#124 Nomad Diary. 4-10 March 2023. Denton, Texas. Darrell's 63rd. 1 year Retirement. Water pH.
Out to eat with Darrell, his sister Cyndy, and his parents Shirley and Donald.
Saturday. 4. I went to a ladies Bible class with Shirley and Cyndy. After class we came back to Cyndy’s house to stay for the day. Darrell made his potato soup for dinner, and it was a hit! The recipe was requested recently by a long-ago friend. We hadn’t made it in a long time! Darrell said that I should send a thank-you to our friend for reminding us of it! Lol. This potato soup recipe is in #122 Nomad Diary.
Inside the church building on Sunday. Darrell’s Mom and Dad to the left.
Sunday. 5. Church in Denton with family. Lunch out at a diner. More dishwasher repair and getting to working completely.
Video call with grandson Owen.
Walking to old Denton. View of drainage ditch.
Old Denton courthouse in background. Nice town with bunches of great restaurants!
Fancy ice cream shop on the square.
Beth Marie’s Ice Cream shop on Denton square.
Monday. 6. We’ve been in Denton for a full week! Today is Darrell’s 63rd birthday! After lunch we walked into Old Denton square and had ice cream at a fancy shop. It got hot today and made our ice cream really nice at the mid-way of our 4 mile walk. Our friend, Tricia from Brisbane, Australia called me through Whatsapp! I had just sent her a message about our arrival and departure dates from Sydney in March 2024. She sent me a long typed message back and then decided to call and talk. We met her and Gary on our Panama Canal cruise in April 2022, and then we sailed the 34 day cruise to Iceland and England with them too. We enjoyed each others company and got a lot of travel tips from them. They said to come visit them at their home in Brisbane, and now we are talking about doing just that! It was fun to hear her voice and think about doing a road trip with them in their country! Wow! Sounds fun to us.
Tuesday. 7. Darrell repaired a toilet shut-off valve by replacing it. This was tricky because it required him to shut the water off to the house. Luckily everything went smoothly and he had the repair completed and water back on in less than 20 minutes.
The best bakery in Denton! European style.
Inside Ravelin Bakery.
I LOVE this bakery!! Ravelin in Denton.
Wednesday. 8. Storm in the early morning woke me up. I made soup for dinner that was a hit with everyone. Cyndy asked me to write down my recipe for her. It was delicious and I hope that I included everything in that soup! PM Bible class at Denton church of Christ with family.
Owen showing us his new stacking buckets.
Thursday. 9. Morning routines. Lunch and Dinner at Cyndy’s with the parents:) Darrell made chili in our Instapot for dinner. We watched an episode of International House Hunters at our airbnb before bed. This episode showed a couple with two small children moving from Melbourne, Australia to Edinburgh, Scotland. We like seeing the tours and prices of the the properties in cities and the brief overview of the city. Last year we stayed 2 weeks in Edinburgh. We could compare our stay cost and enjoy seeing familiar sights.
Mural in downtown Denton.
Fancy cappuccinos today on the Denton square.
Happy and fancy cappuccino!
West Oak Coffee on Denton Square
Cutie grandson Quinn on video call.
Friday. 10. Exercise routine. Pancakes for breakfast by Darrell. Call to my friend Laura. Go to Cyndy’s for lunch with Darrell’s parents and hang out through dinner time. Dinner is salmon on the grill (by Cyndy) and roasted veggies! Cyndy and Kylie begin Spring Break week.
Nomad Notes.
Pondering Water pH.
After Darrell installed Cyndy’s new dishwasher on Saturday, there was a problem. She called him on Sunday night because there was water backing up in a sink drain. He diagnosed it as likely needing a new longer drain hose. They met at Lowes to buy a hose. He went over to her house and pulled out the old hose that he had connected to the new machine. He said it weighed three times what it should, and that it was clogged end to end. While here at Cyndy’s, we have known that for years she adds clorox bleach to her dishwasher and to her sink-washed dishwater. It’s been her way to reduce viruses (or any nasty microbes) by changing the water (environment) composition so that the viruses can’t live.
Overnight we both were thinking about that clogged drain hose. Why it happened and how to avoid that clog happening again. We took our pH tester to Cyndy’s house. Turns out her tap water was close to 9 pH, and within boundaries of safe to drink.
( taken from: https://www.claverackpumpservice.com/about-us/blogs/35683-does-low-or-high-ph-affect-my-water.html#:~:text=Contrary%20to%20low%20pH%20water's,plumbing%20and%20water%2Dusing%20appliances. Fixing some of the problems associated with pH issues in your home means rebalancing your water, returning it to a neutral state. The approach is different depending on the type of pH that you’re attempting to correct.
The answer to acidic water is the introduction of more minerals to “feed” the “hungry” water. This can be accomplished by the integration of an Acid Neutralizer, a type of filter equipped with a media called calcite that dissolves on contact with water, raising its pH level as it leaves the unit. Following neutralization and pH correction, the leaky pipes, bad taste, and stained fixtures attributed to corrosive water will cease.
Alternatively, high alkaline water requires minerals to be removed from water. Again, as high alkaline water contains hardness minerals like calcium and magnesium, the solution to the effects of high pH is treatment via a water softener. The minerals influencing the pH are removed via ion exchange, and soft water is then supplied to the home, alleviating the clogged pipes and residue encrusted fixtures associated with hard, high pH water.
If you suspect that your home’s water is too acidic or basic, you can test your water at home using a simple pH test kit. However, due to the complexity and range of issues behind pH problems, consulting a certified laboratory for a test is the best way to identify exactly how far from neutral your water is. The proper solution will depend on the amount of adjustment is needed for your home.)
Darrell and I remembered a time (pre 2009) we had a washing machine gunk up and ruin a pump. The repairman told us to pour a gallon of vinegar into the machine and run a cycle 3-4 times a year to dissolve the gunk and keep the pump working longer. We tried it and there was no effect on the gunk.
Next Darrell, being a scientist, took samples of our gunk from the front load door seal. He put some gunk into each of 4 glasses and added some water. Next he added different solutions into each glass. One got vinegar, one got bleach and two other items that I don’t remember now. The vinegar did nothing to the gunk while the bleach dissolved the gunk. Here is what we learned: acid versus base in water is important. Our washer repairman told us to use vinegar, an acid which he had gotten results with. Our well water and the gunk reacted to using bleach, a base. This told us our water was on the acidic side even with using an expensive filtration system for our house and for our kitchen faucet.
So we can see how pH effects the build up or the processing of gunk in our appliances. How does this effect my health? What water should I drink for my body’s benefit? Am I adding in the incorrect mix of acid and/or base? Is filtered water good enough?
I don’t have all of the answers for all of my questions. We do know that the pH and the mix of minerals within water varies and can effect health.
Fast forward to September 2020. We downsized, sold our house and began living in airbnb’s. With the passing of a year into 2021, and 17 airbnb’s of experience, we were questioning our water quality and consistency more and more. We carry a filter pitcher with us, and we have filtered water bottles. But we decided that filtering may not be enough for our health needs, our taste of the water, etc. So we ordered a pH tester from Amazon. Darrell calibrated it as instructed, and tested our tap water and our filter pitcher water. We varied the pH by using small amounts of either vinegar (to acidify and lower the pH) or baking soda (as base and increase the pH).
There is so much info online about acid and alkaline water, and foods, etc. It has come down to what we feel and what we taste in combination with our individual experiences of catching colds or any number of ailments.
Here is the web site that I’m going to copy some info from for a starting point.
https://www.webmd.com/diet/what-is-alkaline-water
Water is a combination of hydrogen and oxygen. That's why you call it H2O. Water’s pH level determines how acidic it is and ranges from 0 to 14. A pH of 7 is considered neutral. That “seven” number is considered neutral or balanced between acidic and alkaline. If water is below 7 on the pH scale, it's "acidic." If it's higher than 7, it's "alkaline."
EPA guidelines state that the pH of tap water should be between 6.5 and 8.5. Still, tap water in the U.S. tends to fall below that -- in the 4.3 to 5.3 range -- depending on where you live.
Bottled water falls under different standards depending on whether it claims to be alkaline. Bottled alkaline water has a pH level above 7. In some cases, manufacturers use a special device to change the chemical makeup of the water. Other times, they add nutrients to the water to change its pH.
For comparison, orange juice has a pH of 3.3 and black coffee is about a 5. Pure water has a neutral pH of 7. But tap water in the U.S. tends to fall below that -- in the 4.3 to 5.3 range -- depending on where you live.
(Here in the article is listed health proponents for opposing side of the water pH acid vs. alkaline. WebMD says these claims are unsupported and just used to sell bottled water, etc. I am tending to think that it has more to do with our individual needs and reactions to the water we do drink. There is so much in water and inside the workings of our bodies that we don’t see, but we experience. In some cases adding acid with vinegar works to resolve an issue in my body and at other times it is baking soda that resolves an issue in my body. I see this as possibly being a varying feedback depending on my current health and on my current water situation.)
Also, your body, on its own, can keep your pH levels at an even keel. Your kidneys are your built-in filtration system. It's their job to balance the acid levels in your body. If your blood gets too acidic, your body brings it down by breathing out more carbon dioxide.
Your stomach is the great equalizer. Your gastric juices -- a combination of digestive enzymes and hydrochloric acid -- neutralize everything you eat and drink. Basically, your stomach will re-acidify alkaline water before it can do anything the health claims promise.
(This information about your body keeping pH levels is true except when something gets diseased and cannot do it’s job. I think that reducing the stress of my symptoms– for me it has been my stomach and my kidneys just slightly uncomfortable with ongoing symptoms– by becoming aware of my water pH and ‘cleaning my pipes’ with the information I have. I have improved and minimized my symptoms, thereby improving my kidneys ability to do their best job.)
(The following conclusion of the article seems to support my reason for testing for pH and listening to my body’s small symptoms that will, left untreated, stay and increase. Why wait for disease? Why ignore dry skin or upset stomach when I could add either vinegar or baking soda daily, even to my filtered water.)
Unless you have a kidney disease, alkaline water doesn't pose any serious health risks. The high pH could make your skin dry and itchy or cause an upset stomach, but that's about all.
Just because it's safe, though, doesn't mean it does anything for you. For all the benefits of a tall glass of water, fill up at the tap.
Alkaline water has a higher pH level than regular drinking water. Because of this, some advocates of alkaline water believe it can neutralize the acid in your body.
Normal drinking water generally has a neutral pH of 7. Alkaline water typically has a pH of 8 or 9. However, pH alone isn’t enough to impart substantial alkalinity to water.
Alkaline water must also contain alkaline minerals and negative oxidation-reduction potential (ORP). ORP is the ability of water to act as a pro- or antioxidant. The more negative the ORP value, the more antioxidizing it is.
Does alkaline water work?
Alkaline water is somewhat controversial. Many health professionals say there isn’t enough research to support the many health claims made by users and sellers. Differences in research findings may be related to the types of alkaline water studies.
There are a few studies that suggest alkaline water might be helpful for certain conditions.
For example, a 2012 in vitro studyTrusted Source
found that drinking naturally carbonated artesian-well alkaline water with a pH of 8.8 may help deactivate pepsin, the main enzyme that causes acid reflux. However, more human studies are needed to explore these findings.
Researchers in Japan conducted a small 2018 study Trusted Source
that suggested that drinking alkaline electrolyzed water slightly improved stool in 60 participants.
that included 100 people found a significant difference in whole blood viscosity after consuming high-pH water compared to regular water after a strenuous workout. Viscosity is the direct measurement of how efficiently blood flows through the vessels.
Those who consumed high pH water had reduced viscosity by 6.3 percent compared to 3.36 percent with standard purified drinking water. This means blood flowed more efficiently with alkaline water. This can increase oxygen delivery throughout the body.
However, more research is needed beyond these small studies. In particular, research is needed to answer other claims made by alkaline water supporters.
Despite the lack of proven scientific research, proponents of alkaline water still believe in its proposed health benefits. These include:
pro-aging properties (via liquid antioxidants that absorb more quickly into the human body)
colon-cleansing properties
immune system support
hydration, skin health, and other detoxifying properties
weight loss
cancer resistance
They also argue that soft drinks, which are notoriously acidic, have very positive ORPs, which lead to many health problems, while properly ionized and alkalinized waters have highly negative ORPs.
Green tea is rich in antioxidants and has a slightly negative ORP.
Comments
Post a Comment