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Water Filters, Bottle water, Tap water

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ortegah

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Oh and just food for thought, I did a test one time with a coworker's brita-type carbon based filter and the TDS levels were actually higher meaning more solids particles were in it than before.
 

JLcribber

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I had a test done on our local water a few years back.

They separated out the solid particles from the real water. In a large mayonnaise jar there was 3/4 of an inch of solid material in the bottom of the jar. I asked them what most of that stuff was. They said it was mostly undissolved toilet paper dog poo and street runoff. :eek: :eek:

City water systems do filter water to a point but mostly how they "clean" water is to add chemicals to neutralize bacteria and to neutralize other chemicals.

It's more of a chemical soup than clean water IMHO. :eek:
 

ortegah

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I had a test done on our local water a few years back.

They separated out the solid particles from the real water. In a large mayonnaise jar there was 3/4 of an inch of solid material in the bottom of the jar. I asked them what most of that stuff was. They said it was mostly undissolved toilet paper dog poo and street runoff. :eek: :eek:

City water systems do filter water to a point but mostly how they "clean" water is to add chemicals to neutralize bacteria and to neutralize other chemicals.

It's more of a chemical soup than clean water IMHO. :eek:
Isn't that just nasty? Our tap water has a really high TDS reading but I think that's due to not just the city water but old pipes as well.
 

Parrotlove

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Britta water for my birds after a frog I took home from work died in his water bowl with the tap. I wasn't sure that was the culprit but with how sensitive frogs are I wasn't taking any chances.
OMGosh thats awful but good thing you were being cautious. Wow I didnt realize how many preferances you all would tell me about but Im glad to hear each of them I had worried here til we had the whole house filter as there are so many water main breaks and the water was so brown at times. I didnt want to take any chances either. Thank you all for sharing with me. Hug's Barb and Isis
 

Parrotlove

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We use a Brita water pitcher. :)
I had a test done on our local water a few years back.

They separated out the solid particles from the real water. In a large mayonnaise jar there was 3/4 of an inch of solid material in the bottom of the jar. I asked them what most of that stuff was. They said it was mostly undissolved toilet paper dog poo and street runoff. :eek: :eek:

City water systems do filter water to a point but mostly how they "clean" water is to add chemicals to neutralize bacteria and to neutralize other chemicals.

It's more of a chemical soup than clean water IMHO. :eek:

:omg::omg::omg::omg: How on earth can they allow that. Uggg disgusting.. lol Glad you are not drinking that it would kill ya!!!!
 

Ranyart

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Bottled spring water here with a very shallow well.
 

waterfaller1

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RO water, for all of us.I have my own RO/DI unit with a double DI, and double carbon block. My coffee too & cooking.;)
 

Chicklette

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My tap water has a lot of chlorine in it, you can smell and taste it so for my birds and chinchillas I use distilled water mixed with filtered water, half distilled half filtered.

I drink distilled all the time, I go to this new place and it’s the best water ever. I just love it.
 

RandomWiktor

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I saw a mention or two about (100%, not mixed) distilled water and just wanted to say that it should NEVER be offered as a water source to a bird or most other animals. Distilled water lacks essential trace minerals and compared to your bird's body is a hypotonic solution. This means it is a double threat: it not only lacks the minerals the bird needs, but will cause minerals to be drawn from the bird's body when it is ingested since they travel from areas of higher concentrations to lower concentrations. There is also a risk of overhydration, though this would be rare unless you bird is already drinking an above average ammount of water. At any rate, if you are using distilled or r/o it is NOT a good ideal unless it is being remineralized. Larger birds may be less threatened by this but for small birds it could be quite devastating.

If you live in a location that uses chlorine, it should evaporate out pretty quickly. If you live in a location with chloramine, however, it will NOT dissapate naturally and can indeed be harmful to your birds depending on the concentration. It may be best to condition it in some way. If you have an (uncontaminated) well, your water is perfectly fine. Tap should always be tested periodically for ammonia, as this is sometimes present particularly in public water supplies.

Basically, know your water and know what's safe. Filtering shouldn't hurt but isn't crucial in most cases. If you use bottled, use spring, not distilled.
 
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trout

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Oh and just food for thought, I did a test one time with a coworker's brita-type carbon based filter and the TDS levels were actually higher meaning more solids particles were in it than before.
Right now I have the 2 stage Whirlpool filter, the one just below their RO setup, do you think there would be much of a difference?
 

Thugluvgrl187

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Squeeky only gets bottled water.
 

ortegah

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Right now I have the 2 stage Whirlpool filter, the one just below their RO setup, do you think there would be much of a difference?
Sounds like it's a sediment filter. Yes it should help strip out chlorine and some particles. It's definitely better than just tap in my opinion.
 
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