showering with houston water?
 

I have a water question. If a local water supply is deemed undrinkable, but that you can boil it to make it drinkable, do you have to do anything to it, if you want to shower with it?

Re: showering with houston water?
 

I grew up right near Lake Houston. Within walking distance, in fact. I swam in that lake all the time as a kid. And if you can swim in that lake without getting sick, I'd imagine you could shower safely with local water. I know water wells are very popular in that area. But, that doesn't do much good if you don't have power. I still haven't heard from my family down there. It would be nice to hear how they are managing.

Re: showering with houston water?
 

I would boil a gallon or so and do a birdbath.

Re: showering with houston water?
 

Do you have any information as to WHY it is undrinkable?
It is usually either due to:
A - pathogens
B - chemical contamination

if you have a normal and healthy immune system, then bathing in un-disinfected water should not be a problem, try to keep it out of your nose, ears, etc.

if however there is inorganic contamination, from petroleum or chemical plants, then I would avoid using the water if at all possible.

edit; Ok I just saw that boiling makes it OK, which indicates pathogens. IMO a shower should be OK, just keep that water outside the body as much as possible, and if you have any cuts disinfect them when you are done.

Re: showering with houston water?
 

I would add to this that any cuts or wounds should be kept away from this water. But all said our skin and our bodies are very good at keeping pathogens out unless we either drink it or get an infection via a cut in the skin.

sb

Also, we as Americans do shower and bathe much more than we need to. We have done this so much that we are not used to the natural state of our skin after a day or two and "feel" the need to shower. We don't realize that if we don't, though, nothing bad will happen, other than our natural scent will come back. A good smoke bath at a campfire will fix that!!!

Re: showering with houston water?
 

The boil water order was just a precaution (CYA) by the city. Its fine.

Re: showering with houston water?
 

I have an (artesian) well, about 80 years old, at my BO place. When I go there the water smells very sulphorous for the first couple of days, presumably due to dead things - whether vegetation or animals. It's just a big, poorly covered stone lined pit which hasn't been cleaned out for over 20 years.
Within a couple of days of use it smells fine, but I still wouldn't drink it without boiling. I wash in it, brush my teeth, but I don't drink it.

Re: showering with houston water?
 

Typically artesian wells that smell of sulpher have hydrogen sulfide gas in them. You might want to get it tested or talk to someone in the area. If it is Hydrogen sulfide gas you can take a pitcher of water and let is sit overnight. By morning there will be very little if any, sulpher smell.

This water can actually be used as an antiseptic and should be safe to drink, as very very few of the microbes that will bother us can live in it. My brothers place in Colorado is like this. His kids have never had acne due to bathing/showering in the water. It seems to kill any of the bacteria on your skin that cause acne.

Sulfites(which make hydrogen sulfide gas) are also used to serilize juices before they are made into wine. This is done 1 day before adding the yeast to ensure all the wild strains of yeast are killed before the fermentation process begins.

sb