Water Filtration

• It’s more important to remove harmful pollutants from water than to save beneficial minerals that may be in it.
• If you drink distilled water, be sure to include a wide variety of fruits and vegetables in your diet.
• Don’t store distilled water in plastic bottles; use glass.
• All other things being equal, hard water is healthier than soft water.
• And again, an important reminder: Don’t drink chlorinated water supplied by a water utility on a regular basis.
• If you purify your water using a drinking water filter, be sure to change the filter after the manufacturer’s recommended time. Using water filters beyond this point will not only defeat the purpose, but may result in harmful results.

Have you ever considered the importance of water? Did you know that water accounts for over 70% of your body? We are comprised mostly of water. And further more, our blood mineral content is strikingly similar to salt water.

A healthy water intake can help us in many ways.

You can think better. A fully hydrated brain actually works better.

Strength increases. Did you know that your muscles work better when your body is fully hydrated?

Immunity - even your immune system can function better.

Flush junk out of your system. A fully hydrated body is better at getting rid of the things it DOESN’T need.

You would be amazed at how much more energy you can have when you drink adequate amounts of water.

You can achieve the desired outcomes of drinking clean water by purchasing water filters for your home.  In doing this, you can live a clean and healthy life.

Although we get the majority of the minerals in our diet from fruits and vegetables, minerals in water do play a role in the maintenance of good health. Over the past thirty-five years, research has continued to amass in support of the health benefits of minerals in water. Studies of populations in areas with naturally occurring hard water ( high mineral content ) and naturally occurring soft water ( low mineral content ) have found fewer occurrences of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, respiratory diseases and other health problems in the areas with hard water.

Almost all minerals in water are dissolved. That is, they liquefy and merge with the water. The standard measure of dissolved minerals in water is called TDS, which stands for total dissolved solids. Studies show that disease is statistically less prevalent in areas that have moderate to high TDS levels. However, high TDS levels don’t seem to provide any advantage over moderate levels. In fact, areas with high and moderate TDS levels show the same health improvements when compared to areas with low TDS.

What this suggests is that once an adequate minimum intake of beneficial minerals from water is achieved, ingesting higher levels doesn’t confer additional benefits in spite of claims to the contrary from some in the bottled water industry.

So, whether you drink water with lots of minerals or drink distilled water which has virtually none, remember that most of your minerals come from fruits and vegetables, so the amount of these in your diet is far more important than the levels of minerals in the water you drink.

Many times in the process of removing harmful pollutants from water, beneficial minerals are sometimes removed as well. However, needless to say, when pollutants are present, it’s more important to remove them with an efficient water filtration system than it is to save the minerals.

Excerpted from the book “The Drinking Water book — How to Eliminate Harmful Toxins from Your Water” by Colin Ingram.

Hard water contains large amounts of dissolved calcium and, to a lesser extent, magnesium. Soft water contains relatively small amounts of calcium and magnesium. Water can be naturally hard or naturally soft. The disadvantage of hard water is that more soap or detergent is needed to get clothing, dishes, and other items clean. Also, soft water makes skin feel smoother and hair feel softer. Soft water has another advantage: It causes less scale, which is that hard, whitish stuff that forms on the inside of pipes and tends to clog up the innards of water appliances. A huge industry exists in the United States whose sole purpose is to make hard water soft. There are hundreds of water softener manufacturers and tens of thousands of water softener dealers.

Although soft water does occur naturally, most of the soft water consumed in the U.S. is created by water softeners. These simple gadgets trap calcium and magnesium in the water and replace it with salt ( sodium chloride). So when you drink softened water, you’re simply drinking water with most of its calcium and magnesium removed and with salt added.

The higher the levels of calcium and magnesium in tap water, the more salt is exchanged in a water softener. If your incoming tap water has a low level of minerals, your softened water will be low in salt. If your tap water has a high level of minerals, your softened water will have a high level of salt.

There has been much publicity over the years about the negative health effects of drinking softened water. This springs from some early research that showed a correlation between cardiovascular disease and high-salt diets. But, more recent research has shown that the amount of salt consumed by drinking softened water is insignificant when compared to overall daily salt intake. Only people who are on a severely salt-restricted diet face a health risk from the added salt in softened water.

In recent years, a substitute for salt ( sodium chloride ) has become popular in water softeners. This substitute is potassium ( potassium chloride ). When potassium is used, the calcium and magnesium in hard water are exchanged for potassium, so no sodium is added to the water. Potassium, in general, is a vital, health-promoting nutrient, but some health conditions do require that people follow potassium-related diets.

Today, there are several ways to deal with the sodium in soft water that will offer good tasting drinking water and a source of water to meet an average household’s cleaning needs. Reverse osmosis systems as well as distillation or deinozation processes all provide both.

Excerpted from “The Drinking Water Book — How to Eliminate Harmful Toxins from Your Water” by Colin Ingram.

Are you the type of reader who wants some information quickly? Okay, try these:

• If you get your drinking water from a tap, let the water run at full flow for ten seconds, then slow it down to half flow or less to fill your container. Running at full flow will flush out pollutants that have attached to (or grown on) the faucet components, and reducing the flow will make it less likely that any other pollutants will be detached as you fill your container.
• If you want water for a hot drink, draw cold water from your tap and heat it. Resist the temptation to draw hot water from the tap, as there’s a greater chance of pollutants coming from your hot water heater.
• If you use any kind of portable water filter or even one that is detachable, store the filter in your refrigerator when it’s not in use. This will greatly slow the growth of microorganisms in the filter.
• Once bottled water has been open for two days, store it in the refrigerator.
• City, town and rural water utilities are required to send all customers an annual water quality report. If you get your water from a public water supply and you have not received a report, ask them for one - it’s free. The report should alert you to any contaminants detected above federal and state permitted levels.
• If your water is from a private well, the most common health risk is from bacterial contamination. Have your water tested for the presence of bacteria at least once a year.
• Fluoridation: There are some sound arguments for and against. On balance, I recommend against it.
• Almost all water utilities disinfect water with chlorine ( sometimes together with ammonia ). This does a good job of killing almost all microorganisms in the water, but the chlorine itself poses a certain degree of health risk. Don’t drink chlorinated tap water on a regular basis.
• Is distilled water good or bad for you? The water itself is okay, but be careful of the containers you store it in.
• Is bottled water really safer than tap water from a public water supply? It depends on the type and brand of bottled water - some are and some aren’t.

All of the above as well as many more details are covered in the book “The Drinking Water Book — How to Eliminate Harmful Toxins from Your Water” by Colin Ingram.

Pure water is fundamental to all life on earth. So much so that it has been ranked by most experts as second only to oxygen as absolutely essential for life itself, and although water covers more than 70% of the Earth’s surface only1% of that is available as a source of drinking water. Even in America, supplies of water are not unlimited and unfortunately most have now become polluted. For over a century, municipalities across the country have attempted to treat the water to minimize the risk of waterborne diseases, but the disinfectant chemicals they use not only make the water smell and taste bad, they have also been linked to a variety of health problems. Thankfully, today it is no longer necessary for you to drink the multitude of chemicals present in your water supply.

With the water purification industry already a multi-billion dollar industry and steadily growing, there are products today available to handle a wide range of applications from residential to commercial to industrial. Long gone are the days of just one or two products like a water filter pitcher or a large industrial reverse osmosis water filter system which are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Today choices range from countertop filters, under sink filters, bath and shower filters and refrigerator filters to bottle-less water coolers, reverse osmosis filtration systems and a wide variety of portable water filters…all available with the click of a computer mouse. No matter who you are or you’re situation, clean, refreshing and healthier water is now only a matter of choosing the product that is right for you.

In the U.S., the sources for drinking water ( both tap water and bottled ) include rivers, steams, ponds reservoirs, springs and wells. As water travels over the surface of the land or through the ground, it dissolves naturally-occurring minerals, and in some cases, radioactive material and can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity. Contaminants that may be present in source water include:

Microbial Contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations and wildlife.

Inorganic Contaminants, such as salts and minerals, which may be naturally occurring or result from; storm water runoff, industrial wastewater discharges, farming or mining operations.

Pesticides and Herbicides, which may come from agriculture, storm water runoff or residential uses.

Organic Chemical Contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are by-products of industrial processes, petroleum production and can come from gas stations, storm water runoff and septic systems.

Radioactive Contaminants, which can be naturally-occurring or may be the result of gas production and mining activities.

In order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink, the EPA prescribes regulations which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. FDA regulations establish limits for contaminants in bottled water which must provide the same protection for public health. Drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be expected to contain at least small amounts of contaminants. The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that water poses a health risk.

For more information about contaminants and potential health effects, and for EPA/CDC guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by cryptosporidium and other contaminants contact: the Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline (800) 426-4791.

To check your city’s water visit the EPA’s website or contact your local water department.

( Check your city’s water here )

Brought to you by www.SoundWaterSolutions.com

EPA has established pollutant-specific minimum testing schedules for public water systems. To find out how frequently your drinking water is tested, contact your water system or the agency in your state in charge of drinking water. ( Check your city’s water )

If a problem is detected, immediate retesting requirements go into effect along with strict instructions about how the system informs the public. Until the system can reliably demonstrate that it is free of problems, the retesting is continued.

As recent as 2001, one out of every four community water filtration systems did not conduct testing or report the results for all of the monitoring required to verify the safety of their drinking water. Although failure to monitor does not necessarily suggest safety problems, conducting the required reporting is crucial to ensure problems will be detected. Consumers can help make certain monitoring and reporting requirements are met by first contacting their state drinking water agency to determine if their water supplier is in compliance. If the water system is not meeting the requirements, consumers can work with local and state officials and the water supplier to make sure the required monitoring and reporting occurs.

A network of government agencies monitor tap water suppliers and enforce drinking water standards to ensure the safety of public water supplies. These agencies include EPA, state departments of health and environment, and local public health departments. There are many systems in place

Excerpt from EPA publication: “Water On Tap”

Since 1999, water suppliers have been required to provide annual Consumer Confidence Reports to their customers. These reports are due by July 1 each year, and contain information on contaminants found in the drinking water, possible health effects, and the water’s source. Some Consumer Confidence Reports are available at: www.epa.gov/safewater/dwinfo.htm

Water suppliers must promptly inform you if your water has become contaminated by something that can cause immediate illness. Water suppliers have 24 hours to inform their customers of violations of EPA standards “that have the potential to have serious adverse effects on human health as a result of short-term exposure”. If such a violation occurs, the water system will announce it through the media, and must provide information about the potential adverse effects on human health, steps the system is taking to correct the violation, and the need to use alternative water supplies ( such as boiled / bottled water or water filtration ) until the problem is corrected.

Systems will inform customers about violations of less immediate concern in the first water bill sent after the violation, in a Consumer Confidence Report, or by mail within a year. In 1998, states began compiling information on individual systems, so you can evaluate the overall quality of drinking water in your state. Additionally, EPA must compile and summarized the state reports into an annual report on the condition of the nation’s drinking water. To view the most recent annual report, see www.epa.gov/safewater/annual. (Check your city’s water supply here)

Excerpted from EPA publication “Water on Tap”

With so much terminology to deal with, I found this quick and easy glossary very helpful, and I thought you might too.

These definitions are not intended to be complete or to have legal force, but rather to help consumers understand drinking water-related terms in the context of their daily lives.

Action Level: The level of lead or copper which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements that a water system must follow.

Acute Health Effect: An immediate (i.e. within hours or days) effect that may result from exposure to certain drinking water contaminants (e.g., pathogens).

Aquifer: A natural underground layer, often of More…sand or gravel, that contains water.

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