Silver in water

badnews · 3rd November 2008, 01:20 AM

Hi Guys,

Hopefully someone can help.

My Mum puts a piece of silver in drinking tap water when she keeps it in the fridge (or whereever) she said that silver keeps water clean and doesn't make it go stale. She said it's been used for ages and so on...

Does anyone know anything about this? Firstly is it safe? and secondly does it really help?

Very greateful for any knowledge you have about this.

Cheers

Pixel42 · 3rd November 2008, 01:58 AM

This is the best article I could find, though the source and references aren't exactly unbiased:

http://www.doulton.ca/silver.html

soikins · 3rd November 2008, 02:28 AM

According to Wikipedia, silver does have germicidal effects:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver#In_medicine

G O R T · 3rd November 2008, 03:35 AM

Originally Posted by badnews

Does anyone know anything about this? Firstly is it safe? and secondly does it really help?

Sticking a chunk of silver in water is relatively ineffective. Chemical or electrochemical reduction of partical size is commonly required. Silver nitrate has been used topically for some 2000 years on wounds, as has been rubbing silver on the affected area or dressings. Electroplating of dressings with silver has been tried more recently. Colloidal silver is a modern invention along those lines.

Any ingestion of heavy metals not used metabolically is to be avoided! Silver is not chelated and builds up in tissues permanently. Argyria is the name for skin discoloration caused by silver ingestion.

BTW, clean water does not go stale. It must be polluted by organic matter to sustain bacterial growth. Keeping it covered usually suffices.

krelnik · 3rd November 2008, 12:12 PM

If you want to see some examples of people affected by Argyria (mentioned by GORT above), check out my page on colloidal silver here:

http://whatstheharm.net/colloidalsilver.html

3rd November 2008, 01:20 AM	#1
badnews Student Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Sydney Posts: 45	Silver in water Hi Guys, Hopefully someone can help. My Mum puts a piece of silver in drinking tap water when she keeps it in the fridge (or whereever) she said that silver keeps water clean and doesn't make it go stale. She said it's been used for ages and so on... Does anyone know anything about this? Firstly is it safe? and secondly does it really help? Very greateful for any knowledge you have about this. Cheers

3rd November 2008, 03:35 AM	#4
G O R T Student Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 33	Originally Posted by badnews Does anyone know anything about this? Firstly is it safe? and secondly does it really help? Sticking a chunk of silver in water is relatively ineffective. Chemical or electrochemical reduction of partical size is commonly required. Silver nitrate has been used topically for some 2000 years on wounds, as has been rubbing silver on the affected area or dressings. Electroplating of dressings with silver has been tried more recently. Colloidal silver is a modern invention along those lines. Any ingestion of heavy metals not used metabolically is to be avoided! Silver is not chelated and builds up in tissues *permanently*. Argyria is the name for skin discoloration caused by silver ingestion. BTW, clean water does not go stale. It must be polluted by organic matter to sustain bacterial growth. Keeping it covered usually suffices.
G O R T Student Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 33

3rd November 2008, 12:12 PM	#5
krelnik Graduate Poster Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Posts: 1,185	If you want to see some examples of people affected by Argyria (mentioned by GORT above), check out my page on colloidal silver here: http://whatstheharm.net/colloidalsilver.html
	__________________ What's the harm in a little misinformation? I blog about online skepticism at skeptools.com I post a daily skeptic history fact on Twitter and Facebook

3rd November 2008, 01:58 AM	#2
Pixel42 Schrödinger's cat Join Date: May 2004 Location: Wiltshire, UK Posts: 4,241	This is the best article I could find, though the source and references aren't exactly unbiased: http://www.doulton.ca/silver.html

3rd November 2008, 02:28 AM	#3
soikins Scholar Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Riga, Latvia Posts: 90	According to Wikipedia, silver does have germicidal effects: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver#In_medicine