The Importance of a Good Water Filter: What I Learned From The Colorado Floods [$100 Giveaway!]

Despite living in some disaster-prone places in my life (looking at you Seattle and your SIX* active volcanoes within eyesight), I’ve been fortunate to have avoided major catastrophe. I was in Seattle for their big earthquake in 2002 but other than getting a little nauseated from watching the pavement literally roll in front of me, I was unaffected. That lucky streak was broken a month ago when Colorado experienced the worst flooding in recorded history and while we weren’t in the hardest hit areas (although my sister was) we were right in the thick of it.

flood3See my house down there? It’s the one right under the water. It’s kind of beautiful from this angle, no?

On Thursday, otherwise known as the day we all figured out it was raining too much but hadn’t yet realized exactly how bad it was going to get, I left my house to take my kids to piano lessons. On the way out of our subdivision, we found the road totally flooded out. I was surprised but turned around to go to the second – and only other – road out… only to find it too completely under water. If I hadn’t known there was a road there before, I would never have thought so, thanks to the river that had taken its place. Nevertheless, I decided to press on. Other cars were driving through it and since I’d made it through the floods in Minnesota a couple of years ago just fine, I went for it. (I will not admit that I was egged on by my boys who thought the whole thing was an awesome adventure and may or may not have been chanting do IT do IT do IT.) Halfway through the river, I felt our car start to get pushed sideways and realized what an idiotic decision I’d made. How would I get all four of my kids out of their seat belts and out of the raging flood waters if our car had been toppled?? Still, with cars in front and behind us there was no turning back – even if I’d been able to.

flood This bridge near our house went out, dumping three cars into the river. (Thankfully everyone got out okay!) Scariest part for me? Jelly Bean and I drove over it an hour before this happened. 

Thankfully through the grace of God we made it through, although I don’t think I’ve ever been so white-knuckled driving before. I was still shaking when we got to the piano teacher’s house. An hour and a half later when we tried to return home, I was saved from further stupidity by the police closing off the roads to all traffic. Yes, both roads into our neighborhood. I hauled the kids to McDonald’s (hush, it was the closest thing) and set them loose in the playland while I waited for my husband to come and help me figure out what to do next.

Once we did finally make it home, I stayed up all night frantically texting my sister and other friends who were in the hardest hit areas, checking to make sure they were okay. (They were, thankfully! Although an elementary school near my sister was completely wiped off the earth. “It’s just… not there anymore,” explained one official.) I also waited up, constantly refreshing the County sheriff’s site, watching as the evacuation line came closer and closer to our house, finally ending a mere 6 blocks away. It was a long night. That was the worst of it.

What I hadn’t been prepared for was what happened afterward. After the rains finally stopped, Colorado was left with one heck of a mess to clean up. Again, I am very blessed that our house sustained no damage and we were all alright. I don’t want to minimize the suffering of those who got it much worse – I tried to help with relief efforts by volunteering to work at the emergency phone center and babysitting for people who went to help shovel debris – but our lives were dramatically altered. For weeks afterward portions of both roads (and many other roads in our area) remained closed for repairs making driving anywhere like some insane game of Tetris – perfect for someone who gets lost like it’s my job. I swear I’m directionally dyslexic.

Anyhow, the main road just barely reopened last Thursday. Our school and other activities got cancelled. My mom had to cancel a trip out to visit because the road from the airport got washed out. Nothing life threatening – for which I’m very grateful – but still really inconvenient. 

flood2 This road is just up the canyon from our home, one we’ve driven many times. I believe it’s still closed. 

One of the hardest parts was after suffering from too much water, all of a sudden we were hurting from too little water. Well, good, clean water. At first, with the water stations so overloaded, we were told our tap water wasn’t safe. And then we were told we could drink the water but we didn’t want to – it smelled like rotten potato peelings.

At first, we all turned to bottled water – a fact the local Wal-Mart took full advantage of by marking up their cases by over a dollar apiece! (My son noticed this when he saw the old price sign showing under the newly taped up price sign. Thanks a lot Wal-Mart.) But as the weeks dragged on and our water still smelled like the galley on a carb-obsessed Navy ship, we all returned to our tap water. As noted by signs taped up over ever public drinking fountain, they kept assuring us it was safe to drink despite the color and smell.

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It was at this point I got sent a sample of the Whirlpool® Water EveryDrop™ Water Filter. Now I’ve reviewed tons of water filters/bottles/products in the past and was honestly kind of over it. Until this happened. Never was I so happy to get a package in the mail! Thanks to its clever design, I could easily use it to filter the water not only for my kids to drink but for cooking, cleaning and even for our cat.

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I was all set to show off the filter for you when my son pointed out I’d put it together wrong. Ok, no biggie! I’ll just flip this around and…

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Aw crap. Have I mentioned my spatial skills are really bad? After way more time than I care to admit, I finally figured out I’d stuck the filter in upside down. Oops.

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Wait, it goes like this? Yeah, I had to ask my 11-year-old if I’d done it right. (I swear I’m smart in other areas. Like Friends trivia. And balancing chemical equations. Priorities.)

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It’s small enough I could throw it in my bag and take it with us to the park or rec center. And it’s fast enough to filter a whole pitcher of water in under two minutes. It even has a little storage case so I can keep it as part of our emergency supply should this happen again, heaven forbid. I should note that this isn’t a water purifier – it won’t sanitize dirty water – but our water was safe, just yucky. So it was perfect for what we needed! I kinda wished Whirlpool Water could have given all the people in the flood area one of the filters as it was so handy!

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Maybe it will clean up bad thoughts too? Not that I ever have those, of course. I’m asking for A FRIEND.

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Jelly Bean and I having a happy-tasting water moment. I love the little clear EveryDrop Filter bubble sticking out of the top of the pitcher – it’s feeling very Jetsons.

This is what I’ve learned: NEVER underestimate the power of water. It gives life. It also takes it away. It’s not just the power that everyone on Avatar and The Last Airbender thinks is kind of the wussiest out of the four bending powers. I also learned that I take having readily available, clean drinking water for granted. I am so blessed to not have to worry about this on a daily basis and this experience was a good reminder to me to be grateful for what we have (and to be better prepared for when we don’t have it).

Have you ever been in a situation where your water supply was contaminated or when a portable water filter would have come in handy? Leave me a comment to be entered to win a $100 Visa gift card!

*Mt. Ranier, Mt. Shasta, Mt. Baker, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, Glacier Peak – just in case you were curious😉

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Also, lest you think I prance around my kitchen like a 1950’s housewife in a Vitameatavegamin commercial, I feel like I should show you the OTHER side of my kitchen. So basically I’d cleaned off the table and… now you know how we really live. Maybe the filter can clean my kitchen?

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116 Comments

  1. OMG I had NO idea how bad the flooding was where you were! Those were incredible pictures and how scary to have gone through that!

    And I also can’t believe how adorable you look all dressed up in your kitchen. That look would take me 10 hours (and a personality transplant; much de-butchifying involved) so I can only admire in awe.

    I am a big fan of the whole filtered water tap water thing; those plastic bottles all our friends keep buying just seem ridiculous and wasteful to me. We have a fancy under the sink filtration system that cost hundreds of dollars that we put in 6 years ago, but we’re so glad we did. (And we just use the Brita pitcher thingy when in CA.) But this sounds like a great portable alternative for on the road and I’ll have to check it out! We have had some FUNKY water in our travels.

  2. Even though we have decent tap water that tastes just fine to everyone else, I still use my Brita water filter. I swear I can even taste the city water when I use it to make coffee. But it does need changing occasionally; I’d love to compare a different brand.

  3. Very glad that you and the kids made out ok that day. Scary!

    a few months ago, there was a fire in the house next door, and the fire department had to use the hydrant, which is in our front yard (convenient, no?). Which made our water kind of brown and cloudy. Safe, just kind of gross. And since the water line in our fridge is busted, we couldn’t filter it there, either. So this would have been handy to have!

  4. No, I have never been in a situation where my water supply was contaminated, thank god. I’m glad you and your family are ok!

  5. Sorry you had to go through this, Charlotte! It seems no matter where we live, there are problems with the weather!

  6. I love your outfit– it’s super cute!!! I have never, thank goodness, been in a situation where my tap water wasn’t safe– but I live in NY and we now get all kinds of weird weather, so who knows!!! I’m so glad that you made it through that whole ordeal safely!!

  7. Haha, unfortunately, yes, but luckily not due to a natural disaster. I worked in manufacturing up until about a month ago, and in my years there, we’ve had multiple instances of water main breaks to the plant causing water contamination or our water supply being shut off all together (which causes problems for more than just drinking water…). Doesn’t seem like a big deal, but trying to get enough bottled water for that many people who basically can’t leave the facility is an interesting situation.

  8. I lived in Des moines, Iowa during the floods in 1993. I remember my grandfather calling in the middle of the night and telling us to fill up the bathtub with tap water. The flood water had breached the water works plant and the following days were a nightmare without running water throughout the city. The Army Corps of Engineers was set up fairly close to our house so we could get some water but it was so unbelievable how hard it was for people that summer.

  9. I always use a filter to drink our tap water because it tastes funny. And in the spring when there is a lot of runoff, our water turns brown. Even though the city says it is safe I still prefer using a filter.

  10. I have never had a situation where we were without water. I have 2 measly gallons on water in the basement, which with 6 people in the house would last 5 minutes. I always joke though that I don’t need food storage or disaster prep because my mother takes the Mormon church’s urging to have food storage to a hoarder level so all I really have to do is make it 1 mile away to her house and the let the freeloading begin!

  11. How crazy nature can be! So glad to hear you and your family are doing okay. It can be so dangerous no matter how prepared you are.

  12. I haven’t ever actually NEEDED such a filter. But it does seem like something that should be in emergency kits!

  13. Having lived through both major fires and earthquakes in CA, all I can say is Mother Nature is SCARY. So glad you all came through okay!

    I kind of hate any and all tap water so I love my bottle that has a built-in filter. I can have filtered water any where, which is awesome. And so much cheaper and better for the environment than bottled water! Water filters are the best.

  14. I love your kitchen! Two ovens and a huge island?!? I want to live there!

    I’ve never actually needed a filter (thankfully), but I use my Brita all the time because our tap water just doesn’t really taste all that great. Maybe it’s a mental thing, but I feel like it tastes much better (and colder!) after it’s been through the Brita and is sitting in the fridge for a while.

  15. I love that you spent time focusing on what you’re grateful for and I’m glad everyone was alright!
    Also, you look absolutely adorable!
    That type of filter sounds interesting. I wonder if it would help with water that is safe but has a very strong metallic taste… *ponders*

  16. A portable water filter would come in handy when I go camping.
    jslbrown_03 at yahoo dot com

  17. tweet-https://twitter.com/LuLu_Brown24/status/397413313677520896
    jslbrown_03 at yahoo dot com

  18. lucky i have not but i wanna get a filter

  19. I have never been in this situation, but I would love to use the water filter

  20. Jessica Fletcher-Fierro

    I’ve never been in a situation that bad, but I live in Southern California (earthquake country) so I’d love to add this to an emergency kit. And by that I mea that I would START an emergency kit with this filter, since I don’t have one. 🙂

  21. I just want to know if you always dress this cutely around the house. Because really, you’re way cute than I am. 🙂

  22. Hey come on, air was the wussiest element on Avatar because it was the pacifist element 😉 You never saw Aang throw spikes (ice) or crush things (earth) or set things on fire (obvious).

  23. A couple of years ago there were warnings in our area about the water supply possibly not being safe to drink. A filter like this would come in handy.

  24. tweet–https://twitter.com/mami2jcn/status/397491899268743168

  25. Your new house is lovely!!

  26. I would use it at work every day!

  27. Yikes! So glad you guys made it through OK!
    Luckily we haven’t had many situations where our water was affected, but living in earthquake country, we should probably have a filter. I’ve been thinking of getting one anyway, after reading about all the “safe” crud that makes it into our water supply.
    Oh, and then there was the Yosemite rim fire in August, which threatened the Hetch Hetchy reservoir. Y’know, the one that supplies water to all of San Francisco…

  28. A portable water filter would be great to have when traveling to areas with questionable water.

  29. I’m one of those weirdos who puts myself in situations where the water is nasty. Like, canoeing up north. We have a pump filter, but it’s a pain to use, so sometimes we tempt fate and just fill up with pure lake water. Hey, if you do it in the middle of the lake rather than the beach, you’re less likely to get giardia!

    (Aren’t you glad I shared this with you?)

    Also: please be my personal stylist. I love all of your outfits!

  30. We went through a few cyclonic storms in Oz and thankfully never needed one, but I always wished we had a water purifier. Something better than our bobbles…

  31. The only time I’ve ever had to filter or purify my water, thankfully, was on a week-long camping trip in the mountains. We were up in a remote area and the water should have been clean, but you can never be sure these days. It was a beautiful trip, though I was paranoid about bears every night and would lie awake listening for any bear-like sounds.

  32. So glad to know your home and family got through the floods . Clean drinkable tap water is such a gift. Here in NE Texas there is an annual algae bloom that affects the smell and taste of our tap water. Still safe to drink but no t pleasing. That filter sounds like a good solution.

  33. This filter looks awesome! We spent 7 years living in Oregon, with some amazing clear and tasty water. When we moved to Central Texas, the water smell is such a turn off, as is the taste. We pack filtered water everywhere! And with little ones, I am the pack mule 🙁 But this small portable filter means I don’t have to carry the water anymore, just a container to put it in. Definitely looking for one of these!

  34. I travel to Mexico and often wished I had a reliable filtering system that was portable and here it is!!

  35. I do not use a filter at home (city water, I trust it) I do use a brita filter water bottle on the go!

  36. Outside of the occasional boil order in the area, never had a contamination issue. I totally want one of those filters though! I saw an ad for it in a magazine the other day, and almost bought one on the spot!

  37. Never contaminated, but it would’ve come in very handy on our last camping trip!

  38. Due to Hurricane Sandy, I lost not only power/heat for 2 weeks but I also lost water in my home..nothing worked & it was inhabitable (thankfully no actual flooding/damage to my home). When it finally came back, we had to boil the water for a while because of possible contamination. The portable filter would have really come in handy at public restaurants and other establishments because I hate drinking unfiltered water and because of our situation, we had to eat out a lot over those 2 weeks at the few places open and so I could have really used the water filter to filter the tap water.

  39. My in-laws live in Loveland so I know the mess you’re all in! We’ve never been unsure about drinking water, but we have lived in hurricane zones where people stock pile (and WalMart price gouges) supplies. A portable filter is a great idea!

  40. I’ve never had to deal with contaminated water, but the water in Southern California where we used to live tasted really bad. So…that’s something. 🙂

  41. There are many filters like this one on the market today, however, in most situations such as this one, the water becomes contaminated, and is unsafe. Luckily, your water was safe, but in most cases, a water filter that is able to remove bacteria from the water is needed. Many times when there is a flood like this one, sewers become backed up, and sewage ends up in the water systems, with potential threats lurking in the water, regardless if they claim it is safe or not. If sediments are making it into the water, what other contaminants smaller than than these particles are in the water?

  42. We’ve temporarily had contaminated water due to open reservoirs, had to boil for a day here and there.

  43. Can’t recall ever being in the situation of contaminated water but the filter would be handy at the gym or even at work

  44. I like that it is portable. I always carry my water bottle, but sometimes I am hesitant about filling it with tap water.

  45. having a portable source to purify water is huge and critical, id use this a lot!

  46. I have a well at my home with irony water so this would be awesome!

  47. I might use this on a long road trip! Drinking it with lots of ice seems to help me. I’ve cut back on pop a lot lately and it saves a lot of money as well!

    chambanachik at gmail dot com

  48. I live in an area that gets hurricanes, so I know way too much about the dangers of too much water.

    https://twitter.com/mgaltier/status/398894721143013376

  49. We just moved across country to a new home that is on well water so this would be great to use at home, on camping trips and definitely when staying in hotels because I often question water quality!

  50. We travel a lot, a portable water filter would come in handy for our trips.
    tcarolinep at gmail dot com

  51. -https://twitter.com/tcarolinep/status/399025339940089856

  52. We have a filter in our fridge, but when the water is out – we’re out of luck. The other day we had a power outage and dangit, I don’t want to drink the tap water, because I’m used to water through a filter. The smell and taste of the tap water isn’t 100% lovely.

  53. Unfortunately YES~ My hubby and I once rented a place that had bad plumbing and all water was flowing backwards…… I mean ALL water. We had to use bottled water for a week while it was getting fixed so this would have come in real handy!! Thanks for the chance 🙂

  54. Wow, nothing like your situation. But I used to live near the lake and occasionally we’d need to boil our water due to bacteria.

  55. The Whirlpool Water EveryDrop Water Filter would be perfect to take with us to the park. The water at the water fountain there tastes funny.

  56. a portable water filter would be handy while camping

  57. I’d like to try this filter

  58. i’ve not had any problem with my water at home but I would love to use the portable water filter at the office

  59. We would definitely use this on our vacations! thanks kmassman gmail

  60. When I was a kid, I’d go with my friend to her family’s lake house a few weeks each summer. We had a blast playing in the lake and woods, but I drink way too much juice and soda when I was there because the water smelled and tasted slightly of sulfur. It would have been great if I had a water filter to make the water more palatable!

  61. I haven’t needed a filter but I always use one to filter the tap water.

  62. This would come in handy on camping trips.
    onefrugalgirl AT gmail DOT com

  63. I would use it when I go to work.

    Thanks for the chance to win!
    wildorchid985 at gmail dot com

  64. tweet–https://twitter.com/WildOrchid985/status/401098797532446721

  65. Wow how scary. So glad you and your family are ok and made it across that bridge. We have a filter in our kitchen sink and use it when cooking and washing dishes.

  66. I’d use it in the hospital, the water is really horrible there (I’d call it a disaster!).

  67. This would definitely come in handy when we are camping and need clean water!

  68. Thankfully, I have never lost access to drinkable water. I do have an emergency supply, just in case, but I’m sure it’s not enough. I would mainly use the EveryDrop while traveling. It’s terrible to go on vacation and find that the water tastes awful!

  69. I tweeted – https://twitter.com/hellina2000/status/402462047184510976

    And you look adorable – prance away!

  70. We could of used it when we got flooded out of the house during hurricane season.

  71. I would love to take this with me when I travel to hotels!

  72. I could have used a portable water filter after a water main break and we couldn’t use the water without boiling it first, what a pain!

  73. I’d use it in the bathroom so I don’t need to go all the way to the kitchen in the middle of the night for pure water.

  74. I hatre buying bottled water because of the expense and the eco-footprint of all that plastic. I’d keep this in the car so I’d have it wherever I end up 🙂

  75. yes my light went of and my water cooler was dead this would have came in headed

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  78. yes! every time we got to a local restaurant i wish i had something like this, their tap water is gross

  79. Lucikly, my water supply has never been contaminated.

  80. Vitameatavegamin commercial, LOL! I have never been in a situation where our water was contaminated but it would come in handy while traveling or at the park.

  81. Last year after hurricane sandy we had no utilities for weeks and bottled water was a must

  82. After suffering through numerous bladder infections my mother discovered that her previously safe well water was contaminated. She invested in a rather expensive filtering system but this would have been so convenient.

  83. The zoo would be an awesome place to use this!

  84. I would use this at work because the water in that town isnt that good

  85. YES! Every time I visit my uncle. He is on well water and it is super hard and smells like sulfur. Would be great to have it when I visit him because he is used to it and doesn’t realize how bad it is to those of us used to city + filtered water!.

  86. I could have used it on my last camping trip.

  87. Probably when we took our daughter to a summer camp that involved camping out overnight

    tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com

  88. I’d save it for emergency use at home. The water mains in our city are OLD and way past their due date for replacement (so our neighbor whom works for the water dept. says). We had one break last year, yucky water for days

  89. I have only ever had to filter our water for brief periods of time. Luckily, we were away visiting family when our city was completely flooded. We formerly had a filter attached to the kitchen sink but it was misplaced in the last move. I would love to have a filter available to help make our drinking water more palatable.

  90. Yes, It’s very important to use good water filter and your tips really great. I am very happy to read this post and will come again to read more new. Thanks.

  91. I love that picture of your “real” house life… I secretly get annoyed when I’m browsing home blogs and they all have these picture perfect houses and rooms and everything and it’s just like… do you really live like that? I dunno… it just bugs me. It’s great to see that you’re showing the “real” side, with the left-open kitchen cabinet and everything! 😉