. Again do the same with Clack. This is to give you more local knowledge here in Ireland.