Coronavirus Concern Up

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wyoDreamer

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We have high iron and very hard water at our place. The water is a slightly yellow color. We have installed an iron filter, which helped alot, and we had a water softener that died about the time the iron filter was installed. DH decided that the iron filter was all we need - wrong. Now the shower head is clogging up, there is water spots on the dishes, all the animal water bowls get slimey. So he added a reverse-osmosis filter for drinking water - that works great, but it does not make enough water fast enough for using for canning. I buy water for $0.38 per gallon at the store, just bring in the empty jug and refill at their reverse osmosis filter. I like to keep 3 gallons on hand for cooking and other needs.
 

CrealCritter

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We have high iron and very hard water at our place. The water is a slightly yellow color. We have installed an iron filter, which helped alot, and we had a water softener that died about the time the iron filter was installed. DH decided that the iron filter was all we need - wrong. Now the shower head is clogging up, there is water spots on the dishes, all the animal water bowls get slimey. So he added a reverse-osmosis filter for drinking water - that works great, but it does not make enough water fast enough for using for canning. I buy water for $0.38 per gallon at the store, just bring in the empty jug and refill at their reverse osmosis filter. I like to keep 3 gallons on hand for cooking and other needs.

Distilled water is about the purest you can get, next to RO.
 

CrealCritter

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I'm only guessing here, but thinking that distillation would use more energy $$ than it would cost to buy water.
Drinking (RO), Spring & Distilled are all .89 at Walmart. I know because I used to use all three for brewing and wine making. Before I figured out how to get my city water free of chloramine and excessive limestone.

I still mix my sanitizer (starsan) with distilled water or else limestone collects in the bottom of the container I mix it in.

I recommend spring water to ferment with Distilled has very little oxygen which bacteria need to reproduce. Or you could use distilled but you will need it oxygenate it prior to inoculating. Distilled water works but it also lacks nutrients needed for a healthy fermention, this the end result is a flat tasting beer, wine, kraut, etc...

Same applies to RO water but you don't need to oxygenate it. RO water with additions is the quote unquote standard for homebrewing. That's why you'll see so many recipes with chemical additions. Brewers call these chemicals (brewing salts) but in reality they are chemical compounds in liquid or dry form. Meant to replace minerals and compounds in the right quantities what the RO filters removed.

Of course if you can get your hands on good well water that would be preferable. But in all honesty, well water is a crapshoot nowadays. Pollution has ruined a lot of, if not most wells in the lower 48 and in other countries around the world. Who would have thought people would pay a dollar for a 16oz plastic bottle of drinking water?
 
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wyoDreamer

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The well water at my parents house was really good - just enough minerals to taste good and no dis-coloration.
They live about 40 mile north of our place.
Here, we are surrounded by swamps and just about 12 miles away is the bay of Green Bay.
 

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if you are drinking RO or distilled water you should be making sure you are getting your minerals via your diet.

we have well water here which is good enough for me, but Mom hates the iron staining her white porcelain sinks and toilets and clothes. me, i don't care, i'd just put in rust colored tile and fixtures and call it good enough...
 

baymule

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I’m putting in a big garden this year. I have tomato plants to set out in April, lettuce plants ready to set out now. I planted beets a few days ago, I love me some pickled beets! I planted mustard greens today and will plant English peas tomorrow. I planted eggplant seed and Cubanelle Pepper seed yesterday. Got a lot more to plant! When the cool weather early spring plants wither in the heat, I’ll start on round two with corn and purple hull peas. Not to mention the buckets of wheat berries, beans, rice and oatmeal I have. A freezer full of meat and we are good. Now about that toilet paper.........
 
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