Tapwater, or bottled water?

[joqua]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

I went through so many Mr. Coffee machines that I gave up......

I was having the same result with the espresso machines that I use until I wised up and began buying the gallon jugs of "distilled" water that Walmart sells. An espresso machine is essentially a "steam distillation" process, which means all the dissolved solids in the water (if there are any) form scale in the machine unless purified water is used. I used to have to use a descaling product regularly to keep it operable.

My current brew machine has been in service for at least five years now and never been de-scaled once.

Also, I see the supplier label on the bottles I now have (plastic gallon jugs) is from a different supplier than last time I looked. Now the label reads:

Source: Municipal supply, Ft. Worth, TX.
Processed by: Steam Distillation, carbon filtration, reverse osmosis, ultraviolet treatment, microfiltration, ozonation.

? I wonder why the steam distillation isn't sufficient? Can't believe they would use all those processes at the same time?

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by joqua

...
My current brew machine has been in service for at least five years now and never been de-scaled once.

Also, I see the supplier label on the bottles I now have (plastic gallon jugs) is from a different supplier than last time I looked. Now the label reads:

Source: Municipal supply, Ft. Worth, TX.
Processed by: Steam Distillation, carbon filtration, reverse osmosis, ultraviolet treatment, microfiltration, ozonation.

? I wonder why the steam distillation isn't sufficient? Can't believe they would use all those processes at the same time?

I guess they either want to cover all the bases...or it's required.

I notice now that the little Hotshot does not have hard water deposits with just the Culligan water.

The hardest water I've ever seen has been Alamogordo's. I ain't NEVER seen water that hard. I put the dog's stainless steel water bowl outside the first morning. By night, the bowl was dry, with white deposits--ONE day.

I used that same bowl in Midland for years without that happening.

Alpine house is plumbed for water softener, though I may never add it. It's cheap to put in during construction, but very expensive to add later.

I found that out up here. It was expensive to the point that I didn't have it done.

[joqua]

Originally Posted by Cathy4017

I guess they either want to cover all the bases...or it's required.

I am thinking the order of processing on the label is wrong, and steam distillation is the final step after the water has been processed as much as possible to purify it before distillation.

[Trainwreck20]

Processed by: Steam Distillation, carbon filtration, reverse osmosis, ultraviolet treatment, microfiltration, ozonation.

I suspect that they mean it is subject to one or more of those steps, not necessarily all of them.

ultraviolet and ozonation serve similar functions, as does reverse osmossis and microfiltration. Carbon filtration is the only one that would get many volatile organics, whereas steam distillation would remove almost all non-volatile species.

[UTHORNS96]

I knew everybody says that bottled water is no different than tap water. But my taste buds tell me different. Personally, I think a filter pitcher is the way to go to save money. But the best I've has is from a five gallon Culligan jug.

[War Beagle]

Originally Posted by UTHORNS96

I knew everybody says that bottled water is no different than tap water. But my taste buds tell me different. Personally, I think a filter pitcher is the way to go to save money. But the best I've has is from a five gallon Culligan jug.

It is different than what comes from the tap, since it is filtered or distilled. It's more accurate to say that it WAS tap water rather than IS tap water.

[Cathy4017]

I picked up one of the new little Brita bottles at Walmart this morning.

Navy Filter Water Bottle & Squeeze Water Bottle | Brita Filters

MEH.

It's OK, but Culligan/Primo/RO water still tastes FAR better.

[John26]

Bottled water is a waste of money and a waste of plastic.

If your tap water tastes bad then just get a home filter and store water in reusable containers in the fridge or some 5 gallon reusable cans outside of the fridge.

[L210]

I don't drink San Antonio's tap water straight from the faucet, but I use it for cooking and cleaning. I used to have one of those Brita faucet filters. I forgot what brand it was, but I didn't like the pitcher filter one of my family members had. The little carbon pieces that get into the water turned me off. Algae kept growing on the filter too. I buy bottled water or I'll fill my 2 gallon jug at one of those machines.