So, out and around town for work. I have my 2 5 gallon RO bottles with me and my TDS meter to be safe. I wind up in a branch of our huge grocery chain that I have not been in before. I don’t know if they have an RO machine or not, so I go in to scout it out. I take my meter just in case. As I walk through the produce section, I see the machine just past the salad bar. I pick up a 2oz empty dressing container from the salad bar to draw a test sample into. So glad I tested it. 2 spigots on the machine, one tested at 197ppm and the other at 200ppm. Guess I need to make another stop elsewhere; and I’m glad this isn’t the store closest to home. The machine had a sticker on it saying it was serviced on 7/27/17, so at 2 weeks, it either gets a ton of use or got a shabby service job. Thanks go out to Hoosierbrew for recommending the cheap pocket TDS meter that just saved my next brew day from disaster!
Good to hear, Frank. It’s cheap protection. I’ve seen the same many times - an inspection sticker within the month and water with unacceptably high TDS. Inspections are obviously a joke at many places. The meter is a great cheap purchase.
Did the machine say it was RO?
Yes, same Glacier dispenser that all the Kroger’s around town have
Our local Kroger stores all have Glacier RO machines. Some are notorious for high TDS water and recent inspection stickers. Pretty sure the inspections get pencil whipped.
7ppm at the next location I hit. So much better. Service date if 8/10/17. Proper work done I guess
Much better!
Man, I stopped testing mine after a couple times hitting the mark. I’ll have to bring the TDS meter along next time.
“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”
Question- why do grocery stores offer RO water rather than just carbon filtered? What else are people using this water for? If I’m not mistaken, its not a particularly good idea to drink RO water straight because it strips minerals from our bodies.
That’s an idiotic internet statement. There are plenty of people around the world that drink rainwater. Rainwater is often as pure or purer than RO water. RO does not strip minerals from your body. The only thing it does is not supply minerals. Fortunately, we typically get all the minerals we need for metabolism from our foods.
You are indeed mistaken.
Thanks for dispelling that internet nonsense, Martin. The net can be a great thing but unfortunately is also a source of bogus (even dangerous) info.
JT, this was easily the largest variance I have seen, but I always bring my meter, at least for the last 2+ years. Usually right where I want it, but definitely some screwy results occasionally
Portland OR has water close to RO as far as TDS,and better than some machines around here They seem to be pretty healthy out there.
There is a lot info published to support what chinaski found, and most reference the World Health Organization. It gave me pause a while back about RO drinking water in my home. Very tough to know current info or right/wrong for the consumer. Some of it appears to be spin by carbon filter companies, but the WHO report can also be downloaded.
“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”
The WHO is trying not to advocate RO water consumption since there is no reason for people to do so and RO or distilled water production is both water and energy wasteful. In addition, there is only rarely a problem with consuming high TDS drinking water. I don’t have a problem with what WHO is trying to do, but there still is no other reason why a person can’t drink rainwater, distilled water, or RO water.
This is a link to the WHO report: http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/nutrientschap12.pdf
Doesn’t seem like there are any real strong conclusions in the report.