Keep Your Drinking Water Safe
July 10, 2009 – 6:43 pm by MarinaHanes
Have you stopped buying bottled water yet? If you haven’t, now is the time. Because the bottled water industry doesn’t have strict regulations, you can never really know the quality of the water you’re drinking. Using tap water is a cost-effective and convenient way to get your drinking water. However, you still need to ensure its quality. Even if you have city water, you don’t want to be drinking chlorine, iodine and other chemicals that they treat the water with. Well water can also have its fair share of problems too.
To find out the quality of your water, all you need to do is purchase a water quality test kit, which is no more than $20. The test analyzes the water’s pH, amount of sediments, clarity, color, odors, temperature, floating matter, etc. This will determine what needs improvement.
Water-filtration systems can take out unwanted odors, chemicals and minerals. However, don’t confuse water filtration with water purification. If your water contains sewage or other bacterial contaminants, water filtration will not be enough. Below are some options you have when it comes to filtering units.
Filtering pitchers like the model from Brita is an easy unit, which removes sediment and chemicals (lead, mercury, Benzene and chlorine). There are also units that attach directly onto your faucet. With most systems, you will need to replace the filter, but your health is worth it. Although charcoal can be used to filter water, activated carbon is becoming the most popular filter of choice. More expensive systems use reverse osmosis, which remove almost 99 percent of contaminants. These can cost from $200 and up.
Protecting your drinking water is important, because it’s an essential resource we all need to survive. Purchasing a pitcher or gadget for your faucet is an easy way to reduce your exposure to chemicals.
Tags: activated carbon, charcoal, improve water quality, quality drinking water, water quality