Journal 3

Welcome back! Thanks for stopping by. This last week had a lot of water-related things.

After a period of relying on bottled water because of my area’s PFAS contamination, we installed an under the sink water filter. The brand is Aquasana and it is one of Wirecutter’s picks. The installation wasn’t too bad, except for an issue with our existing (now replaced) cold water shut off valve. But then 2 out of the 3 filters started leaking. The company sent replacements but that is another trip under the sink...

(As I write this, I am munching on an emergency peanut butter sandwich. I hate hate hate peanut butter. But I don’t mind peanuts at all. This is horrible. Why do this to perfectly good peanuts?!?!)

My next accomplishment was finding a cup! Can you imagine that I have searched for years for a good cup? My only requirements were that it was 1) large 2) lead-free. There are large cups available and there are lead-free cups available but I haven’t been able to find anything that is both. My current go-to stores for drinkware are Duralex and IKEA, but the biggest size Duralex carries is about 12 oz, and IKEA’s largest mug is 17 oz.

But I want bigger haha! I am busy and lazy, so if I go through the effort of making a beverage, I want to have leftovers for two or three rounds. Also I work comfortably when I zone into work for large blocks of time, 2-6 hours, so it needs to last that long. Both of those stores also sell larger glasses, but I am scared I will knock that over, so I was specifically looking for something with a handle. I have tried beer glasses, but it doesn’t feel good to drink out of that unless I’m having beer?

My solution is an IKEA measuring cup I found in my stuff! It’s the Vardagen 34 oz measuring glass. Unfortunately it is not tempered glass, so I can’t use it for hot liquids, but for summer it will work great. Looking it up, I notice that it is the top seller. I bet other cRAzy PeOpLe like me are also using it for drinking! Where are these other crazy people? Whenever I interact with other adult humans they don’t seem interested in talking about lead in drinkware. :(

Why not just use a water bottle? They make 32 oz water bottles. And large thermoses. That leads me to the issue of quality again. Sometimes it feels like there is a water bottle conspiracy. They tell you not to use plastic, but why are there so many low quality water bottles sold in stores? There are stainless steel water bottles, but they leave a metallic taste and I ask, Why metallic taste?! What is happening?! Lastly if you search for a glass water bottle, it is hard to find a reputable brand without lead, and every one has plastic pieces.

If are interested in a vessel for beverages other than water, especially anything acidic, you run into more issues. Acids degrade plastic and react with metal. Acids in aluminum are especially bad.

Another frontier in the water saga is the 10 year long search for an electric kettle. I remember fondly the convenience of using one, but there is nothing out there right now that I would feel comfortable using.

Hope you have a wonderful week and good luck finding clean water and something to drink it out of!

Asya