All About Tap Water And How To Find A Great Filter For Your Home

Do you know what is in your water? All About Tap Water And How To Find A Great Filter For Your Home.

We’ve all heard the statistic that water makes up to 70% of our bodies. Eating real food made from fresh ingredients is extremely important, but what about the water you drink? Most sources of water contain hundreds of chemicals and your body absorbs them way more easily than from the food you eat. You try to avoid processed foods, you eat organic, you cook at home. Do you also drink clean water?

This is something I’ve been researching for months because I think the water you drink everyday is so important for your health and I wanted the best possible option for my family. When I started making improvements in my kitchen like my post 5 Ingredient Swaps For Healthier Eating, I realized the first and most important improvement should be my water.

I used to drink tap water, but after I started researching about it, I knew I had to find a solution. This is why I am sharing the information with you and help you find a great filter for your home.

All About Tap Water And How To Find A Great Filter For Your Home

Do you know what’s in your tap water?

If you actually drink tap water the answer is more than 300 chemicals and pollutants! According to the Environmental Working Group, tap water contaminants come from a wide variety of sources. EWG’s analysis revealed 97 agricultural pollutants, including pesticides and chemicals from fertilizer- and manure-laden runoff; 205 industrial chemicals linked to factory discharges and consumer products; 86 contaminants that originate in polluted runoff and wastewater treatment plants; and 42 byproducts of water treatment processes or pollutants that leach from pipes and storage tanks. It’s pretty shocking!

More than half of the chemicals detected are not subject to health or safety regulations and can legally be present in any amount. In most U.S. households, pouring a glass of tap water means exposing families to hundreds of distinct chemicals and pollutants, many of them completely unregulated.

Tiny amounts of pharmaceuticals — including antibiotics, hormones, mood stabilizers, and other drugs — are in our drinking water supplies, according to a media report. In an investigation by the Associated Press, drinking water supplies in 24 major metropolitan areas were found to include drugs. Isn’t this pretty disgusting?

According to the investigation, the drugs get into the drinking water supply through several routes: some people flush unneeded medication down toilets; other medicine gets into the water supply after people take medication, absorb some, and pass the rest out in urine or feces. Some pharmaceuticals remain even after wastewater treatments and cleansing by water treatment plants, the investigation showed.

Although levels are low — reportedly measured in parts per billion or trillion — and utility companies contend the water is safe, experts from private organizations and the government say they can’t say for sure whether the levels of drugs in drinking water are low enough to discount harmful health effects.

What should you also be concerned about?

Chlorine.- Most treatment plants dose tap water with chlorine to kill things like parasites and viruses found naturally in freshwater sources. Studies show that long-term exposure to chlorine by-products can lead to miscarriage or birth defects, says Gina Solomon, M.D., a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Heavy Metals.- Water facilities strip out nearly all traces of the heavy metals, but if you live in a home built before 1975, chances are you have pipes that contain lead, which can leach into your water. Lead can trigger irritability, anemia, and nerve damage. Mercury is also found in some water sources and have been linked to many health problems.

Fluoride.- Fluoride is a neurotoxic byproduct of aluminum. Excessive Fluoride can lead to docile behavior, nerve damage and brain disorders. It is purposefully added to the water and there is much heated debate about the benefits/harm of this. If fluoride has any benefit, it would be directly to the teeth, as drinking the fluoride has not been statistically shown to increase oral health at all. Additionally, fluoride has been linked to thyroid problems and other disorders when consumed internally.

Bacteria.– Tap water is full of bacteria. E. coli for example, can make their way into water from human and animal waste that runs into reservoirs from broken pipes and sewage systems. Harmful effects “Just a tiny bit of bacteria can make you sick,” says Suzanne R. Steinbaum, D.O., an internist in New York City. The last time you had a “24-hour stomach bug,” it was likely caused by waterborne bacteria.

What is the solution?

Finding a good water filter is the solution to avoid the hundred of chemicals and contaminants in your water. After a lot of research, I decided on the best alternative for my home.

Here is the explanation on the many filters out there in the market and their performance.

Bottled water and pitcher water filters With water bottles you have the problem with plastic leaching more chemicals into the water (you want to avoid that as much as possible), and pitchers removing some contaminants but leaving fluoride and heavy metals. You need to find a good pitcher that can remove most of the contaminants. I find Invigorated Water the best option for that, if you want to try a pitcher.

The Invigorated Water Pitcher also produces alkaline water! Alkaline water is water that’s less acidic than regular filtered water. This means it is rich in alkalizing compounds, including calcium, silica, potassium, magnesium, and bicarbonate. So, this pitcher not only removes contaminants from your water, but it adds good minerals!

The only problem I see with the pitcher is that you need to refill it several times a day and change the filters often. Other than that, the water tastes amazing!

Refrigerator water filters are also limited in what toxins they remove and they do not remove fluoride either. Most people won’t even change their refrigerator filters as often as they should. They are expensive and they don’t do a good job in removing the hundreds of chemicals that tap water contains. Not a great option if you want to drink clean water in my opinion.

Reverse Osmosis (RO) is a water purification technology that uses a semipermeable membrane to remove larger particles from drinking water. Reverse osmosis can remove many types of molecules and ions from solutions, including bacteria, and is used in both industrial processes and the production of potable water. Seems like it removes more contaminants that the previous filters but the problem is it also removes important and necessary minerals found naturally in water like calcium and magnesium. With respect to the healthfulness of the water, most health experts that are up to date on current research are no longer recommending drinking RO water on a long-term basis because these methods remove all the beneficial minerals from the water and people who drink RO water over a long period of time tend to be more prone to degenerative diseases such as osteoporosis.

Solid Block Carbon Filters.- They mainly use activated carbon as the primary raw material. With a solid carbon block, the water contact time is longer and provides for greater adsorption of many different chemicals, pesticides, herbicides and certain heavy metals. They provide a very large surface area for better absorption of contaminants. These type of filters do not  remove the beneficial minerals from the water but they do extract harmful heavy metals such as lead and mercury as well as sedimentary minerals such as iron oxide.

After all my research I purchased one for my home. I got the berkey water filter that produces purified drinking water. It is classified as a water purifier because the elements actually remove 99.9999999% of pathogenic bacteria and 99.999% of viruses. I bought an extra fluoride filter and feel so great that we are drink pure and clean water at home. It also removes chlorine, lead, and other heavy metals to undetectable levels.

You can get Santevia Water Systems Mineral Stones for your berkey filter and make the water alkaline.

The only problem I had was space. The filter can take up counter space and I had to buy a kitchen cart . I love it because I can store fresh produce in the bottom part of the cart and my wonderful omega juicer for easy access! The size was perfect for my small kitchen. berkey is made of stainless steel (no plastic), it is gravity based and will work even without electricity or running water. The filter doesn’t need to be replaced often (every couple of years) so it makes it very convenient.

I am currently using my Berkey filter and my Invigorated water pitcher for ice cold water. It is a great way to keep my family hydrated with good quality water. Feels great to know my water is safe and clean!

I hope you enjoyed reading this All About Tap Water And How To Find A Great Filter For Your Home post. If you are interested in reading more about my blog, please take a look at my latest articles. I am a mom blogger who loves to share creative and healthy fun family ideas.

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