6 ms·

Is there food safe plastics that don’t leach microplastics? My RO filter uses plastic tubing, I imagine within the filters themselves there’s plastic

ta988 2y ago
Not all plastics are equal. Some really don't leach much of anything in their normal use. The main source of microplastics in water bottles isn't the bottle that's the filters (and the residual amount in the bottle is pretty astonishing)
franckl 2y ago
Fyi you can get a stainless steel under sink RO system for less than 200usd on amazon, no plastic piping either.
- op00to 2y ago
  Do the filters introduce microplastics?
  - dandandan 2y ago
    https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0043135423013854 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00431...
- Dig1t 2y ago
  Mind dropping a link? I'm searching and not finding anything without plastic tubing.
- labawi 2y ago
  I would be wary of using a stainless steel RO system. Extremely pure water tends to leach more. You may avoid a bit of plastic in exchange for heavy metals. Stainless steel tends to be 10% Nickel, 10% Chromium, which are bad and worse for you. If you do so, I would recommend getting the water tested. Otherwise I would recommend a good plastic RO system. One where the plastic doesn't leach loads of harmful plasticizers.
JackMorgan 2y ago
This is why I switched to a countertop electric water still. It boils a gallon of water in a few hours, then I just refill and plug it back in. The water tastes great too.
- itishappy 2y ago
  What happens to all the tasty tasty minerals?
- Ferret7446 2y ago
  That sounds potentially dangerous? Distilled water lacks electrolytes, so you shouldn't drink in large quantities. (And your comment on taste is interesting. Distilled water doesn't taste like anything (except possibly slight tingling if it "burns" your tongue), which is why minerals are often added to drinking water to make it taste "good")
  - JackMorgan 2y ago
    The best numbers I'm seeing for calcium and magnesium indicate that it's only about 10% daily recommended dose in 2L of tap water. I'm pretty confident I'm eating enough veggies to make up for that loss. Also I'm a salt fiend so I get plenty of that from my food. I find the water from my still tastes actually really good. It's silky smooth, nothing like distilled water that's been sitting in a gross plastic jug for weeks. So I'm not at all concerned there is any risk at all.
    - Ferret7446 2y ago
      > The best numbers I'm seeing for calcium and magnesium indicate that it's only about 10% daily recommended dose in 2L of tap water. I'm pretty confident I'm eating enough veggies to make up for that loss. Also I'm a salt fiend so I get plenty of that from my food. It's not about nutritional intake, but the acute effects of ingesting it. If you put cells in distilled water, the cells absorb water due to osmosis and rupture. There may be some minor risk of chronic damage accumulated to the upper digestive tract (though I'm not an expert). > I find the water from my still tastes actually really good. It's silky smooth, nothing like distilled water that's been sitting in a gross plastic jug for weeks. Does it actually taste, or do you just enjoy not having a taste? If it has a taste, it is not entirely distilled; there are residual minerals and substances in it (which negate the potential risks of drinking it, at least from the previous point). However, that kind of defeats the "distilled" aspect of it...
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
FuriouslyAdrift 2y ago
Microsplastics mostly come from paint and clothing. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/09/how-to-reduce-microplastics-from-paint/ https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/09/how-to-reduce-micropl... https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/fashions-tiny-hidden-secret https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/fashions-tiny-hi...

ta988 2y ago

Not all plastics are equal. Some really don't leach much of anything in their normal use. The main source of microplastics in water bottles isn't the bottle that's the filters (and the residual amount in the bottle is pretty astonishing)

franckl 2y ago

Fyi you can get a stainless steel under sink RO system for less than 200usd on amazon, no plastic piping either.

op00to 2y ago
Do the filters introduce microplastics?
- dandandan 2y ago
  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0043135423013854 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00431...
Dig1t 2y ago
Mind dropping a link? I'm searching and not finding anything without plastic tubing.
labawi 2y ago
I would be wary of using a stainless steel RO system. Extremely pure water tends to leach more. You may avoid a bit of plastic in exchange for heavy metals. Stainless steel tends to be 10% Nickel, 10% Chromium, which are bad and worse for you. If you do so, I would recommend getting the water tested. Otherwise I would recommend a good plastic RO system. One where the plastic doesn't leach loads of harmful plasticizers.

JackMorgan 2y ago

This is why I switched to a countertop electric water still. It boils a gallon of water in a few hours, then I just refill and plug it back in. The water tastes great too.

itishappy 2y ago
What happens to all the tasty tasty minerals?
Ferret7446 2y ago
That sounds potentially dangerous? Distilled water lacks electrolytes, so you shouldn't drink in large quantities. (And your comment on taste is interesting. Distilled water doesn't taste like anything (except possibly slight tingling if it "burns" your tongue), which is why minerals are often added to drinking water to make it taste "good")
- JackMorgan 2y ago
  The best numbers I'm seeing for calcium and magnesium indicate that it's only about 10% daily recommended dose in 2L of tap water. I'm pretty confident I'm eating enough veggies to make up for that loss. Also I'm a salt fiend so I get plenty of that from my food. I find the water from my still tastes actually really good. It's silky smooth, nothing like distilled water that's been sitting in a gross plastic jug for weeks. So I'm not at all concerned there is any risk at all.
  - Ferret7446 2y ago
    > The best numbers I'm seeing for calcium and magnesium indicate that it's only about 10% daily recommended dose in 2L of tap water. I'm pretty confident I'm eating enough veggies to make up for that loss. Also I'm a salt fiend so I get plenty of that from my food. It's not about nutritional intake, but the acute effects of ingesting it. If you put cells in distilled water, the cells absorb water due to osmosis and rupture. There may be some minor risk of chronic damage accumulated to the upper digestive tract (though I'm not an expert). > I find the water from my still tastes actually really good. It's silky smooth, nothing like distilled water that's been sitting in a gross plastic jug for weeks. Does it actually taste, or do you just enjoy not having a taste? If it has a taste, it is not entirely distilled; there are residual minerals and substances in it (which negate the potential risks of drinking it, at least from the previous point). However, that kind of defeats the "distilled" aspect of it...

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

FuriouslyAdrift 2y ago

Microsplastics mostly come from paint and clothing. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/09/how-to-reduce-microplastics-from-paint/ https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/09/how-to-reduce-micropl... https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/fashions-tiny-hidden-secret https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/fashions-tiny-hi...