Water salinity tests

[iamaqt2]

I also experience extreme swelling of my feet. It is embarrassing. I am not a water drinker so I can't blame the water. I think it has to be the amount of salt in the food. Going on a cruise next week and I am going to try and stay away from soups, gravies, etc. someone said that eating pineapple helps. ? The swelling stays for about two days after I am home and then goes completely away. So frustrating. And this never happens on a land vacation, just cruises. Maybe just the humidity and sea air are causing it.

 

I know it's hard, but try drinking a lot more water. It will literally make a huge difference. And the ship water is great.. if you don't like it plain, ask for lemon or lime slices.

[Big Chief]

Secret files (stored both in area 51 and Roswell NM) contain the wisdom of all the extraterrestrial alien landings.

The effect of gravity as it pulls through the hundreds of feet of seawater beneath your feet, exerts a stronger pull/affinity for your bodily fluids. Hence the pooling in the feet.

It also causes tongues to be firmly attracted to cheeks.

[Nicky Mouse]

Had to chime in.

 

I've been on NCL 5 times (POA, Sky, Star, Dawnx2) and have drank the water from the tap in room and it tasted fine. Used it to fill my water bottle no problems.

 

Was on Caribbean Princess once in 2015 and again tap water fine.

 

Was on Carnival Splendor in 2013 and the tap water from bathroom tasted 'salty'. Later on the behind the scenes tour they said they do onboard desalination. I don't think they did a good job. It wasn't like drinking sea water, but it wasn't like tap water, it had a discernible salt taste to it.

[cpufrost]

High numbers.

What kind of meter is it?

Our taps are 40 raw / 108 treated (due to acidity of source requiring bicarbonate neutralization).

 

The purest water comes from the RO/DI plant measuring double ought (0/0 TDS/Conductance) and it used to top off flooded battery systems and charge the water coolers on computer/laser heads.

 

There's nothing in that water, that's for sure.

 

But rest assured, the purer the water, the quicker it is to pick up ions and nasties. ;)

 

I suppose if you're super paranoid you could make your own and keep it in completely filled teflon bottles ready for use. :/

[JaiJaiW]

High numbers.

What kind of meter is it?

Our taps are 40 raw / 108 treated (due to acidity of source requiring bicarbonate neutralization).

 

I'm in an area of Wyoming with VERY alkaline soil, bentonite clay and "hard" water.

 

It is a meter that tests all dissolved solids, not just sodium.

 

 

 

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[cpufrost]

I'm in an area of Wyoming with VERY alkaline soil, bentonite clay and "hard" water.

 

It is a meter that tests all dissolved solids, not just sodium.

 

 

 

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Yes TDS isn't specific to a certain range of ions. I was curious what make / model and if it was recently certified if applicable. The OP subject did mention salinity and that typically refers to amount of salt in water, predominately sodium chloride.

 

I suppose folks in the United States should count their blessings as other countries have much worse water in some cases exceeding 2000 TDS. Most wouldn't consider bathing in that let alone consuming or using it for cooking. :eek:

[JaiJaiW]

Well my point in testing the buffet water and the melted ice water with a total dissolved solids tester was that the result was under 35 parts per million of all dissolved solids. I assume Sodium would be be even lower because it's only a percentage of the total. The main argument was that the water on the boat is saltier than the water at home and causing edema. I wasn't looking for scientific exact numbers I was just trying to compare water at home with water on the boat numbers for my fellow CC rollcall shipmates on my last repo cruise.

This was done with only a few days left before our cruise and I did not have time to procure an actual salinity tester. The tester I did use was brand new and calibrated at the company.

 

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Edited February 5, 2017 by JaiJaiW

[cpufrost]

Well my point in testing the buffet water and the melted ice water with a total dissolved solids tester was that the result was under 35 parts per million of all dissolved solids. I assume Sodium would be be even lower because it's only a percentage of the total. The main argument was that the water on the boat is saltier than the water at home and causing edema. I wasn't looking for scientific exact numbers I was just trying to compare water at home with water on the boat numbers for my fellow CC rollcall shipmates on my last repo cruise.

This was done with only a few days left before our cruise and I did not have time to procure an actual salinity tester. The tester I did use was brand new and calibrated at the company.

 

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Good point on the ice cubes. They definitely should be made with the best quality water. Nobody wants ice cubes that reek of sulfur or taste like an iron pipe! :eek:

 

And ship wide tap water shouldn't be the source of problematic sodium numbers. I'd look to the food for that especially the soups. ;)

[JaiJaiW]

Good point on the ice cubes. They definitely should be made with the best quality water. Nobody wants ice cubes that reek of sulfur or taste like an iron pipe! :eek:

 

And ship wide tap water shouldn't be the source of problematic sodium numbers. I'd look to the food for that especially the soups. ;)

Totally agree on the food! And alcohol (and resulting dehydration) :-)

 

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[sunlitmists57]

This is the first I have heard of swelling.

 

On our 1st cruise I swole up so bad I couldn't get shoes on. I blamed it on walking. In was unbearable. My husband on the other hand who has edema and swelling at home was fine. I limped for days and couldn't do many excursions.

 

I'm nervous it will happen again on my next cruise. Perhaps will talk to dr about diuretic in case.

 

Anyone have any links to more info on the phantom swelling?

[DeltaOne]

First off, water that is loaded in port, in your case Boston, must be kept segregated, and not used until a coliform bacteria test is run onboard, which takes 18-24 hours, so the water you tested on turn-around day was not Boston municipal water.

 

Chief, just off the NLC Breakaway today. At the officers Q&A on Saturday I asked about how much water they load versus make on the ship. The Breakaway's chief engineer said they make 100% of their water because it saves money. And he said they can make 3 times the largest amount that had ever been used in one day.

 

I also asked about using the reverse osmosis and evaporators. He said it was too cold to use the RO, so they were using the evaporators to make their water that day.

[Longstockingpippi1]

Love H2O, interesting thread. I posted a thread about water awhile back. Bottom line, people love paying for water in plastic bottles. Sure they complain about the cost but it makes them feel 'safe' that they drinking 'good' water, compared to the rest of us that drink the 'nasty' stuff from the tap.

[chengkp75]

Chief, just off the NLC Breakaway today. At the officers Q&A on Saturday I asked about how much water they load versus make on the ship. The Breakaway's chief engineer said they make 100% of their water because it saves money. And he said they can make 3 times the largest amount that had ever been used in one day.

 

I also asked about using the reverse osmosis and evaporators. He said it was too cold to use the RO, so they were using the evaporators to make their water that day.

 

Yes, the capacity of all the watermakers is generally at least twice the daily consumption, but then again, they cannot run them while within 12 miles of shore, or in port, so they lose that time of making water. It all depends on the ratio of port time to sea time. With NCL in Hawaii, the ships are at sea only 60 hours per week, or about 35% of the time, so they cannot make enough water. The Norwegian Sky, as well, loads 100% of its water due to the short sea time. And yes, making water is cheaper than loading it, contrary to much that is posted on CC.

 

I've never heard of water being too cold for an RO unit, since the RO unit does not heat or boil the water. It merely pumps it up to several thousand psi and forces it through a filter membrane. However, the colder the water, the better the evaporators work.

[Chirpbird]

I can only speculate, but my personal feelings are that those who drink bottled water are more conscious of how much they drink, so they may hydrate better than when drinking tap water. And, as fshagan has said, because the tap water may taste differently than the water at home, you may drink less of it, while bottled water has a more consistent taste. The only way to discount or blame the water would be to do similar to what you did with a B2B, but documenting that you drank the same amount of both bottled and tap water.

I just wanted to thank you for making me see the error of my ways. I experience horrible swelling on cruises. I elevate my feet for several hours a day, then they're back to little flesh-colored nerf footballs the next day. I've even joked about cutting them to relieve the pressure. Now, I know I'm not drinking enough water. It makes perfect sense. I'm worried there's something in the water, so I don't drink it. (I'm not a huge fan of bottled water. Almost never buy it. Just when I'm going on an excursion, really.)

[Zippeedee]

Someone in one of the previous "water battle" threads brought up the lack of minerals in the filtered ship water as the cause of swelling. As one who had horrible swelling on the Gem, I ordered the water package on the Epic. As we were the first cruise from FL, the ship was still stocked with mineral water from Italy. Sorry, I don't remember the brand. I did lots of walking, ate at the buffet, etc. no swelling at all.

[fshagan]

I just wanted to thank you for making me see the error of my ways. I experience horrible swelling on cruises. I elevate my feet for several hours a day, then they're back to little flesh-colored nerf footballs the next day. I've even joked about cutting them to relieve the pressure. Now, I know I'm not drinking enough water. It makes perfect sense. I'm worried there's something in the water, so I don't drink it. (I'm not a huge fan of bottled water. Almost never buy it. Just when I'm going on an excursion, really.)

 

You may be drinking more alcohol, and the food is probably quite a bit saltier than you are used to as well. There's something that is causing it because people report they don't get it when they do land-based vacations, even staying 7 days at a resort.

 

Have any of you that experience the swelling discussed it with your regular doctor? I'd be interested in any theories they have. I don't experience any swelling myself (or at least I didn't; I'm now on blood thinners so I don't know if that will make a difference on our upcoming cruise).

[whenisthemidnightbuffet?]

Find this thread very interesting. I sail 2 to 3 times a year, and have been for the last several years and never had a problem with swelling until last year. Sailed April on Gem, horrible foot swelling and then sailed again on Gem in July, same swelling. I too thought it was the food, water, alcohol, heat, sitting in casino for hours, walking more than normal. But the only thing that doesn't make sense is this is my normal cruising behavior and for all the years and cruises I have been on this is a new malady for me.

While reading these posts I was trying to figure out what has been different on those two cruises and the only thing I can think of is I usually cruise with the Transderm patch to prevent seasickness, not sure it is something I suffer from but have used it as a precaution for years. I recently switched to Bonine, and the last two cruises I've taken and experienced the swelling I was taking the Bonine. Eureka!

 

So now I have this "aha" moment and google Bonine and swelling and nada.

 

Just curious if my fellow foot swelling CC folks are taking over the counter seasick meds?

 

I leave this Saturday on the Gem for a 10 night sailing and have decided I will experiment - I will not take the Bonine and will use my patch again. I will also drink more water, lots more and preferably bottled. Sure hoping this is "my" solution!

 

Phyllis

[whenisthemidnightbuffet?]

I sort of knew my theory of the transderm patch was a long shot, so continued to do research again this morning. My google search now finds a woman who experienced the swelling and is blaming it on the patch, lol! Oh well!

 

Phyllis