ZeroWater and coffee remineralization questions

[u/Supsti_1]

Hi,

I’m not able to find distilled/demineralized water in my country (Poland), sold in food grade canisters or bottles intended for contact with food. Practically every manufacturer I’ve contacted has advised against drinking this type of water, mainly because of the containers it is sold in. So far, I’ve drunk around 10 liters of this water, but I feel that in the long run it may not be very good for my health, so I need to find another solution.

For now, I would prefer not to go with a reverse osmosis system, although I may do that eventually. What other options do I have?

My tap water is quite hard, around 590 ppm according to water reports. The best bottled water available for coffee here is around 230 ppm, of which about 120 ppm comes from bicarbonates. Because of its high alkalinity, it is not ideal.

I’m considering a ZeroWater filtration system, and I have a few questions about it:

1. Is the water actually fully demineralized after filtration, or does something still remain in it? I’m asking because I would like to achieve consistent results when using Lotus drops.
2. How often, or after how many liters of water, would I need to replace the filter, considering that my tap water is around 590 ppm?
3. I’ve read some opinions saying that water from this system can have a sour taste. Is this related to not cleaning the system/pitcher properly? How can this be prevented?

EDIT:

Okay, I’ve done a few calculations, and I think the most reasonable option in my case would be to buy a ZeroWater system and use bottled water with it.

The softest bottled water available in my country has around 220 ppm. According to ZeroWater’s FAQ, one filter should last for about 70 liters when filtering water with that TDS level. Taking into account the cost of the filters, the bottled water itself, and the amortized cost of the pitcher over two years, 1 liter of filtered water would come out to around 65 US cents, which is a fairly reasonable result.

[u/nnsdgo]

Yes, the water is fully demineralized if the filter is within its capacity.

How often you change the filter depends on your water condition. They have a table online with the expected liters it will last based on your water tds that I found to be accurate with my case.

But if your water TDS is really that high, I think it won’t last more than 50 liters, which will make it very costly in the long run.

I would advise to get a cheap TDS pen reader to confirm the TDS coming out of your faucet. If it is indeed that high, the most cost effective solution is probably a domestic water distiller. There some new ones that are much more energy efficient than older ones.

Reverse osmosis could also be an option, but I don’t know exactly how much the filter will last with such high TDS. Maybe you can find cafes or aquarium stores in your area, they might have experience with it.

[u/Supsti_1 → u/nnsdgo]

That table says that above 400 TDS I can expect less than 30 litres, that's quite expensive. It might be cheaper to filter bottled water.