If You Live in LA, You Need to Get This ... You'll Thank Me Later

I know this blog is supposed to be about cooking, but these days it’s been a mish mash of random things. I promise to do some cooking this weekend. I've been surprisingly busy and have been putting off some household improvements. On top of my list was to get a water filter for the kitchen faucet and get a curtain for my room because it faces west so the morning sun shines down on my face, yes ... my non-sunscreened face first thing in the morning and we all know that can't happen. And trust me, I thought about wearing sunscreen to bed, but we all know that it won't last till the morning.

So to control my neurosis, I needed to get a curtain. So after helping my friend J decorate her classroom for the new school year, I stopped by IKEA and Target on the way back to pick up these two items. I tried to put together the curtain rod today but I just noticed, it doesn't come with nails. I haven't shopped at IKEA in ages, but don't they give you nails anymore? So I must make a trip to the hardware store to buy nails, hopefully that will happen today. The things I do to block out the sun.

I did, however, put together the water filter this morning. I bought this one and this one, just in case I'd have better luck with a different model. I've read the reviews on amazon and a lot of people have complained about leaking, but from other reviews I've read such as this, they said the PUR FM-9400 was the best faucet-mounted water filter and supposedly filters out more contaminants. I've heard some disturbing statistics out there about the contaminants that are in our water, and LA water especially tastes really gross to me. I've tried a Brita water pitcher in the past and I feel like it still tastes chemically to me. I've been making roasted corn tea in lieu of buying gallons and gallons of water I consume on a weekly basis, but that becomes too tiring and at some point, a girl just craves the taste of clean, pure water. My friend Pete also told me her dad said you shouldn’t boil water because water is alive and by boiling it, you’re in essence killing it. Now this logic has never worked on me in my quest to become vegetarian or to follow a raw diet, but I have selective memory and a Korean parent said it so it must be true. =)

I took off the faucet aerator (basically the tip of the faucet) and put on a new adaptor. The package comes with three different types of adaptors and luckily one of them fit. You then add the PUR faucet unit, put in a new filter and turn it on. Surprisingly there were no leaks and it works beautifully. The water flow is weaker because it takes time for the water to be filtered, but it's hardly a deterrent. I tasted the filtered water vs. regular tap water and it's astonishing, there is a significant taste and smell difference. I don't know why I waited so long to try it. Get on the bandwagon folks. It costs only $35 or so and you have the comfort of knowing you are cooking and washing your produce with filtered water too.

So off my new high from properly installing the water filter, I started getting curious about the water in my bathroom sink. I took apart the aerator and it was soo gross. I think the rubber washer was disintegrating so there was black particles trapped inside along with other sediments from the old pipes. It's gross to think I've been washing my face and brushing me teeth with it. Ewww... I definitely suggest cleaning out your aerator from time to time and making sure you get a clean water flow. So remember I mentioned I bought two water filters to try out, well one is now attached to my bathroom sink. It's kind of bulky and this one definitely leaks, not because of the unit, but because my faucet is kind of old, but I now I have peace of mind that my water is being filtered. Heck, now I don't have to go to the kitchen to get some water, I can just go to my bathroom sink. An added benefit. See, I'm trying to justify why I just put a kitchen water filter in the bathroom, but now I kind of want one for my shower. hahaha. The madness continues...