A sick woman found out she’d been drinking waste water for five years after a pipe mix-up.
The lady – called Liu – had a technician come to her flat to install a purifier she had purchased in 2020.
Recently, she bought a quality tester to check the water from the purifier because she wanted to keep fish.
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The tap water in her area is said to have total dissolved solids (TDS) values of 321 mg/L.
The company that makes the purifier says the water from the machine should have TDS values of 24 mg/L.
But Liu was horrified when the tester gave readings of 607 mg/L.
She called in a technician, who discovered that the original technician had connected the two pipes incorrectly.
It turned out that the pure water from the machine was being discarded and that she had been drinking the wastewater.
Ms Liu had been baffled by her numerous health problems because she kept a healthy lifestyle.
A hospital visit a month ago confirmed she had mild liver damage, as reported by Need To Know.
And about half a year ago, her menstrual cycle became irregular.
Liu, of Shanghai, China: “No wonder I’ve had diarrhoea so often in recent years and had abnormal results in my check-ups.
“I never suspected the issue could be with the water source.”
The company that makes the purifier reportedly offered to reimburse her the amount she paid for the machine.
However, she turned down the meagre settlement offer.
She is now seeking medical proof that her ailments were directly caused by the plumbing mix-up.
Liu’s case is similar to the ordeal suffered by a couple in Beijing, China.
In 2023, the pair realised that their ailments – including hair loss, acne, coughs, and sore chests – were caused by a shocking plumbing job.
Plumbers discovered a mystery extra pipe linking the toilet and tap water pipes in their rented flat.
After joining the dots, the couple realised they had spent the past six months, drinking, cooking with, and cleaning with loo water.
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