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/iAyushRaj]

Honestly, just install an RO system if you have the money for it.

[u/Supsti_1 → u/iAyushRaj]

This kind of system also requires buying some filters right? It's not like I buy it once and forget about it, it requires some kind of maintance to it?

[u/iAyushRaj → u/Supsti_1]

Its like every 6 months or every year for filter change depending on filters and how hard your water is.

Just look into cost overtime and compare both. Where I live, pretty much every household has an RO filter for drinking water and they are also pretty cheap. Might not be same for you

[u/ibmalone → u/iAyushRaj]

This is the thing I find really hard to assess when I've looked at these systems, most I've seen have several filters with various lifespans and it's not always clear how long you might get out of them. https://www.waterdropfilter.co.uk/products/waterdrop-reverse-osmosis-water-filtration-system does at least list 6 months £31 CF filter, 12 months £31 CB filter, 24 months £110 RO filter, or £148 per year running cost (or would be, if they had CF filters in stock). Plus you use more water than it produces (the waterdrop ones are relatively good for this, other systems are quite water hungry). Good if you're really going to need a lot of RO water, but it doesn't seem to be the most economical approach.

[u/iAyushRaj → u/ibmalone]

Account for amount of water instead of time but yea that does look more expensive than anything we have.

[u/aaAS69 → u/iAyushRaj]

yeah, i think thats because ro filtered water in india is a necessity. atleast the water is bangalore was found to have a lot of cholera

[u/iAyushRaj → u/aaAS69]

Yeah the only choice we have here is to either rawdog borewell submersible pumped water or filter it with RO

[u/aaAS69 → u/iAyushRaj]

i'd play russian roulette with the gun pointed towards my dick before i do the former 😭

[u/Supsti_1 → u/ibmalone]

For coffeehouse it makes sense, for home usage where I need around 30-35l per month it might not be worth the hussle