XRe Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 My wife and I are in the habit of buying RO processed water from the grocery store by the gallon. Its cheaper than having the water delivered, and we keep putting off having our own RO installed in the kitchen for various reasons... All that doesn't really matter for what I'm asking about In the last batch of ten gallons that I bought, we've found at least three that are contaminated somehow. They bear the same lot number, and were apparently bottled in the same timeframe. Gallons that we have from the same lot, but bottled an hour or so later are seemingly unaffected. The water has a sweet-ish odor and a faintly sweet, metallic taste. It also leaves your mouth feeling strange, almost like its alkali in pH. I didn't end up drinking any, but my wife did before she realized it was messed up. It may have had a hand in making her ill for an evening. It wouldn't surprise me if its some sort of cleaning agent, but who knows... I've had some thoughts on what to do with the gallons we've found, so far, but I'm curious what you think. My feeling is that the store (its store brand water) needs to know. My concern is that they'll just sweep it under the rug (possibly intentionally, but more likely due to big corporation losing track of it), and someone else will drink this stuff and get sick. My wife seemingly has no lasting effects, and the three gallons cost less than $2, so we're not really worried about damages or anything like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chizzle Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 My wife and I are in the habit of buying RO processed water from the grocery store by the gallon. Its cheaper than having the water delivered, and we keep putting off having our own RO installed in the kitchen for various reasons... All that doesn't really matter for what I'm asking about In the last batch of ten gallons that I bought, we've found at least three that are contaminated somehow. They bear the same lot number, and were apparently bottled in the same timeframe. Gallons that we have from the same lot, but bottled an hour or so later are seemingly unaffected. The water has a sweet-ish odor and a faintly sweet, metallic taste. It also leaves your mouth feeling strange, almost like its alkali in pH. I didn't end up drinking any, but my wife did before she realized it was messed up. It may have had a hand in making her ill for an evening. It wouldn't surprise me if its some sort of cleaning agent, but who knows... I've had some thoughts on what to do with the gallons we've found, so far, but I'm curious what you think. My feeling is that the store (its store brand water) needs to know. My concern is that they'll just sweep it under the rug (possibly intentionally, but more likely due to big corporation losing track of it), and someone else will drink this stuff and get sick. My wife seemingly has no lasting effects, and the three gallons cost less than $2, so we're not really worried about damages or anything like that. I'm and industrial water chemist that deals with ultrapure water every day. Just because you purchased RO or distilled water, doesn't mean that it has any disinfectant (chlorine, ozone, etc.) left in it. The water you purchased may have had some microbiological growth in it, which made it taste funny, and could give you food poisoning if you ingested it. Most water chemists will recommend that you drink regular, hard water, because that's what most of the companies that sell "spring water" (i.e. Evian) are selling, plus if it comes from the city it should have residual disinfectant (chlorine, chloramines, etc.) that would help protect you from illness. As an added side benefit, you'd get some fluoride to help protect your teeth too. Bon Appetit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebg3 Posted April 6, 2009 Share Posted April 6, 2009 Yes, chlorine is your friend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted April 6, 2009 Author Share Posted April 6, 2009 This wasn't a food poisoning type of illness.... At least, not like any I've ever heard of... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dajarrel Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 You might contact the county board of health. Depending on the county you live in, some of them will actually investigate contaminated items. fwiw dj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uscbigdawg Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 Dave, I think I would just alert the store and leave it up to them to do the right thing. Do what you can control. After that, and while you said it's not part of the deal, I'd just instill at the very least a PUR filter in the house. Save up for the RO and all the filters you'll be buying. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin c Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 OK, sorry for the drift and call me ignorant, but what's RO stand for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XD Niner Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 I'm sorry to hear that you may have some bad water. Hopefully your wife is doing okay now and no serious harm was done. Not only is all the bottled water that you buy about 1000 times more expensive than tap water but there is essentially no regulation of its contents. On top of that the bottles then add to our refuse problem and have a much greater carbon footprint than public water supplies. Are you on a private well or have old lead plumbing that forces you to go to bottled water? If on the Austin public drinking water supply bottled water should not be necessary. Given that the contamination may (and probably has) occurred I recommend contacting both the store you purchased it from and the county health department. Don't return or dispose of the bottles that you think are bad until told to do so by the health department. They may want to test it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronEqualizer Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 OK, sorry for the drift and call me ignorant, but what's RO stand for? +1 I don't have a clue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L-10_shooter Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 OK, sorry for the drift and call me ignorant, but what's RO stand for? +1 I don't have a clue. +2 I am with those two wondering what the abreviation is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will Abrahams Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 im assuming reverse osmosis??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dajarrel Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 RO is indeed Reverse Osmosis. It is, simply put, a high pressure filter system that is very effective at removing salts and other impurities. Wikipeida Article on RO fwiw dj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulture Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 im assuming reverse osmosis??? Ding, ding, ding. we have a winner. City water is the safest bet because of all the regulations they have to adhere to, but it can have a chlorine taste, especially in the spring when water can taste funny. Home RO systems can eliminate all the bad taste and are good if you have well water. A regular water softener can help also. Bottled water or purchased water does not have any regulations to adhere to and often times bottled water is just from a particular city's public water system. So a person who may think they are getting water from the Rocky Mountians are actually getting it from New York City's public water system. Read the bottle closely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Smith Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 Digging into the way-back machine when I used to work in a chemistry lab... I hope you kept the water for testing as you should probably report. RO systems have to be back flushed and cleaned and filters changed on a regular schedule. Also, all batches need to be tested for contamination. Also all containers need to be tested for contamination. Sounds like one of these things didn't happen as it should. You can also purchase home chlorination kits. A small amount of chlorine added to purified water will help remove microorganisms. And after the water has been allowed to set for a day or two, the chlorine taste dissipates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Gaines Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 Waterboy Dave : ) Quick problem solver, Just change the brand of water that you get. notify the water company about the problem, not the store, they will just sweep under the rug. like you said. or buy yourself your own RO unit and be done with it Sean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lugnut Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 (edited) I'd report this to the store. I'm sure it's not anything really bad but the store should remove the lot to prevent others from getting sick. I have a well and my water, although potable, it doesn't taste good, it's hard and it's a tad acidic side. I use Poland Springs in the gallon jugs (the deliveries of the 5 gal jugs was outrageously expensive). I don't know why- but to me it the best tasting water out there- and VERY consistent. It's amazing to me how a "tasteless" liquid can vary in "taste" so much! Edited April 7, 2009 by lugnut Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted April 7, 2009 Author Share Posted April 7, 2009 City water is the safest bet because of all the regulations they have to adhere to, but it can have a chlorine taste, especially in the spring when water can taste funny. You haven't had our city water... Its so hard, you can chew it, and it tastes like baking soda water. So, we have a water softener, which eliminates the hardness, but just makes the flavor worse. Nope... not gonna drink the city water... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted April 7, 2009 Author Share Posted April 7, 2009 I use Poland Springs in the gallon jugs (the deliveries of the 5 gal jugs was outrageously expensive). Yeah, same for Ozarka locally. That's why we didn't go that route. We haven't put an RO in under the sink, yet, cause we keep talk about remodeling the kitchen, including new cabinets, so... we keep putting that one off... I don't know why- but to me it the best tasting water out there- and VERY consistent. It's amazing to me how a "tasteless" liquid can vary in "taste" so much! If it was just water... it wouldn't taste like anything... For the guys that actually answered the question, thanks Its store brand water, so telling the bottler is the same as telling the store, in this case... I'll probably go up there today... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Gaines Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 For the guys that actually answered the question, thanks Its store brand water, so telling the bottler is the same as telling the store, in this case... I'll probably go up there today... not if its making people sick, in this sue happy country that we live in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted April 7, 2009 Author Share Posted April 7, 2009 For the guys that actually answered the question, thanks Its store brand water, so telling the bottler is the same as telling the store, in this case... I'll probably go up there today... not if its making people sick, in this sue happy country that we live in. Eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritinUSA Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 I would tell the store and also send an email to the parent company. If there is a bad batch then they need to know, before a child or a person with weakened immune system drinks it and gets really ill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlamoShooter Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 (edited) hey Davy Take one of the unopened bottles and put it in a window that can get direct sunlight for most of the day. let the Sun do its thing to make any Bio. in the water bloom. if it has any- contaminate the water may turn green with allege in a few days. Keep it warm at night if the window gets cold. One old trick with city water is to send a sample to the county and tell them it is from your country home water well. a few friends did that years ago and got letters back special delivery telling them to stop using the well for all drinking and cooking. I had a friend When I lived in Austin years ago that knocked a glass of water out of my hands as I put it up to my lips, to keep me from taking a drink of tap water. It was at her house too. Said she had friends with very good microscopes. Edited April 7, 2009 by AlamoShooter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Gaines Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 For the guys that actually answered the question, thanks Its store brand water, so telling the bottler is the same as telling the store, in this case... I'll probably go up there today... not if its making people sick, in this sue happy country that we live in. Eh? I think if they knew thier product was causing people to get sick, they will act on it, so they don't get sued, they may issue a recall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimel Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 When you wrote 'sweet' and 'metallic' my first thought was glycol contamination. Some glycols can be ingested without issue but others, such as that used in antifreeze and will do a number on your kidneys. This didn't stop a few French wineries from putting it in wine a few years back which resulted in thousands of gallons of wine being dumped. Humans can handle some antifreeze ingestion but not a lot. Pets have exceedingly low tolerance. First Aid for either case is to get medical attention. Ethanol is often given either orally or by i.v. to counteract the antifreeze. DO NOT treat this at home in this way. Kidney damage is irreversible. Non-toxic glycols are commonly found in food service equipment as a coolant and RO pumps get hot so some glycol contamination isn't out of the range of possibilities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmyZip Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Polyethylene Glycol 3350 is a laxative. (Miralax) Grew up with great water, live close and work in a city that has been the winner of best public water 8 times. When I left home and taveled some I was totally in awe of how good our water here is. I find it wierd that so much of the water I have come accross is just foul. It may be safe and potable, but definitely not palletable. But the good thing is you don't have to carry it on your head for a mile, and there is enough to wash clothes and bathe in. Good luck with your water. Let us know what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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