Home and office filtration systems are saving plenty - no piles of plastic, recyclable bottles and no machines - but how long can you expect a clean stream from any method of cleaner drinking water?
FOX 29's Joyce Evans decided to find out. Since we spend much of our days at work, we decided to see what was in the water at FOX 29's Old City studios.
We started in the newsroom by properly swabbing the water fountains and worked our way into the lunch room and then we made our way to the water fountains in our human resources office.
We also grabbed all of the water pitchers out of the fridge.
"I can take a look at this and see what we can find," microbiologist Dr. Farbod Nekouei said.
The team at EMSL Analytics gathered cultures and we waited, for weeks for the gunk to grow.
Eventually, microbiologists found something called "sphingomonas," inside our filtered fountain water. which isn't toxic but could make you sick and may even cause serious infection if your immune system is weakened.
"I've seen far worse," Dr. Nekouei said.
Our filtered newsroom and lunchroom fountains still had less bacteria then the unfiltered human resources fountain, which probably won't hurt you but still isn't the cleanest way to drink water.
Faring better was the filtered tap water pitcher, which was doing a great job to catch all of the water born bacteria, but microbiologists still found a few other types of bacteria - the kinds of germs they suspect from the not so clean hands that installed the clean filter.
"It's a good thing we have an immune system," Dr. Nekouei said.
Microbiologists did stress one point: you can't expect to catch every speck - it's just not going to happen. In fact, they sent us back with a super sterile kit to capture more samples.
If you're looking for some help on how to properly change your water cooler at home, ehow.com has some good tips.
Sunday, May 19 2013 5:27 PM EDT2013-05-19 21:27:52 GMT
Pounding winds and violent surf from Hurricane Sandy left their mark on Ocean City, NJ. Beaches were washed out and there's concern about debris washing up. But Mayor Jay Gillian says no need to worry.
Mayor of Ocean City says no need to worry about debris filled beaches after Hurricane Sandy. He says plans have been taking place to make sure they're safe and clean.
Sunday, May 19 2013 5:25 PM EDT2013-05-19 21:25:28 GMT
The Pennsylvania State Police are searching for 21-year-old Matthew Royer, who went missing after leaving his apartment at the University of Rhode Island. Police says Royer left his college apartment
The Pennsylvania State Police are searching for 21-year-old Matthew Royer, who went missing after leaving his apartment at the University of Rhode Island. Police says Royer left his college apartment
Sunday, May 19 2013 8:20 AM EDT2013-05-19 12:20:57 GMT
Finding a job without a college degree can be a difficult task, even if you're a war veteran. Now, they have the opportunity to turn their military training into college credits.
Finding a job without a college degree can be a difficult task, even if you're a war veteran. Now, they have the opportunity to turn their military training into college credits.
Sunday, May 19 2013 7:58 AM EDT2013-05-19 11:58:46 GMT
Once hailed as a hero after surviving a shotgun blast to his face in 2007, a former police officer is now charged with raping and sexually assaulting two women at gunpoint he met at a party.
Once hailed as a hero after surviving a shotgun blast to his face in 2007, a former police officer is now charged with raping and sexually assaulting two women at gunpoint he met at a party.
Sunday, May 19 2013 1:45 AM EDT2013-05-19 05:45:51 GMT
A Powerball jackpot-winning ticket worth an estimated $590.5 million was sold in Florida, but there were also million-dollar winners sold in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, according to the lottery.
A Powerball jackpot-winning ticket worth an estimated $590.5 million was sold in Florida, but there were also million-dollar winners sold in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, according to the lottery's website.
Saturday, May 18 2013 9:28 PM EDT2013-05-19 01:28:06 GMT
Rain moved in Saturday afternoon and the chance for it will stick around through the seven day forecast.
It becomes very unsettled across our area with clounds and showers again Sunday. The best chance for rain is in the morning and afternoon thunderstorms are possible towards our south.
Sunday is cool but we do warm up well into the 80s by Tuesday. With the warm weather comes a better chance for thunderstorms.
Friday, May 17 2013 11:44 PM EDT2013-05-18 03:44:01 GMT
A couple of Good Samaritans helped rescue a 3-year-old boy's lifeless body from an Allentown creek. Their quick thinking and help from police helped bring the boy back to life.
A couple of Good Samaritans helped rescue a 3-year-old boy's lifeless body from an Allentown creek. Their quick thinking and help from police helped bring the boy back to life.
We put our filters and water coolers to the test to see how clean our drinking water really was at our FOX 29 studios in Old City.
We swabbed our faucets and took what we found to EMSL Analytical Laboratories in Cinnaminson, New Jersey.
