ChowBaby

when i posted my new year resolutions, stacie commented that she wanted me to ditch the pull-up bar and research water filters that remove (among other things) flouride. well, i didn't ditch the pull-up bar (in fact, i'm going to get it today!)—but i did look into some water filters. and, man, is it confusing. so i'm going to try to keep it simple. and here's what i found.
 
first, a little background. as per my new year resolutions blog post, there are lots of reasons why bottled water is really bad for the environment. we all know more and more about about why BPA plastics are bad for our bodies. and stacie already blogged about why many experts think flouride is bad for our kids.

here's where i'm at now. i have one of those poland spring home-delivery water dispensers in my kitchen. the big 5 gallon version. we go through 7 jugs a month at a cost of $53.55 per month. and we do our best to use our klean kanteen bottle (the whole family has them in different sizes) in lieu of buying disposables when we're on the go. starbucks will fill them with everything with water (for free) to tea and coffee (although that isn't the focus of this post). this solution addresses the issue of flouride, but still has less-than-stellar environmental and BPA consequences. so i'm ready for something better.

turns out, there are tons of pitcher, faucet-mount, counter-top, under-the-sink, and whole-house filters that remove various contaminants from silt to heavy metals to pesticides. the quality counter-top and under-the-sink ones seem to run in the $100-$200 range. and it seems that only the reverse-osmosis products also remove flouride. the counter-top versions can be installed in 5 minutes with no plumbing experience. the under-the-counter versions require some plumbing expertise. but not too much—ie, i can do it but i'm not sure about stacie (wink).
 
now let's do the math. because in this economic climate, the bottom line matters more than ever. sure, i try to make the best environmental choices at every turn. but if i can't afford the best environmental option today—even though i know it is the most valuable option for our kids, families, and earth long-term—well, then it just isn't an option. an initial filter investment of about $150 would equal 3 months of my current poland spring delivery. and since the average replacement filter costs about $55 dollars and should be changed every 6 months, i'd need to buy 2 filters this year for a total of about $100. that means that less than 6 months of poland spring equals 12 months of filtered water in the first year. and next year, i only have to buy the filters—at a cost equal to 2 months of poland spring delivery. so now i can save money AND do the best thing for the environment. woohoo!
 
so which should you buy? i wish i tell you, but i haven't even decide which i'm going to buy yet. luckily, there are lots of brands out there. PUR, Brita, Kenmore, Whirlpool, Clear2O.... the list goes on and on. you might want to check out the green guide for tons of great info on the various contaminants in water, product reviews, and the environmental impact. i'm leaning toward this Crystal Quest stainless steel water filter from Pure Water Essentials. mostly because i live in a rental apartment so don't feel like taking the time to do any real plumbing work. plus, i like the way it looks.
 
bottoms up!
 
—m

okay. so food i know. but, apparently, drink... not so much.

at 22 months, i can count on my two hands how many times isaac's had juice. (i think that's about to change fast, though! we gave him some vitamin-C packed mango/orange/banana juice from Trader Joe's to help his cold this weekend, and calling it a "smoothie" did not prevent an impassioned plea for "juuuicce!" this morning.) he's a water and milk drinker, that kid. and some herbal tea every once and a while. 

with all the water our family drinks, we tend to buy bottled. usually Poland Spring. but i've been feeling pretty guilty about wasting all that packaging, especially given NYC's reputation for great tap water (which is fluoridated). well, as it turns out, it may be a good thing we've been giving isaac bottled water since it usually does NOT contain (much) fluoride. 

this weekend, i came across an article called Are We Poisoning Our Babies and Children With Fluoride. i'm not one for fear tactics, so the title is a little much, but it's really interesting. the best part is this video.

clear and with data. very compelling. at least enough to do more research and talk to my pediatrician. if you want to do more research, too, here are some leads:

http://fluoridealert.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluoridation
http://kidshealth.org/parent/growth/feeding/fluoride.html

if you decide to avoid your town/city's fluoridated tap water (figure out if your tap is fluoridated here), consider a water cooler instead of individual bottles to minimize packaging waste or, even better, a water filter that specifically filters fluoride. i haven't done enough research to recommend one yet, but this article--How to Remove Fluoride from Drinking Water--is a start. a google search for "water filter fluoride" brought up a bunch of stuff, too.

-S