Water is a very basic necessity. Many of us are living with substandard tap water. In my city chlorine is used in the treatment of our water. So are fluoride and iodine among other things. Chlorine and fluoride and not things I want to ingest and I want to control my own dose of iodine. This water is not palatable and in the summer, in spite of all it's "treatment" there are many cases of diarrhea which appear to be related to the water. Time and again, myself and my neighbors have "cured" our own diarrhea by simply boiling the water. The Water Dept won't acknowledge any problem at all. Time for some creative thinking!
For me, there aren't too many options since purchasing water is not affordable and a Brita type filter is still too costly and it can't remove all of the fluoride. Boiling water is a pain and doesn't remove much except bacteria and some of the chlorine.
First of all, I wanted the fluoride out of there. But to my dismay, my research showed me there aren't any commercial filters that really do a good job on removing that. Reverse osmosis does get some of it out, even the charcoal type filter take some out but not enough to make it safe. [see links at end of article for info on fluoride poisoning] However, Ted at http://www.earthclinic.com convinced me that borax will remove that fluoride safely. And borax is not even as toxic as table salt so it is safe, much safer than the fluoride! This is what I do. I pre-treat my quart of water with 1/8 tsp common borax from the grocery store. After it is dissolved it is ready for the next step in my treatment plan.
To set up, you will need a brand new electric drip coffee pot, a cheap one will do fine. And you will need some pure charcoal, which is inexpensive and easily found at an aquarium shop. Be sure and get the pure stuff, there is a new product for filtering the fish tanks that contains plastics and is not good for this application. The large jar pictured here cost me $22. and will last a year. [For 3 people we use about 3 to 4 gallons a day.] And you will need a box of Borax for pre-treatment. Have a strainer handy, a coffee filter, a wooden spoon for stirring and some nice clean jugs for the finished water.
Put your new coffee pot in a convenient location near the sink if possible. Measure 1 cup of charcoal into a strainer and rinse well under running tap water. Dark dust will wash out into the sink. Next place the wet charcoal into the coffee pot's basket where the ground coffee would usually go. Fill the glass pot with tap water and stir in your 1/8 tsp borax. Pour it into the reservoir. Push the start button and when all the water has arrived in the pot, dump it in the sink and start another pot of borax water. That first pot will look kind of dark and contains even more charcoal dust. It wouldn't hurt you if you drank it but it doesn't look very pretty.
When your water comes into the pot it has gotten very hot, almost boiling, that has killed any germs living in the water. All of the chlorine should be gone and we hope most, if not all of the fluoride. Now, switch off the heat under the coffee pot and pour the water into a clean jug. I use 2 quart mason jars, works out just right for an eleven cup coffee pot. After the water cools a bit you may refrigerate it or just use it at room temp.
This water tastes very good and I use it in cooking and to make my ice. When I start a pot of soup or make some green tea it is nice to have a pot of hot water around too. Just replace your charcoal when the water doesn't taste as good as at the beginning. For us, about every 6-8 weeks.
And, one final thought, if you are worried about bathing in chlorine or fluoride there are options too. A tablespoon of vitamin C powder [plain old ascorbic acid] will take the chlorine out of your tub, then you can add a tablespoon of borax or even a half a cup to the bath tub. The fluoride will be gone and the borax will be a relaxing soak.
links: http://www.fluoridealert.org/
http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2009/02/10/thyroid-tidbit-fluoride-in-our-water-is-poison-to-our-thyroids/
For me, there aren't too many options since purchasing water is not affordable and a Brita type filter is still too costly and it can't remove all of the fluoride. Boiling water is a pain and doesn't remove much except bacteria and some of the chlorine.
To set up, you will need a brand new electric drip coffee pot, a cheap one will do fine. And you will need some pure charcoal, which is inexpensive and easily found at an aquarium shop. Be sure and get the pure stuff, there is a new product for filtering the fish tanks that contains plastics and is not good for this application. The large jar pictured here cost me $22. and will last a year. [For 3 people we use about 3 to 4 gallons a day.] And you will need a box of Borax for pre-treatment. Have a strainer handy, a coffee filter, a wooden spoon for stirring and some nice clean jugs for the finished water.
When your water comes into the pot it has gotten very hot, almost boiling, that has killed any germs living in the water. All of the chlorine should be gone and we hope most, if not all of the fluoride. Now, switch off the heat under the coffee pot and pour the water into a clean jug. I use 2 quart mason jars, works out just right for an eleven cup coffee pot. After the water cools a bit you may refrigerate it or just use it at room temp.
This water tastes very good and I use it in cooking and to make my ice. When I start a pot of soup or make some green tea it is nice to have a pot of hot water around too. Just replace your charcoal when the water doesn't taste as good as at the beginning. For us, about every 6-8 weeks.
And, one final thought, if you are worried about bathing in chlorine or fluoride there are options too. A tablespoon of vitamin C powder [plain old ascorbic acid] will take the chlorine out of your tub, then you can add a tablespoon of borax or even a half a cup to the bath tub. The fluoride will be gone and the borax will be a relaxing soak.
links: http://www.fluoridealert.org/
http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2009/02/10/thyroid-tidbit-fluoride-in-our-water-is-poison-to-our-thyroids/
That is a great idea! I love it!
ReplyDeleteI have a brita water filter. The kind that fits straight onto my faucet. How do you suggest I add the borax after it's been filtered?
ReplyDeleteWell, just start out with 1/8 tsp per quart. Remember borax will kill yeast and mold on contact so if you happen to have candida or some other yeasty critter growing in your body or intestinal tract it will kill it. That's good but.... it can cause gas and achy flu type symptoms for a while. If that happens just use a little bit in your water once or twice a day. Take heart, the filter is taking out some of the fluoride. Gradually work up to the full measure in your water if you like. Otherwise, you are doing yourself a favor by using the charcoal anyway.
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