# How do I filter Nitrates out of rain water?



## HELIXX

I'm told the Nitrogen in rain water is not good to drink.
I also aware of the crap that's will also be in roof water.


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## hiwall

I do not believe the Nitrogen in rain water poses much of a risk to you.


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## camo2460

I'll have to defer to some of the chemists on the board, but if I recall correctly Nitrates and Nitrogen are two different animals.


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## Wellrounded

Buy a TDS meter off of Ebay for $20.00. If your total dissolved solids are below 30ppm your water is pretty damn clean. Our rainwater here runs at about 25ppm and our roof has been up since 1973 and the tank since 1974, neither have ever been cleaned. We don't filter our water, not sure I've ever heard of an Aussie that lives in the bush who does.

EDIT : I should add that I have an R.O. filter that we use to top the tank up with well water if we are short on rain in summer. This water is at about 2ppm, too clean to drink really.


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## LincTex

Helixx, you really don't have much to worry about drinking rainwater. 

I even drink the water that runs off from asphalt shingles. 
I seriously doubt I am doing my body an harm at all.


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## TheLazyL

LincTex said:


> Helixx, you really don't have much to worry about drinking rainwater.
> 
> I even drink the water that runs off from asphalt shingles.
> I seriously doubt I am doing my body an harm at all.


I not sure about that. From your avatar picture I'm lead to believe...


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## mosquitomountainman

Unless you live in a highly polluted environment rain water should be about as pure as it gets. Any impurities most likely came from the roof. We do drink it at times but boil it first. (The exception would be if we collected it directly from a clean surface.) Rainwater is our favorite for bathing. 

I've never heard of having nitrates in rainwater but then I'm no expert on the subject either.


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## LincTex

mosquitomountainman said:


> I've never heard of having nitrates in rainwater but then I'm no expert on the subject either.


Nitrates are almost always from sewage getting into the water table.


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## LincTex

TheLazyL said:


> I not sure about that. From your avatar picture I'm lead to believe...


Ya know - I think it's time to give ol' Marty a rest...


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## Davarm

I was just starten to like em! lol



LincTex said:


> Ya know - I think it's time to give ol' Marty a rest...


From what I've read - and I'm not even close to being an expert, nitrates in rain water are formed from the interaction between atmospheric nitrogen and lightning.

I'd wouldn't worry about nitrates in rain water, agree 100% that ground water is another story.


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## hiwall

Or buy a RO filter which removes most everything.


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## Caribou

I grew up in an area where most people collected rain for all their domestic water needs. If they have a filter it is a simple 20 micron. If you regularly have birds on your roof I might worry about it otherwise I can't imagine better water.

You might want to consider that 78% of the air you breathe is nitrogen. A little nitrogen in your water won't hurt you.


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## LincTex

hiwall said:


> Or buy a RO filter which removes most everything.


One of the things I don't like about R.O. is that they waste a LOT of water.


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## HELIXX

Thanks for your help guys. :beercheer:


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## Wellrounded

LincTex said:


> One of the things I don't like about R.O. is that they waste a LOT of water.


I don't get this I've been using RO for 20 years and other than the occasional back flush it wastes no water.


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## hiwall

The RO filters I have seen flush constantly with water.


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## Wellrounded

hiwall said:


> The RO filters I have seen flush constantly with water.


Mine don't, only waste water is a manual back flush you do periodically. I've run them for years, 600 quart a day units.


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## BillS

HELIXX said:


> I'm told the Nitrogen in rain water is not good to drink.
> I also aware of the crap that's will also be in roof water.


Nitrogen is an atmospheric gas. It's soluble in water just like oxygen. It's not a problem.


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## LincTex

hiwall said:


> The RO filters I have seen flush *constantly* with water.


Correct. The ones we have here (USA) seem to dispose of much more water than they actually produce!


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## Meerkat

Worry about filtering all the chem trail elements more so than nitrites. They are having a part with them here today. Guess its time to feed more natural spring water to Nestle and Coco Cola company's.

They were bombing the heck out of the springs all morning and leaving chem trials.

Nitrates is what I will soon be worried with this spring when I hook up my aquaponics. I don't think nitrites will hurt you though.


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## LincTex

Meerkat said:


> Worry about filtering all the chem trail elements ..... and leaving chem trials.


I have worked in aviation for almost 30 years.

There is *nothing* in jet fuel (kerosene) that leaves anything considered a "Chem trail" in jet engine exhaust. What you see is steam and/or ice crystals from water vapor (all engines make it) and nothing more.

Trust me on this - there isn't anything "added" in jet exhaust. The diesel truck driving on the freeway in front of your is putting WAY more crap in your lungs than the plane flying over.


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## hiwall

> Trust me on this - there isn't anything "added" in jet exhaust.


But, but I can see it up there.


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## Meerkat

LincTex said:


> I have worked in aviation for almost 30 years.
> 
> There is *nothing* in jet fuel (kerosene) that leaves anything considered a "Chem trail" in jet engine exhaust. What you see is steam and/or ice crystals from water vapor (all engines make it) and nothing more.
> 
> Trust me on this - there isn't anything "added" in jet exhaust. The diesel truck driving on the freeway in front of your is putting WAY more crap in your lungs than the plane flying over.


 Maybe that's why you don't want to believe your own military would do something so sinister.

I have been seeing the skies over the nation for 65 years and never have I ever seen 'jet vapor ' look like this. Vapor won't stick around all day into the next .








hiwall said:


> But, but I can see it up there.


 So can everyone else even if your being sarcastic and in denial.


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## LincTex

Meerkat said:


> I have been seeing the skies over the nation for 65 years and never have I ever seen 'jet vapor ' look like this. Vapor won't stick around all day into the next.


It doesn't.

Your source of information is quite flawed.



Meerkat said:


> So can everyone else even if your being sarcastic and in denial.


Why attack me? I'm telling you the truth.

I can't say there's no such thing as spray planes and the like - because there are.... (for ag/crop use and mosquito control)

but I'm dead serious: 
There's NOTHING in the kerosene fuel (except for a tiny little bit of Prist® fuel additive, but it's very small) or anything done to the engines themselves that is depositing chemicals into the atmosphere for "some sinister reason".

Also, Of the thousands of jet turbine engine aircraft I have worked on, I can assure you there are no spray nozzles attached to the engines that "make them leave chemtrails".


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## Meerkat

LincTex said:


> It doesn't.
> 
> Your source of information is quite flawed.
> 
> Why attack me? I'm telling you the truth.
> 
> I can't say there's no such thing as spray planes and the like - because there are.... (for ag/crop use and mosquito control)
> 
> but I'm dead serious:
> There's NOTHING in the kerosene fuel (except for a tiny little bit of Prist® fuel additive, but it's very small) or anything done to the engines themselves that is depositing chemicals into the atmosphere for "some sinister reason".
> 
> Also, Of the thousands of jet turbine engine aircraft I have worked on, I can assure you there are no spray nozzles attached to the engines that "make them leave chemtrails".


 I would not attack you, your too nice .That was meant for the smart ass funny one Hawii. not you.

I will show you what sky's looked like when I was younger, Up till about 2000 or whenever I took time to look up again with all those grandkids around.


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## FrankW

As a Chemist I can tell folks there are not "nitrates" in your rainwater.
Rainwater is essentially distilled water except for the impurities its pick up when falling thru dusty air ( usually negligible) or whatever it flows over into your collection vessel.


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## Meerkat

BlueZ said:


> As a Chemist I can tell folks there are not "nitrates" in your rainwater.
> Rainwater is essentially distilled water except for the impurities its pick up when falling thru dusty air ( usually negligible) or whatever it flows over into your collection vessel.


 Well then tell us why all those unnatural ugly clouds come from and why so many pilots are up there doing nothing but flying around.

I think they are dropping chems on us for a reason and that could consist of many theory's on that. I would like to think its something good, but then I know their history and that makes it impossible. haha

I do hope this helped Helixx with his nitrate question.


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## LincTex

Meerkat said:


> ... and why so many pilots are up there doing nothing but flying around.


Those are "Pipeline Patrols" :teehee: :laugh:

I wish! 
I'd love to get a flying job where all I have to do is just fly around and log the hours. That would be a dream come true for me. Pipeline patrol comes close, but not quite 

Meerkat, you are a sweet lady but I really don't think there's anything sinister going on in the sky. Ice Crystals can stay aloft for hours (even days) very easily.

If you want to be worried about what various aircraft do, then concern yourself with "ELINT". That is VERY real and it happens with regularity. The US military has planes that can listen to 1000's of cell phone conversations at once. But even those planes have NO extra chemical tanks, or devices attached to the exhaust ducts of the engines.


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## Meerkat

LincTex said:


> Those are "Pipeline Patrols" :teehee: :laugh:
> 
> I wish!
> I'd love to get a flying job where all I have to do is just fly around and log the hours. That would be a dream come true for me. Pipeline patrol comes close, but not quite
> 
> Meerkat, you are a sweet lady but I really don't think there's anything sinister going on in the sky. Ice Crystals can stay aloft for hours (even days) very easily.
> 
> If you want to be worried about what various aircraft do, then concern yourself with "ELINT". That is VERY real and it happens with regularity. The US military has planes that can listen to 1000's of cell phone conversations at once. But even those planes have NO extra chemical tanks, or devices attached to the exhaust ducts of the engines.


 LOL, just what I needed more imput. Let em eat cake because I don't talk a lot on the phone all my conspiracy theory's have run most people off.


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## Meerkat

hiwall said:


> But, but I can see it up there.


Hiwall Im just kidding around with you. :wave:


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## LincTex

Meerkat said:


> LOL, just what I needed more imput. ....all my conspiracy theory's have run most people off.


I'm quite certain you are viewed by them simply as a harmless old lady, LOL!


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## Utopian

mosquitomountainman said:


> Unless you live in a highly polluted environment rain water should be about as pure as it gets. Any impurities most likely came from the roof. We do drink it at times but boil it first. (The exception would be if we collected it directly from a clean surface.) Rainwater is our favorite for bathing.
> 
> I've never heard of having nitrates in rainwater but then I'm no expert on the subject either.


I'm with Mosquito. Rainwater should be safe, especially when SHTF, the best you could probably do by then is just boil it.


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## TheLazyL

Utopian said:


> I'm with Mosquito. Rainwater should be safe, especially when SHTF, the best you could probably do by then is just boil it.


I'm really confused.

Water evaporates which means all the impurities are left behind. Then the water condenses back into liquid form as rain and falls back to earth. Why waste resources boiling before drinking rain water?


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## hiwall

> Why waste resources boiling before drinking rain water?


I suppose if your catchment system was contaminated you may want to boil it.


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## LincTex

There is the possibility that some bird dropping contamination may result during catchment. Not much, really - but something to keep in mind.

The majority of my rainwater contamination is typically very small leaf/plant material and a little dust/dirt.


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## TheLazyL

hiwall said:


> I suppose if your catchment system was contaminated you may want to boil it.


Thanks for clearing that up for me. We're talking runoff water.


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## Caribou

If you have birds on your roof I might worry but otherwise it is no problem. I grew up in a region where tens of thousands catch their water for drinking, showers, cooking, laundry, etc. If anybody ever boiled their drinking water I never saw it.


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