mo2 Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 Our water was deemed unsafe for drinking or culinary purposes by the state health dept, which means we have to either boil or purchase water for drinking, cooking, and washing dishes. If it were you, would you continue to use the water for bathing and laundry? What about hand washing? I don't yet know how our landlord is going to fix the problem or how long it will take. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 it depends on what the risk is? Sewage, chemicals, black water, ???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Once Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 I would probably need more information such as Why has it been deemed unsafe? Chemicals or bacteria? How old are your kids? How long will this last? How ofter do you want your kids to have a bath? What hardships would you have to go through to get safe bathwater? The reason being. I would have an older child have a short shower in water that was bacterially unsafe if it was going to remain unsafe for a long time (with strict instructions about no drinking). But I would not have a 6 month old sit in bath water if it was going to be just a week long ban and it was deemed chemically unsafe. Clear as mud I'm sure. Sorry you have to go to that effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mo2 Posted January 25, 2009 Author Share Posted January 25, 2009 I would probably need more information such as Why has it been deemed unsafe? Chemicals or bacteria? How old are your kids? How long will this last? How ofter do you want your kids to have a bath? What hardships would you have to go through to get safe bathwater? The reason being. I would have an older child have a short shower in water that was bacterially unsafe if it was going to remain unsafe for a long time (with strict instructions about no drinking). But I would not have a 6 month old sit in bath water if it was going to be just a week long ban and it was deemed chemically unsafe. Clear as mud I'm sure. Sorry you have to go to that effort. Sorry. I didn't think about you needing more info. Bacteria. My kids are 6 and 1 yrs. I don't know how long this is going to last. It is a problem with the well. As we are renters, it is not our problem to fix, so I don't know what the landlord intends to do about it yet. I would guess it will be a semi-long-term situation though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kay in Cal Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 I would check with the local and state housing officials. A house that doesn't provide drinking water is probably unrentable, at least I know it is here. The landlord is probably liable for either temporary shelter (hotel costs) while the problem is fixed, or for moving costs for your family. Knowing that, the landlord will probably hop to it and fix the situation as well. Personally, I don't think I'd use the water at all, especially with you children. I think at this point I'd contact a fair housing attorney. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda in VT Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 Is it coliform or e coli? Has the well failed just one test, or multiple tests? How badly did it fail? Around here, it's not that uncommon for a water system to fail a quarterly coliform test. The usual procedure is then to do multiple tests. If the system passes those tests, then the initial test is attributed to a false positive or sampling error. Sometimes, more intensive work is needed, but all can usually be resolved within a week or two. If it's an initial coliform test failure, I'd drink bottled water until then. I'd wash clothes on hot. And I'd probably boil (and then cool) water for the 1 yo's bath. If the system has failed the follow-up tests or if it failed the e coli test, I'd probably ask the landlord to pay for a motel until the tests come back clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Once Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 I would check with the local and state housing officials. A house that doesn't provide drinking water is probably unrentable, at least I know it is here. The landlord is probably liable for either temporary shelter (hotel costs) while the problem is fixed, or for moving costs for your family. Knowing that, the landlord will probably hop to it and fix the situation as well. Personally, I don't think I'd use the water at all, especially with you children. I think at this point I'd contact a fair housing attorney. :iagree: I think the landlord has some responsibilty here. Get the info and present it unapologetically. He should provide some type of temp. water supply until it is fixed. If it is bacterial, with kids your age, I'd forget about using it for anything except laundry. I'd go the legal responsibility route. Maybe find a swimming pool to frequent and get the kids showers for the time being. Monday morning would be a busy day for me!! Regardless of what you decide, I'm sorry you have to go through this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 I would check with the local and state housing officials. A house that doesn't provide drinking water is probably unrentable, at least I know it is here. The landlord is probably liable for either temporary shelter (hotel costs) while the problem is fixed, or for moving costs for your family. Knowing that, the landlord will probably hop to it and fix the situation as well. Personally, I don't think I'd use the water at all, especially with you children. I think at this point I'd contact a fair housing attorney. I would look into the laws also. Around here the landlord would have to have safe water or provide water/alternative place with safe water within days of discovering the problem. The landlord may be required to let you out of the lease and return the deposit if they cannot provide safe water. It is certainly something to discuss with the landlord and if need be find a lawyer to help 'move things along' or at the very least find out the laws in your area. No way would I let the kids bath in the water. Many kids get sick in pool water that is not treated properly, so if you know the water has bacteria I would avoid it, the same with hand washing. If you dry your laundry on high that should kill bacteria, so laundry that might be ok. Yuck, nothing like adding stress! Hopefully this gets resolved soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomOfOneFunOne Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 I would definately err on the side of caution. I wouldn't let my littles bathe in the water and I dont' really think I would either. I would want to make sure none of the bacteria go in my kiddo's mouths (noses, eyes, et c.) at all. That would include not wanting it to enter their bodies via mine. What a headache! Sorry you 're going through that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamnkats Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 We have been dealing with unsafe water for years. Just SOP here in Mexico. We superchlorinate any stored (1 tsp bleach to 1 gallon water) and always dip the dishes in superchlorinated water after rinsing. Toothbrushing and drinking water is purchased by garrafon (I think those are the big bottles that water companies deliver in the US) at the supermarket. We then purchase a non-name brand (we buy the water for drinking put out by the Pepsi plant) garrafon water for cooking and any boiling water - only because it is cheaper. We get those at the local water bottling plant. Laundry is done with the normal "contaminated" cenote water (tap water) but we always line dry and let the sun bleach the bacteria. We literally live in a petri dish here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 It may not be as long term as you fear, if it is the well and not all the groundwater. And, yes, it is the landlord's responsibility. Why/ how did the state test the water in the first place? We've been here 8 years and no one has hinted that the state ever tests wells. I have heard of people's wells being contaminated (by organic fertilizer on the flowers hiding the well-head) and they had to shock the well (with chlorine). After a few days, it was tested again and was safe. It smelled like city water for a few more days, til the chlorine dissipated. They shocked ours when they replaced the pump at the bottom and we could taste chlorine for a few weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mo2 Posted January 27, 2009 Author Share Posted January 27, 2009 We have been dealing with unsafe water for years. Just SOP here in Mexico. We superchlorinate any stored (1 tsp bleach to 1 gallon water) and always dip the dishes in superchlorinated water after rinsing. Toothbrushing and drinking water is purchased by garrafon (I think those are the big bottles that water companies deliver in the US) at the supermarket. We then purchase a non-name brand (we buy the water for drinking put out by the Pepsi plant) garrafon water for cooking and any boiling water - only because it is cheaper. We get those at the local water bottling plant. Laundry is done with the normal "contaminated" cenote water (tap water) but we always line dry and let the sun bleach the bacteria. We literally live in a petri dish here. What do you do about bathing? My kids are little, so I worry about them ingesting the water, but I also don't want to add bleach to their bath water because they already have sensitive skin/eczema issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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