# Something shocking - The bottled water we drink



## Rutilius (Jan 22, 2011)

Just discovered something very shocking about the 5 gallon bottled water that we are all used to having delivered to us!

The bottles are made of Polycarbonate. Polycarbonate is the worst choice for drinking water.

Polycarbonate is made from BPA. BPA is a substance banned in many countries especially for baby bottles and products that come in contact with food for human consumption due to its proven effects on the human endocrine system.

Does anyone know of any brand of water that is not delivered in polycarbonate bottles?


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

Tap water


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## Rutilius (Jan 22, 2011)

Tap water has extremely high dosages of Chlorine and isnt the water pipe network made of asbestos cement?


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## zin (Oct 28, 2010)

How about normal sized bottled water from abroad.


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## Jynxgirl (Nov 27, 2009)

All they do is run tap water through an r/o machine. Just get your own r/o machine and a tds meter to check when you need to change the filters.


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## Rutilius (Jan 22, 2011)

Jynxgirl said:


> All they do is run tap water through an r/o machine. Just get your own r/o machine and a tds meter to check when you need to change the filters.


An RO machine is not really good for you. Simply put, it removes too much. At 99.99% purity RO demineralizes water to such an extent that basic minerals that your body eventually starves for these minerals and would require you to reconsider the mineral supplements that you might need to take to compensate for this.

RO indeed is the best you can get in terms of water purity, but a lot of it depends on how well you maintain the membrane (cleaning cycles and replacement).

A TDS meter would only indicate the amount of dissolved solids passing through, through the process of measuring conductivity of water, This totally excludes the presence of biological fouling which will eventually happen if the membrane is not cleaned in time and the type of prefiltration (isolation of biocides like chlorine before the RO process without the use of UV)used.

The point here is not about the quality of water (there are many shady mineral water companies that do not even use RO in their process), the point is that the bottles that they use are polycarbonate and that is a substance that is banned in most countries for food and portable water applications.


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## Amame (Jan 11, 2011)

Seem nothing is good. Let's drink Beer then


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## luckydxb (Jun 28, 2011)

Masafi ?


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## Rutilius (Jan 22, 2011)

luckydxb said:


> Masafi ?


Thanks, You are so right. Masafi bottles water in 4 gallon PET bottles that are disposable. I'm wondering if there are other brands that do too?


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## luckydxb (Jun 28, 2011)

Aquafina.


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## Rutilius (Jan 22, 2011)

luckydxb said:


> Aquafina.


Aquafina does not have 4 to 5 gallon packaging IMHO.


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## Infinitz (Jul 21, 2011)

Nestle.

A friend of mine worked in their production plant. Clean, pure and absolutely the highest quality there is.


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## Rutilius (Jan 22, 2011)

But does Nestle use polycarbonate or PET (polyethylene terephthalate) for their 5 gallon packaging?


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## Infinitz (Jul 21, 2011)

It is a good water but it is not mineral water it has been purified and ermineralised like every other water in the UAE.

We kinda have a lack of good mountains full of limestone etc to naturally mineralise water here in the UAE.

I think all bottled water in the UAE is contained in polycarbonate or PET packaging, but as long as that container isn't exposed to the sun or heat, you shouldn't be worried.

One of Nestle's points in quality is that they make sure they're not exposed to the sun, from the production plant to your home, Masafi as well.


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

I must have imagined all those Nestle bottles sitting outside the houses all day in my neighbourhood, good job there's no sun or heat here in Dubai. Oh wait...


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## Rutilius (Jan 22, 2011)

With every sanitization cycle that the bottle goes through (soap/detergent wash + hot water + steam) the structure of polycarbonate is bound to break down thereby setting the stage for BPA to leach into the next batch of packaged water. An indicator of the breakdown would be the increasing opacity of polycarbonate!

Its scary isn't it? Especially since at least 75-80% of Dubai's Expat population drink from bulk packaged water, would mean that their children and infants are exposed to the hazards of BPA and its effects!


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## Gavtek (Aug 23, 2009)

Rutilius said:


> Its scary isn't it?


Not really. I eat at Ravi's all the time and I'm fine, so I doubt some packaging will kill me. Stop whinging and drink your water.


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## Rutilius (Jan 22, 2011)

*
That help????*


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

Rutilius said:


> *
> That help????*


Appreciate that you are just trying to stay healthy but if we make a list of all the foods and drinks that come in some 'questionable' container, there won't be anything left to eat and drink...

I'll take my chances with the water.


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## blondegirl (Jul 23, 2011)

Does anyone know if when you receive the water thats been sitting in heat if this is bad either? I was thinking about this the other day. When we get a delivery the water bottles are hot. Not exactly sure how healthy that is.


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## Rutilius (Jan 22, 2011)

blondegirl said:


> Does anyone know if when you receive the water thats been sitting in heat if this is bad either? I was thinking about this the other day. When we get a delivery the water bottles are hot. Not exactly sure how healthy that is.


Unfortunately, they are!


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