Just got a nice apartment in Beitou with a hot spring tub and the water seems to get dirty. The landlord said it is because the water has minerals in it. Does this sound right? I am not at all familiar with hot springs. The debris is kind of a flaky substance, consistency of maybe lint or dead skin (gross analogy I know).
Any thoughts for those with experience would be helpful, thanks!
Is this natural unfiltered hot spring water? If so some impurities are expected
I’m not sure how to tell. It’s in a newer apartment so I don’t know if it’s common to put in filters or not. That could very well explain it though.
I’m pretty sure it’s unfiltered. I can’t imagine what sulfur infused hot spring water will do to a filter. The plumbing is likely something resistant like maybe PVC. Those hot spring water is acidic and eats metal for breakfast.
Besides if they filter it it’s not hot spring water anymore.
Ok got it that makes sense.
Ya the metal window handle is pretty corroded so that’s probably why.
I hope the sulfur is not too hard on my camera and computer.
(Removed) Next time I will try actually reading the original post.
I heard electronics have shorter lifespan in beitou because of all the sulfur.
It’s hell on air conditioners.
It’s completely normal: the flakes are clusters of crystallising minerals; as the temperature of the water falls they can’t stay in solution anymore and they become visible.
It’s also likely that your electronics will die ten times faster than in other parts of Taipei, due to the high sulfur content of the air (and sulfurous acid eating your electronics). most noticeable is corrosion of audio equipment terminals. even gold plated stuff dies fast.
it’s a trade-off for the convenience of hot mineral springs.
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You’ll also notice none of the intercoms work on apartments near the hotspring. All corroded out
Thanks so much for clarifying I appreciate it
Haaa, yup doesn’t work at my place!
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Perhaps a dumb question, but if its so highly concentrated in the air, how is it on ones health? Soaking in a tub on vacation and living in it are different.
Though we use sulfur in most of our imported food as fumigation…so possibly not too bad?
It’s not cancerous and it takes a lot of it at once to be considered toxic I believe. I think it’s ok unless it’s something you are irritated by personally.
Do you think my best bet for electronics (my computer and camera) would be to put them in plastic zip lock bags? Or is there a better way to protect them from the sulfur in the air?
Well, protecting them in plastic bags seems a good idea. A pain, but a good idea. Much harder with audio equipment, TV, etc, of course.
not much you can do with sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide in the air except use air purifiers for the whole building.