A Lesson in Water Filtration

Posted by Victoria Anisman-Reiner Feb 3, 2008

It's been a fairly wretched week. I'd been blaming a persistent sore throat and headache on my thyroid gland: with my family history, when I get neck or throat symptoms and start feeling depressed, it seems self-evident to blame low thyroid.

And then I remembered the apartment I lived in about a year and a half ago, where I was told the water was filtered-- and believed it until I got hit by these same symptoms. Tight, swollen throat that feels worse instead of better when I drink plenty of water. Headache, nausea, grumpiness.

My water filter needed replacing.

When I moved in January 2007, I bought an awesome countertop water filter made by General Ecology. (I've been meaning to write about water quality ever since.) They told me I'd need to replace the filter after about a year, so I'm right on schedule.

Trouble is, the filter casing is tricky to open.

Skip forward ten minutes. If anybody had been in my kitchen, they would have seen me sitting on my kitchen counter, propped against the side of the fridge, struggling to hold the base on the filter casing still between my legs as I pulled the "lid" up with both hands.

I finally got it. Water flowed from the case, soaking one pants leg, the kitchen counter, and a good portion of the floor.

Three minutes later, I had replaced the old filter with the new one. I turned on the tap to test it, only realizing I had forgotten to replace the vacuum seal when water sprayed, showering my kitchen for the second time.

On the plus side, I now know how to get the cover off: run water through with the airtight seal removed. Cover all surfaces in waterproofing first.