I read the article. Apparently it only really works with hard water - that's water with a high concentration of calcium carbonate. At high temperatures, the calcium carbonate becomes a solid, trapping the microplastics inside it, which is then removed from the water with a regular filter.

[–] gregorum@lemm.ee 78 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (2 children)

So, the boiling doesn’t remove it at all; it pre-treats hard water, making it capable of being filtered out afterwards.

[–] melroy@kbin.melroy.org 37 points 8 months ago (1 children)

uh... it seems like it.. if that is the case, the whole article is misleading at best.

[–] averyminya@beehaw.org 9 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

Would that just mean boiling water and then filtering it?

If so, doesn't seem as misleading so much as just missing an extra step for a headline. Edit: of course, in addition to the hard water specification.

[–] But_Class_War@midwest.social 5 points 8 months ago (2 children)

gotta make the water hard too, doesn't work without hard water

[–] anti_antidote@lemmy.zip 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

But I can't even make myself hard 😭

[–] melroy@kbin.melroy.org 2 points 8 months ago

too soon.

[–] Zworf@beehaw.org 2 points 8 months ago

Many regions won't need that of course :)

[–] stevedidwhat_infosec@infosec.pub 2 points 8 months ago (4 children)

Traps it how - guessing as a gas? What the fuck are microplastics and how does clear water trap that? I’m lost as fuck

[–] Robin_net@beehaw.org 12 points 8 months ago (1 children)

"calcium carbonate in the (hard) water became solid at higher temperatures, trapping the plastic particles within"

No gas involved. They did recommend straining the boiled water through a coffee filter and the harder the water the better.

[–] I_am_10_squirrels@beehaw.org 3 points 8 months ago (1 children)

If I have soft water, can I add a Tums to my boiling water?

[–] intensely_human@lemm.ee 6 points 8 months ago

Just put it in the freezer for an hour or two

[–] gregorum@lemm.ee 6 points 8 months ago

By causing it to be absorbed into the calcium carbonate that is in hard water

[–] chaogomu@kbin.social 3 points 8 months ago

The calcium carbonate in hard water precipitates out when you boil it, i.e. it turns solid.

Microplastics make for great nucleation points for the calcium carbonate to latch onto. So, the microplastics became super easy to filter out of the water (with some getting stuck to the bottom of the kettle in that white scale that you have to use vinegar to clean out.

[–] chaogomu@kbin.social 2 points 8 months ago

The calcium carbonate in hard water precipitates out when you boil it, i.e. it turns solid.