Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with water

Health and weight effects of medicine metabolites in water?

mintchip — Sat, 18 May 2013 12:12:59 -0800

I'm aware that there are metabolites of the many various medicines that people take in the water supply in many US cities and towns. What are the health effects of this (known or theoretical)? Has drug residue/metabolites ever been linked to weight gain in humans? How can it be removed from the water (is reverse osmosis the only way)?

Icky karma germs in the ocean?

remlapm — Fri, 10 May 2013 21:27:31 -0800

Yesterday the body of a surfer was found naked and nibbled by sharks at my daily surf spot. While surfing today in the exact vicinity I couldn't shake the feeling parts of his body, both physically and meta-physically were still 'there'. Have one science and one karma question about this: This is in San Diego, tourmaline/pacific beach. The details are tragic. He was found nude nibbled by sharks and his board (with his wetsuit tied around it) found earlier. All signs point to suicide....or something.

I surf this spot regularly, almost daily, but today I couldn't shake the feeling I was paddling around in contaminated water.

So:

1- I have a pretty good grasp of water, tides and how dropping a cup of water gets eventually dispersed in the pacific ocean. What, realistically, we're my chances of encountering some of his remains?

2 - my daily surfing spot feels somewhat tainted. I don't really believe in mojo, but I don't feel right surfing where a man died. How do you come to enjoy a space where something terrible happened?

My corn plant is pissed and I don't know what's wrong ...

kthxbi — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 18:15:32 -0800

What's wrong with my corn plant? The tips are all burnt and dead. I definitely do not over-water it ever since this happened - am I simply under-watering it? Here are some pictures I took. I cut all the dead ends off - should I not have?

Based on past questions around corn plants, I thought there were supposed to stay realllllly dry. But I'm worried mine are ... too dry. They sit in direct* sunlight.

* or about as direct as you can get in Seattle

My brooklyn tub won't drain and now brown water is coming up!

Unred — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 10:05:19 -0800

I live on the top floor of an old apartment building and my shower stopped draining the other day. After trying drano, I upgraded to Pequa last night and its not working. Or it seems like its working, and then it stops. Before, some brownish water came up before it went down. But now that I've poured the last of the Pequa down the drain some really dark rusty water has come up. Is this a good sign? And if I let it sit for an hour or two and flush with warm water I'll be saved? Or do I have to deal with my inept landlord? (Which I'm trying to avoid)

Down the drain

corn_bread — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 15:34:49 -0800

For 6 weeks, due to a broken septic tank, we have been unable to put any water at all down our drains. This has involved driving to the gas station/grocery store/town park/etc every time we had to go to the bathroom. It has meant keeping buckets in all of our sinks for tooth brushing/dish washing/etc that we have to empty in our driveway whenever they fill up. It has meant either showering at the pool or, if in a rush, stopping up the drain in the bath tub and showering before work and then bucketing out the water when returning home. It has basically been like living in a 250k tent with climate control and real beds. On Monday (purportedly) it will finally be fixed. We want to have a big, water-usage themed party (sorry, environment) to celebrate this miraculous victory. Please help with suggestions. Some ideas for the party so far: slip & slide, alcohol shot ice block luge, spicy food that makes you shit a lot (we're thinking of having Taco Bell cater). We would love more ideas, because we want to make this EPIC.

Sweat -- do I have to wash it off (besides for smell purposes)?

defmute — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 01:48:28 -0800

I've been looking for info on showering/bathing in relation to sweating and whether it's sanitary or not. I can only seem to find articles that basically say "yeah, you need to shower cause you'll smell" but can't find anything that confirms whether or not it's actually sanitary or not e.g. infections. What do ya'll think/know? PS - I understand that many of you posting will most likely not be doctors.

Why am I dehydrated?

martinrebas — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 10:07:06 -0800

The last few years it seems I've had to drink more water to stay hydrated; I drink, on average, 3.5 liters a day (0.92 gallons), more if I exercise, and still I'll wake up with a mild headache and mild nausea from dehydration about two days a week. I've tried to look up what a normal level of water intake is; the general advice seems to be "drink when you're thirsty", with a large variation in recommendations, but typically between 1 and 3 liters a day. So why am I dehydrated?

I don't live in a hot climate, I'm not taking any medication, I hardly ever drink anything else than water, and my fasting blood sugar is in the (upper) normal range. Any ideas?

Identify this poem by W.H. Auden please

zresearch — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 10:42:03 -0800

Can you name (and ideally link to) this poem by Auden - the only thing I remember is that the theme is that he is imagining a civilization (or a city?) built out of water (there's a line which goes something like "If I could create a civilization, I'd make it out of water...).

Auden uses water metaphors a lot in his poems so my google-fu is failing me.

Thanks very much for any tips!

Keep Water Off My Bathroom Counter

ShooBoo — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 12:17:24 -0800

The counter for my bathroom sink sits below the level of the counter (picture). When the water is turned off, or the soap dispenser used, water dripping off hands gets all over the counter and eventually runs to the edge of the counter onto the floor. I want this to stop. The fix for the faucet is to find a new faucet. But I'm not sure what to do about the soap dispenser. Ideally, I can find a tray to put the soap dispenser on, with a height above the sink and a channel to drain any dripping water into the sink. I could make one out of tile, but I'd rather not if there's something out there already.

One option is an automatic soap dispenser (since it extends over the sink), but my preference would be to use the manual dispenser I already have.

Any other suggestions? Thanks.

(This will likely solve the problem with the faucet. That faucet extends over the sink and the spout tilt downs so any water that drips on it will run into the sink.)

But Honey, Its Just Too Hard!

WalkerWestridge — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 20:03:49 -0800

I'd like to hear from people who have installed water softeners in their homes. What are the pros and cons, the prices, and the life expectancy of a whole house system? I'm not on a well. I have municipal water so would be most interested in answers from people who are also on municipal water. The other big concern I have is that I have an allergy to salt (yes i do) and wonder if the salt softened water would bother me. I can't get clean dishes at my house. Everything ends up coated in a white film. My old (it wasn't even all that old) dishwasher broke and we replaced it with a brand new dishwasher but the problem persists so its not the dishwasher itself. Also our laundry never feels clean or fresh. Our clothes look grey and dingy and worn out. Our municipal water comes from a lake carved out of limestone and is very hard.
My husband is leery of installing a softening system. He is under the impression they don't make much of a difference and are SUPER expensive. I have tried googling and cant find much information on the cost of installation and maintenance. I have heard that water softeners extend the life of your appliances like dishwashers and clothes washers as well as improve the life of your clothes.
I think I could convince my husband to get the water softening system but I am concerned about my salt allergy. I get a rash from ocean water. I never thought much of that until I used a salt crystal body scrub and my whole body swelled up with burning red wheals. Also I sometimes get hives after a really sweaty work out. Salt and I do not get along. Is the water coming out of the softener really very salty? Anybody have any ideas about how to check my tolerance of it BEFORE getting the whole system installed?

Any info much appreciated!

Mildewy water from faucets for a few seconds?

shivohum — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 17:01:17 -0800

The water from all the faucets in my apartment (bathroom and kitchen) smells and tastes mildewy for about a few seconds after they're turned on. It's then fine unless the faucets are left off for more than an hour or two and then they must be run for a few seconds again. Any fixes? This has been going on for several months now.

Ack! Help me figure out what kind of water to drink at home.

semacd — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 12:57:21 -0800

I am totally overwhelmed trying to figure out what water (tap, bottled, filter, RO, etc.) to drink at home at this point. Can you help? Goals (in order of importance): water that is safe, tastes good (or neutral), affordable, and convenient. (Am I missing anything important)?

We are relatively paranoid types living in DC with a small daughter. Safety (i.e. removes as many dangerous chemicals etc. as possible) is very important to us and we don't trust DC WASA. We also don't like the taste of DC tap water - there is a lot of chlorine. We used a Pur filter for years but found it annoying (and we don't think it removes lead). We switched to Deer Park's BPA-free bottles, but they are expensive and a babyproofing hazard (our daughter could easily knock over the stand/bottle).

So now we're thinking of installing a reverse osmosis under sink system. But (1) they're expensive, (2) I hear they are incredibly inefficient (therefore, negative for environmental impact and negative for water bill costs) and (3) I've heard they remove some beneficial minerals(magnesium? floride?*) and (4) I'm totally utterly overwhelmed trying to find a good, reliable RO filter.

So. Do you have any insight re what sort of water would best meet our needs? And if it's an undersink RO system, do you have any recent product recommendations?

Thank you!

*I heard floride may no longer be considered a benefit. (Am overwhelmed to hear this too.)

No need for matching linens

kittensofthenight — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 19:21:25 -0800

Looking for a pretty, small, old, and inexpensive hotel within a short drive (up to 4 hours) of Seattle. I was looking for a hotel within a short walking or driving (not hiking) distance from hot springs, but none of the options (Bonneville, Sol Duc) looked right- a little swanky and institutional. Hot springs would be great, but now I'm just looking for a small hotel outside of a city, preferably by water, that has a quirky vibe, maybe an old hippie thing going on. Anywhere in western washington or northern oregon would be fine, I'm simply do not have very much experience with travel sites. I have previously looked for lodging based solely on price, rather than... the ambience. For me, inexpensive means ~120 a night for two adults.

Any recommendations?

Do diamonds erode?

lain — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 14:53:42 -0800

My girlfriend says if water is constantly flowing over a diamond eventually it will break down and apart. I say that because diamonds are harder than anything that might be in water, they are immune to such erosion and weathering. She says that's idiotic, and BOY does that grind my gears! What do you think, green?

How bad is that rumbling pipe?

M Edward — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 14:15:01 -0800

I got a water softener and when it goes into recharge mode it drains all the water from my water heater. This happens about once a week and it causes the water heater to try and fill. Of course as there is no water being provided this just means it is sucking air. The pulling of air is so violent that it shakes the intake pipes and creates a thundering racket. I can see the straps that secure the pipes into place have been jerked out of the wall due to the commotion and I am a little worried this might be really bad.

Is this violent shaking going to eventually rip the pipes off the water heater and create a huge mess or are pipes meant to take a decent amount of movement?

Basically is this something I can ignore or should I be getting a plumber ASAP to install something with some give in it?

Whitewater rafting in West Virginia

Huron90 — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 08:23:21 -0800

Does anyone have a recommendation for white water rafting excursions in West Virginia. Planning for the upcoming summer, with 2 parents and 4 teens, all beginners, but thrill seekers.

H2O + CO2 = Solid?

bitteroldman — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 12:18:22 -0800

What's that white, soluble solid coming out of my SodaStream's nozzle while I carbonate? Hi - I've noticed that while carbonating cold water using my SodaStream, a white solid appears near the nozzle and releases into the water.

It dissolves rather quickly - we're talking about a 1-cm piece in about 1L of water.

My chemistry is pretty horrid, but even Google doesn't help if I try to see what solids are created when combining CO2 and H2O --> unless of course H2CO3 can be a solid under these conditions, temporarily...

Could it be dishwashing soap remnants?

More details:
- We only use refrigerated, filtered water (i.e. from those Brita thingees)
- We make it really fizzy
- We carbonate by pushing down and holding the valve open throughout the carbonation process, instead of in short bursts - this is in accordance with the instructions.

Help me MeFi ! I'm intrigued and thirsty!

How do I remove white stains from driver side car window and mirror?

Frank Grimes — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 15:02:30 -0800

How do I remove white stains from driver side car window and mirror? I bought a used 2010 Toyota Camry and failed to notice a slight whitish discoloration on the driver side window and side view mirror. In the wrong light, it makes seeing out the side mirror difficult. I have tried Windex, vinegar, and Goo Gone without any luck. I even tried soaking newspaper in vinegar and pasting it on the windows for half a day, as recommended here.

The previous owner of the car lived in Florida and I've read that sprinkler systems and other water sources can leave behind water stains or mineral deposits on windows. Because the stains are on the side view mirror and the driver window, I assume the stains are on the outside.

What product(s) or methods can I use to remove these stains or mineral deposits?

(I've seen this question and mine does not seem to be from outgassing or the heater core.)

How to make the softest, most chewable ice

rachaelfaith — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 06:08:18 -0800

How do I make the softest, cloudiest, most chewable ice at home? My boyfriend is a habitual ice-chewer. I know about the health associations like anemia and tooth enamel damage; let's not get into that. He's going to chew it anyway.

Places like Sonic make great ice, according to ice-chewers, and it seems like ice that has the most air bubbles in it makes soft, cloudy, easily-chewed ice rather than super-clear, glassy, fancy bar/restaurant cubes.

What should I do to make this stuff at home? I have ice trays with smaller, rounded-edge cubes rather than big cubes, for starters. I considered:

1. Filling them, freezing half-way, poking at the thinly formed ice to break it up and then letting it refreeze.

2. Filling a larger container with water, freezing partway, shaking, pouring icy mixture into trays, then letting them freeze.

3. Using sparkling water (has more bubbles naturally- maybe that would work?)

I'd love input on which of these methods, or some other method, would likely yield the best results. This is part of his Valentine's Day gift- I'd like to have a whole stockpile of ice already made for him when he comes over next Thursday, so I'd like to start making trays of nice, soft ice sooner than later.

Bonus points for simplest methods, so I can continue to do this on a regular basis.

Thanks!

How to thicken liquid, namely water or milk.

phaedon — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 17:06:14 -0800

Looking for suggestions on how to thicken liquid, namely water or milk, for the purposes of photography. Could somebody please suggest to me a thickening additive that would give liquids like water or milk the consistency of say, maple syrup. The only parameters here is that it cannot change the color of the original liquid, and it has to be safe for human skin - and non-harmful if small amounts touch the mouth or are accidentally ingested.

I googled and found something called "guar gum" and if anyone has any experience with that, please let me know. Any and all suggestions welcome.

Did I just ruin my pizza stone?

man down under — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 15:19:23 -0800

Did I just ruin my pizza stone? I washed it in water and was then told that was a big no-no...so how bad is it and is there a way to recover from it? Any other pizza stone cleaning/storage tips would be appreciated!

Water Alarm System For Crawlspace

shew — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 17:12:20 -0800

I'm looking for a water detection system with a wireless alarm. I've found lots of wireless detection alarm systems but most appear to place the unit that makes the alarm noise on or near the unit that is detecting the water.

For me, the best use of this type of system is in the crawlspace where 1) I don't frequent too often and 2) any leak that happens will go undetected the longest and end up costing the most money. I'd like to set up the water detectors in the crawlspace (couple of places) and have the alarm on the ground level of my home.

Do such systems exist? I found this system on Amazon but it didn't get too hot of reviews and I'm wondering if the home-improvement hive can direct me to a better system.

I don't want to bleach the state land, thanks.

Nattie — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 17:46:17 -0800

We recently moved to a new house and our washing machine hook-up does not drain properly. Instead of fixing it, our landlord keeps being pushy about how we should just drain it into the state land behind the house. We're in La Crescenta, CA. My husband and I have told our landlord multiple times now that draining onto the state land is unacceptable to us, but when we do this, the landlord gives us some vague platitude about fixing the drain sometime in the future, which has yet to materialize. He's had about a month to do this, and we've been in contact with him every four days or so, so we've heard this "sometime soon" excuse many times now and never thought it would go on this long.

This is getting ridiculous, and I am irritated that we were told the house had working washer and dryer hook-ups when it essentially doesn't and the landlord has had a month to fix this and hasn't.

We have gotten more forceful and unsympathetic when he gives us the vague reply, so we don't need help asserting ourselves. What I do want is some concrete information about the following so we can tell him very clearly what the laws are. I'm not sure he actually does know what the laws are, so that would be important -- we had to buy our own carbon monoxide detector even though the law says the landlord has to provide one -- but there's also the possibility that he does know the laws and hopes we don't.

1. What is the law in California about draining washer machine water onto state land? I would guess this is illegal, and we don't want to do it regardless, but if it were illegal it would be an easier conversation. And if he continues to insist we do something illegal, it might make it easier to break our lease if necessary.

2. What recourse do we have for being told that there are working washer and dryer hook-ups when the washer hook-up doesn't work? What rights do tenants have when a landlord lies (whether he considers it a lie or not) about these things? I am considering asking for money off our rent for the month (months? ugh) we're unable to do laundry but if this doesn't get fixed I don't want to pay the price we're paying to live here. We specifically wanted a place where we could use our washer and dryer and if I had known we couldn't, I wouldn't have even looked at this place.

I don't think our landlord is intentionally being sleazy, he's just very old, losing his memory and health, and it seems to make him flaky and unable to manage his properties effectively. We're sympathetic to him as a person and don't think he's a bad guy, but he definitely does not seem to have accepted that he can't do things he used to do by himself. He will talk about his failing health so he's aware, sort of, but does not actually hire people to fix the problems and keeps trying to do stuff he says he used to do. It's also frankly starting to feel manipulative and unprofessional when we ask him to fix something and get a sob story instead of action. It doesn't seem reasonable for him to expect us to just go without laundry for months because he can't manage his properties anymore, but this is going to be a very awkward conversation and I don't want to get into anything contentious so early into the relationship with this guy. He's very nice, he just doesn't do his job and wants us to take shortcuts that we feel are absurd. If we could keep the conversation purely on "this is the law, comply with the law or we will take these legal actions" at least we'll get a resolution (either it's fixed, or we leave) and not a deflection.

Thanks for any information!

How to keep animal's water from freezing in winter without electricity?

cda — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 07:16:01 -0800

I'd like to heat up a rock or piece of metal to drop in my chicken's water source to warm it up. What should I use? I cut a whole in a large insulated water storage container. I put a ceramic plate inside on the bottom so I could drop something hot in the water and not burn the plastic. What should I heat up and how should I heat it up?

I suppose I could boil water and add it to a mason jar and then set the mason jar in the water. I have also thought of rocks and something small made of cast iron. Do you have a better idea?

There is no electricity in the chicken coop. I heat my house with electric heaters so I would have to heat the object by boiling water or in a toaster oven. Or??

I do have a nice solar oven I could use. Not sure if it works on a cloudy day. About half our days are cloudy here in the winter.

My goal is to lessen the times I have to remove solid ice blocks from the water storage. I'm trying to cut down on my labor. Last year I had two rubber bowls. I switched out the bowls every day because the water froze solid every night.

should my eyes water when I poop

TheJoven — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 10:50:52 -0800

My eyes water when I poop. Is this normal? Or at least not rare?