Is there a Chemist in the house?

[piskieinboots]

I have to use a filter jug due to 'aaard water - upon changing the filter the other day I noticed a fair amount of 'black stuff' at the bottom of the jug.....eeeeewwww I've been drinking that!!

any ideas what it is, I'm guessing it must the carbon from the filter but I've never noticed it before.....eeeewww

...and no amount of vaseline will fix that one!

[Capsid]

Yes probably carbon. Was it small grains?

[nickson71]

I'm guessing it could be carbon to I've seen activated carbon fillers before

[HeyWayne]

I know whenever I change the filter on the fridge I have to let the water run for a bit to fluch out the same kinda stuff.

[Capsid]

Carbon is harmless, so don't worry. It's like burnt toast.

[HeyWayne]

Carbon is harmless, so don't worry. It's like burnt toast.

Good for windypops too.

[BrideXIII]

ok, see now that worries me, where as the charcoal from the filter is harmless, burnt toast certainly has some question marks about its supposed carcinogenic properties.. I do LIKE burnt toast though, cold, with lashings of unsalted butter, and marmite

[Two_Sheds]

well, if it is carbon, you have to offset it somehow

[BrideXIII]

well i do worry about my carbon footprint its true, but thats more due to how hard it is to scrub off the floor when i have traipsed it in after a good bonfire

[Capsid]

ok, see now that worries me, where as the charcoal from the filter is harmless, burnt toast certainly has some question marks about its supposed carcinogenic properties.. I do LIKE burnt toast though, cold, with lashings of unsalted butter, and marmite

The cancer link with burnt toast is unproven but that's benzopyrene not carbon. So I gave a poor analogy. Charcoal?

[BrideXIII]

The cancer link with burnt toast is unproven but that's benzopyrene not carbon. So I gave a poor analogy. Charcoal?

LOl, just don't get me started on bacon, my consumption of bacon butties has risen expotentially since the papers started saying it is linked to cancer.

whereas i take cancer very seriously, as you point out, most of these scare links are uproven.

i think with the charcoal it depends on how much it has been burned out if I read right, something to do with the carbon/charcoal on toast not having completed the process, well you couldn't eat it at all if it had.

[NOG]

Its not un proven. My uncle died of Burnt toast.

[NOG]

Well it was the burning roof of the Hovis factory that actually killed him.

[piskieinboots]

I had this reply from a pal who is a Dr on the science side not the medical side:

Might be carbon from the filter, but I'm a bit worried it could be mould. Which may be toxic. A bit hard to tell the difference, though if it is mould it might be a wee bit slimy.

Is it possible to boil the jug? If so I'd suggest doing so for a good five minutes at least, every couple of weeks or so to kill any mould. Failing that, making sure it gets dry in between uses, and I mean really dry, to reduce the risk of build-up.

We have hard water here as well but I don't like the idea of a filter precisely because it's the sort of thing that's difficult to clean completely and therefore may harbour fungal growth.

it was a wee bit slimey!!

[Capsid]

I had this reply from a pal who is a Dr on the science side not the medical side:

Might be carbon from the filter, but I'm a bit worried it could be mould. Which may be toxic. A bit hard to tell the difference, though if it is mould it might be a wee bit slimy.

Is it possible to boil the jug? If so I'd suggest doing so for a good five minutes at least, every couple of weeks or so to kill any mould. Failing that, making sure it gets dry in between uses, and I mean really dry, to reduce the risk of build-up.

We have hard water here as well but I don't like the idea of a filter precisely because it's the sort of thing that's difficult to clean completely and therefore may harbour fungal growth.

it was a wee bit slimey!!

Right, that's why I asked about it being small grains. If it wasn't particulate then fungus would be my next guess. Now you say it is slimy then I'd definitely call it fungus.