4 ms·

I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet, but microplastics aren't only in our fish but it's also in American tap water. There is no water filter that I kn

I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet, but microplastics aren't only in our fish but it's also in American tap water. There is no water filter that I know of available to the consumer public that is fine enough to filter out microplastics of under 3 microns or something like that. As some commenters have mentioned, these microplastics come from laundry, and more. I'm currently working on developing disposable pads that are safe with a national Toms one for one model. Current pads and tampons from major brands are made with cotton that can have dioxin as a byproduct from the bleaching process, as well as rayon. Tiny pieces of rayon can get stuck and lead to complications like BVI, bacterial vaginosis. If a tampon can lead to health issues because of the plastic that can disintegrate in her body - I'm kind of really scared about what other type of damage microplastics in our drinking water can do. I mean we already have pictures of what it does to fish. What do microplastics do to the human body? This is one of the things where I wish I was wrong, so if anyone can educate me on how this is an irrational anxiety, I'd appreciate it!

rsync 8y ago
"There is no water filter that I know of available to the consumer public that is fine enough to filter out microplastics of under 3 microns or something like that." Common, uninteresting point-of-use filters are .5 microns.[1] Very inexpensive (the tap and the filter) and easy to add to your existing sink as a second tap. They don't have the flow rate required for a whole house filter, but you can find high flow filters as fine as 5 microns. A whole house 5 micron chained to a .5 micron drinking tap is a pretty bulletproof filtration chain ... [1] https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/all-3m-products/~/3M-Replacement-Cartridge-Original-CUNO-8000-Series-Model-CFS8812ELX-S-5601107/?N=5002385+3291876016&rt=rud https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/all-3m-products/~/3M-...
- antisthenes 8y ago
  Wow, is there anything 3M doesn't make?
annamargot 8y ago
I bought a 5-stage RO (reverse osmosis) filter on Amazon. This review of my filter [1] says the RO stage filters down to .0001 microns. "Stage four is a high quality .0001 micron reverse osmosis membrane. This is where most of the hazardous contaminants such as arsenic, lead, and barium are removed." Does this mean I'm safe from microplastics? [1] http://www.yourwaterfilterguide.com/apec-roes-50-review/ http://www.yourwaterfilterguide.com/apec-roes-50-review/
- annamargot 8y ago
  Update from Manufacturer. I emailed them earlier. Here’s their response: “Thank you for contacting APEC Water Systems and I am happy to help! We aren't for sure if it does remove plastic fibers as the presence have not yet been studied, but since the plastic in water is larger then atomical size the RO membrane should remove it due its 0.0001 micron filter.”
apta 8y ago
> but microplastics aren't only in our fish but it's also in American tap water What about Canada and Europe?

rsync 8y ago

"There is no water filter that I know of available to the consumer public that is fine enough to filter out microplastics of under 3 microns or something like that." Common, uninteresting point-of-use filters are .5 microns.[1] Very inexpensive (the tap and the filter) and easy to add to your existing sink as a second tap. They don't have the flow rate required for a whole house filter, but you can find high flow filters as fine as 5 microns. A whole house 5 micron chained to a .5 micron drinking tap is a pretty bulletproof filtration chain ... [1] https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/all-3m-products/~/3M-Replacement-Cartridge-Original-CUNO-8000-Series-Model-CFS8812ELX-S-5601107/?N=5002385+3291876016&rt=rud https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/all-3m-products/~/3M-...

antisthenes 8y ago
Wow, is there anything 3M doesn't make?

annamargot 8y ago

I bought a 5-stage RO (reverse osmosis) filter on Amazon. This review of my filter [1] says the RO stage filters down to .0001 microns. "Stage four is a high quality .0001 micron reverse osmosis membrane. This is where most of the hazardous contaminants such as arsenic, lead, and barium are removed." Does this mean I'm safe from microplastics? [1] http://www.yourwaterfilterguide.com/apec-roes-50-review/ http://www.yourwaterfilterguide.com/apec-roes-50-review/

annamargot 8y ago
Update from Manufacturer. I emailed them earlier. Here’s their response: “Thank you for contacting APEC Water Systems and I am happy to help! We aren't for sure if it does remove plastic fibers as the presence have not yet been studied, but since the plastic in water is larger then atomical size the RO membrane should remove it due its 0.0001 micron filter.”

apta 8y ago

> but microplastics aren't only in our fish but it's also in American tap water What about Canada and Europe?