As a newly minted Certified Natural Health Practitioner, I started Anarres Apothecary as a social enterprise storefront, online and mail-order resource for you when you want body care, DIY supplies and housewares that are Good For You and Good For The Earth. For me, holistic health does not mean merely the health of our individual minds, bodies and spirits, but also the health of the Earth and all its Beings. That’s why for a dozen years, I’ve been a fan of Water Docs, and offered Self Spa mini-workshops at screenings to show people how easy and affordable it is to create bath salts, body scrubs and face masks using fairly traded, local and environmentally friendly ingredients. Naturally, I rejected the distilled water that comes in plastic bottles and needed a responsible water purifier to make the Anarres body care products with.
BAD WATER?
I am grateful that the water that comes out of my tap is drinkable, and I know that most people on our planet do not have this privilege including upwards of 130 indigenous communities within Canada that don't have drinkable tap water. Nonetheless, I confess to having a sensitive nose, with a disdain for the scent of chlorine. And living in old houses in old neighbourhoods my whole life has meant that my tap water has a good chance of containing lead. Looking up test results in my own postal code confirms this. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/05/20/lead_water_testing_results.html
UGH PLASTIC PITCHERS AND WASTE
So for the first 15 years of my time as an adult in Toronto, I used the ubiquitous plastic water pitchers with the plastic charcoal filled filters made by reprehensible companies with fake recycling programs. Often, I hesitated to replace the filters on time because I was so reluctant to throw out and buy new plastic. Eventually, I learned a hack - drilling a hole in the top of the filter, emptying the charcoal, and replacing it with bulk aquarium charcoal, closing the hole with a cork. Good job, Tracey, except that for a while I composted the charcoal before it occurred to me that I was putting the unwanted metals and chemicals back into the earth that the charcoal had absorbed!
WHAT SHOULD I DO INSTEAD?
I knew I wanted a better system and I was on the lookout. I did not want reverse osmosis - that wastes water, concentrates toxins and puts it back out into the environment. Reverse osmosis also removes minerals, effectively making distilled water, risking demineralizing the body. Out of sight, out of mind means that changing filters and cleaning the under the counter unit is too easy to ignore. I might even be making my water worse! As a Certified Natural Health Practitioner, I wanted a water purifier that I felt totally good about - from the points of view of personal and planetary health, and I did not want to continue supporting the dirty dogs who make the pitcher style filters. I also did not want to spend hundreds of dollars on a purifier, or be trapped buying very expensive replacement filters. I also did not want to buy into dodgy science from a company that might be here today and gone tomorrow.
I FIND THE WATER PURIFIER OF MY DREAMS
When I started my Anarres Natural Health practice, teaching DIY product making and selling fairly traded and local ingredients and body care, I had exhibits in a number of home and health shows. At one show, I saw the Stefani Water Purifiers, checked out the booth every day of the show, read up on the performance of the filtres, and by the end promised myself that I would buy a Stefani. I learned more, I decluttered my countertop and I ordered… I promoted and sold Stefani Water Purifiers to my body care making students that year, only to see that Life Spices was selling off their stock! So here I was with a system I adored, that I had sold to my students, and I absolutely HAD to import myself so that we always had replacement filters!
I LEARN TO IMPORT!
This was the most epic adventure I’d ever embarked on. It involved introductions, decisions about shipping and insurance, the selection of a broker, the filling in out (still) mind-blowingly complicated anything-could-go-wrong wire transfer forms and the monumental (for me) minimum order. In this process, I got to know the Stefani people and company - a kindly committed family business located in Brazil. When we discussed the challenge and expense of posting the terracotta water purifiers around North America, I asked why the Stefani family does not have its terracotta compartments made on each continent, so that they are more affordable to transport. My contact Aguinaldo told me that they are committed to continuing to hire and train local people off the street as potters, and they do not want to lose the quality control they have over humidity and drying time that they have in their own plant they’ve been developing since 1947. I am not simply dealing with a family business with integrity, but one I am happy to say is a social enterprise.
WHY DID I CHOOSE STEFANI WATER PURIFIERS?
I’ve been importing annually for a decade now, and along the way, I’ve discovered more and more reasons to support Stefani Water Purifiers. Here are MY reasons to love my Stefani Water Purifiers (a 16L at home, a 6L in our staff kitchen, a 16L in the front of the shop, and a 6L in the Workshop Room):
TERRA COTTA - unglazed red clay - is how water stays clean and safe for humans in clay channels underground. Terra cotta water urns have been used all around the world to keep water fresh. Water evaporates through the porous walls, cooling the water by a few degrees. Water is always the perfect temperature to drink!
HEALTHY WATER USING NATURAL MATERIALS The filter cartridges consist of three layers. The outer shell is a .5 micron-sized porcelain ceramic. The inner layer of the porcelain is infused with colloidal silver to kill germs and stop these from growing inside the filtered water. The inside is filled with activated charcoal from coconut shells. Because the filters are ceramic, not plastic, they do not leach hormone-disrupting chemicals into your water and into the landfill afterwards.
INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED TEST RESULTS So many water filter companies make false claims about the performance of their water purifiers. When I wanted to expand into selling stainless steel water purifiers, I called the company’s customer service line three times to check their claims. One agent sent me the test result report that contradicted their stated claims. The second agent restated the falsified info posted on their website. The third agent told me I should not have been sent the result report and they had no new info for me. Of course, I will never sell these water purifiers, but their customers DO buy Stefani filters to replace the branded filters that cost 5 times more!
The down-to-earth INMETRO Certified test results show that Stefani water filters consistently remove and reduce the following impurities and contaminants:
99.9% Bacteria (thankfully, municipally treated water is relatively free of bacteria)
99.9% Amoeba (thankfully, municipally treated water is relatively free of bacteria)
99.7% Copper (copper can build up in your brain, liver, and lungs, making you unwell)
99.6% Lead (a problem when water travels through old water pipes. There’s no safe level of lead.)
98.5% Chlorine (possibly carcinogenic, it keeps germs out, but no longer evaporates, leaving a “chemical” taste and smell)
99.4% Iron (Nutritional iron comes from food, since the body cannot easily absorb iron from water.)
99.4% Zinc (drinking water containing high levels of zinc can lead to stomach cramps, nausea and vomiting.)
97.0% Bromoform (Tribromomethane is a chemical that is a possible contaminant of drinking water that has been chlorinated.)
95.0% Dichlorobromomethane (Dichlorobromochloromethane is a chemical that is a possible contaminant of drinking water that has been chlorinated.)
94.5% Aluminum (Aluminum salts are commonly added as coagulants during water treatment to remove turbidity, organic matter and microorganisms. Aluminum is also an impurity found in other water treatment chemicals and can leach into drinking water from cement mortar pipes or linings.Aluminum can build up in the body aluminum to effects on the nervous system, with possible connections to several diseases, such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and Lou Gehrig's disease.)
93.0% Chloroform (Can contaminate groundwater, and can cause dizziness, fatigue, and headaches and may damage your liver and kidneys.)
93.0% Dibromochloromethane (Dibromochloromethane is a chemical that is a possible contaminant of drinking water that has been chlorinated.)
92.0% Dieldrin (is acutely toxic to laboratory animals by the oral, dermal, and inhalation routes, affecting eyes, skin, and the central nervous system, producing irritability, tremors, and convulsions.
87.0% Lindane (Acute exposure of animals to lindane results in neurological and behavioural effects.)
ESTIMATED:
>50% to <10% Fluoride, municipally added water (Adverse effects are found at 50ppm +, the EPA recommends 20ppm, and Toronto adds 6ppm. The detectable level is 5ppm!)
... Resulting in naturally fresh and 100% healthy water.
IT’S ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY Of course, using any at home water purifier will eliminate your use of single-use plastic water bottles, but we should expect a lot more from manufacturers. The Stefani company packages in a corrugated cardboard box with cardboard padding. The terracotta countertop Stefani are gravity fed, so they are safer and work in off grid cottages. The Stefani does not waste water or concentrate toxins, whereas reverse osmosis units wastes up to 70% of the water filtered, concentrating the toxins in the 70% of the water it puts back out in the sewer. I feel good about the porcelain filter sequestering toxins, so that these chemicals and metals don’t go back out into the water stream. Strangely, putting the used up filter in the landfill is the friendliest thing to do, because it has captured and holds onto the contaminants.
HOW MUCH WATER DO WE NEED TO DRINK ANYWAY?
Although I am conscious to drink water or herbal tea whenever I feel thirsty, and especially pay attention in the summertime, I was surprised by the amount recommended: The U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine determined that an adequate daily fluid intake is: About 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids a day for men. About 11.5 cups (2.7 liters) of fluids a day for women.
I had minor surgery a few weeks ago, and ever since I've been so thirsty, I've carried a cup of tea or water around with me now! Here's how to calculate how much water you need for your body and level of exercise:
https://fitnessvolt.com/water-intake-calculator/
Some enjoyable ways to increase your water intake:
* Use a bottle you love, and make sure to rinse and wash the mouth of the bottle daily.
* Have more soups as meals. Instead of mashed potatoes, consider a potato veggie soup. 20% of your daily fluid intake probably comes from foods.
* Drink herbal teas. Experiment with what you enjoy. A sprinkle of lemon balm, hibiscus, peppermint or even dried citrus peels (save your own!) adds fun to herbaceous teas. A pinch of stevia herb sweetens the pot without adding sugar.
* Drink water you enjoy the taste of! I sincerely love the sweet fresh taste of Stefani Water purified water.
WIN A TERRACOTTA WATER PURIFIER OF YOUR OWN!
This year, I am offering as a prize the Stefani terracotta water purifier of your choice - whether the 4L, 6L. 8L, 10L, or 13L is the best one for your household. You’ll receive guidance on how to set up and maintain your water purifier, and I promise I’ll always help if you encounter any trouble, and always provide inexpensive replacement filters and parts. At Anarres Apothecary and AnarresHealth.ca, we are also donating 10% of the proceeds from sales of water purifiers and products during March! I hope you enjoy the sweet natural taste of terracotta purified water as much as I do, and continue your commitment to healthy water for all creatures on our precious planet.
Learn more about the contest here! https://www.waterdocs.ca/