Like I said here: http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/...so/machines/332308

I'm not saying that water is being shipped from the plant without bacteria in it, but there is a much higher chance that bacteria was introduced to the test sample (or a false positive for other reasons) once you opened it.

Also, tap water in most cities contain chlorine.

I'm re-testing the water that tested positive. I'm hoping that it was a false positive, but it was the only water out of the 3 (I also tested tap and filtered) that tested positive for bacteria. Since I have a post on CG about this issue, I will post my results there, as to not be double posting. I read an article that said that bottled water is allowed to have higher levels of bacteria than tap water. My testing kit is for tap water, so the water may be safe, even with the positive test.

If they just sold TDS meters in our local hardware stores, I wouldn't have found out about any of this!

-Randii

Randii wrote:I'm re-testing the water that tested positive. I'm hoping that it was a false positive, but it was the only water out of the 3 (I also tested tap and filtered) that tested positive for bacteria. Since I have a post on CG about this issue, I will post my results there, as to not be double posting. I read an article that said that bottled water is allowed to have higher levels of bacteria than tap water. My testing kit is for tap water, so the water may be safe, even with the positive test.

If they just sold TDS meters in our local hardware stores, I wouldn't have found out about any of this!

-Randii

If the bacteria level (and type) at Crystal Geyser were dangerous enough to make people sick, you would have heard about it on the news, and the lawsuits would be flying. Water bottling plants are tested pretty regularly by the government. Why don't you call L.A. County Health Dept., if you still have concerns?

Are you testing an unopened container without the test sample contacting anything that is not sterile? Again, I am not saying it's impossible to have bacteria in the water, it is just that the risk of microbial contamination of everything in non-sterile environment is significant. I know I'm being obsessive about this, but home tests for infectious substances, hormones, or metabolites have a limited reliability.

I'm testing the same water to verify if the test was or was not a false positive. If the water tests positive again, I will test an unopened container, but I am not sure how to tell if it is the same batch, because I can't find any markings on the bottle indicating a batch number. I made sure everything was sterilized by boiling in the microwave, before I tested the water this time.

Addition: I just found the info etched into the side of the bottle. I will go buy an unopened container and another kit and test that to double-check the results. It will take 48 hours to complete the test.

I'd opt for a RO with a mineralisator, however, here in Europe dolomite mineralisators are most common, not calcite, but I don't know if it makes huge difference.
Mine has also an far-infrared filter.