Not intentionally, of course. The Home Depot and other big boxes were selling do-it-yourselfers a wide variety of plumbing and water treatment products that were "garbage," says Julius Ballanco, president of JB Engineering and Code Consulting, P.C.
"Some of these products were very dangerous; one product contained activated charcoal, which improves the taste of water but promotes the growth of bacteria," he explains. "Another company had a product that was poisoning people."