Do You Buy Bottled Water? Then Read This.

SO YOU DRINK THAT BOTTLED WATER THAT NOW FILLS UP AN ENTIRE SIDE OF SUPERMARKET AISLES, HUH? WELL (no pun intended), HERE’S A STORY FOR YOU….

When we had our 200’-deep well drilled, we were required by the local health department in the county to have our water tested for bacteria. After the drilling and hook-up, the driller dumped in a half-bottle of bleach, told me to open all the taps in the house, flush all the toilets, and run the two outside faucets. Then have the water tested.

So…the only water-testing place in Charlottesville sent us directions:

1. Boil a pint Mason jar and lid in water.

2. Within two minutes, fill the jar with tap water and seal immediately, making sure that no fingers touched the water or the lid.

3. Bring the jar to the facility within 24 hours.

Which I did. Then I returned the next day, paid them $20 to be told there were too many bacteria colonies in the water and to do it again.

Which I did. Then I returned the next day, paid them another $20 to be told there were still too many bacteria colonies in the water and to do it again.

So, I’m out $40 and I’m pissed, so I stop at the store and pick up a gallon jug of “pure mountain spring water” from Kentucky. I do the jar boiling, then pour boiling water over the whole jug of “pure mountain spring water from Kentucky” and fill the newly boiled Mason jar with that…and take it to the testing company the next day.

What does the guy tell me this time? “There were so many colonies of bacteria in this sample that we didn’t even try to count them.”

So….I call the well-driller, he comes over and pours MORE bleach down the well, we run the faucets again, do the boiling routine, take it to the company…and after four tries and $80, get the well water approved.

So if you think you’re staying healthier buying that bottled crap, you may want to do the same process and have that over-priced H20 tested! Maybe you just assume that the water-testing place was lying and ripping us off to get us to test multiple times…but it might be worth your $20 or whatever to find out whether you are flushing even more money down the proverbial toilet by buying that bottled stuff that probably comes out of some faucet in some warehouse…in Baltimore, not Kentucky.