Richard J Kinch wrote:
Avoding hydrocarbon grease in drinking water is probably a good thing.

Why? Non-toxic, doesn't support microbial growth. You probably have a jar
full of it in your medicine cabinet.

Hmm ,,, white petroleum jelly or rod wax (known to many through the
brand name Vaseline) is not what I call a hydrocarbon grease. It's a
long chain hydrocarbon. Possibly best called a wax rather than a
grease.

But the term grease is poorly defined.

What I call hydrocarbon (or petroleum-based) greases (such as bearing
greases) are soaps of mineral oil. Microbes can grow on them
(depending on the metal part of the soap) in wet and humid conditions.

When eaten, petroleum-based greases are relatively non-toxic to healthy
adult humans. In small quantities, hydrocarbon greases (and mineral
oils) act as laxatives (and can lead to abdominal cramps etc).

The carcinogenicity of greases is, as far as I know, not yet proved. Or
disproved.

Repeated skin contact with hydrocarbon greases (and petroleum oils) can
lead to dermatitis.

I cannot imagine anyone inhaling much grease, but inhaling a mist of
petroleum oils is known to cause lung inflammation and lipid pneumonia.

So I repeat: avoiding ingesting a hydrocarbon grease via your drinking
water is probably a good thing. I know of no evidence that it enhances
life or the pursuit of happiness. Your mileage may vary.

If your jurisdiction allows you, feel free to set yourself up as a test
case. We know that eating a cupful of apple seeds, at one go, supplies
an adult with enough cyanide to lead to death. No one has recorded the
effects of eating one or more cupsful of a bearing grease. You could be
the first.

Cheers