Water Filtration

Specialty water includes products with added flavors and/or carbonation, such as seltzer or lemon-flavored sparkling water. Some of these products use water from naturally occurring springs and some use tap water. Usually sold in small containers, these specialty waters are legally categorized as beverages…that is, it is assumed that like beer or juice, they will be consumed only occasionally and not as a daily staple. Specialty bottled waters are exempt from regulation by the FDA and are probably no more or no less safe than other beverages…which isn’t saying a lot. As previously stated, specialty waters are fine for occasional consumption, but medical studies show that clean, pure water is still the best thing for your body, and with the low cost and variety of water filters available today, just about anyone can provide their own source of that. To quote Henry David Thoreau, “Water is the only drink for a wise man”.

Although we’ve devoted a large portion of this blog to drinking water, it’s important to note that showers and baths also expose the body to tap water, along with its pollutants. There are three potentially harmful, volatile ( evaporate easily ) pollutants in tap water: chlorine, volatile organic chemicals (VOCS) and radon gas. Hot water creates more evaporation of these pollutants, especially when the water flows in a spray. Once these pollutants evaporate, you can be exposed to them by inhalation in addition to skin contact.

Frequest skin contact with chlorine can cause roughness, excessive dryness, and sometimes rashes, but few studies have been done on the long-term health effects of inhaling chlorine. However, it is estimated that more chlorine is absorbed through the skin during showers and bathing than by drinking chlorinated water. There’s some evidence that drinking chlorinated water may have adverse impacts on health, so it’s probably a good idea to reduce your exposure to chlorine from skin cancer and inhalation.

However, the main health concern with volatile pollutants is inhaling VOCs or radon gas. To reduce chlorine, VOCs, or radon in bath water would require a whole-house water filtration system. Fortunately, there are many inexpensive shower and bath filters that can reduce chlorine, VOCs, and radon. Almost all of the shower filters on the market contain a small canister of either granular carbon or redox media ( often referred to by the brand name KDF ), but rarely both. Carbon removes VOCs, radon, and most but not all chlorine and reduces any pathogen growth in the filter. A few shower filters contain both carbon and redox media, providing the greatest reduction of all harmful volatiles. As of this writing, the company that makes the most cost-effective shower filter with both carbon and redox media is Crystal Quest.

Crystal clear, rushing streams; plunging waterfalls; bubbling brooks — all convey an image of freshness and purity. But when you drink from them, be aware you are not the only drinker. Insects drink, too, and some of them lay millions of eggs in the water. Animals also drink and very often leave behind their wastes. Just one swallow of that fresh-looking ( and often fresh tasting ) water contains literally billions of microorganisms, some harmful to humans and some not. Even cold, swiftly flowing water contains bacteria, viruses, and quite possibly, microscopic parasites and worms. The chance of getting sick, sometimes seriously sick, just isn’t worth it unless it’s an emergency and you have no other source of liquid.

Today there are several compact, portable water filters designed specifically for use in the wild, and I strongly recommend that you use one if you don’t carry your own water with you.

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

One of the downsides of camping is that you have the arduous process of cleaning water, which includes the boiling and cleaning of water.  You could bring prepackaged bottled water, but that’s environmentally unsound, since bottles made of plastic 7 are not reusable. 

These issues can be remedied with the purchase of a portable water purifier.  By carrying a water purifier with you, you can drink from streams and have clean water and not have to worry about bring extra bottles or pots with you to have access to drinkable water.

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.

In February, 2008, the EPA compiled a list of the following contaminants that may be found in U.S. drinking water:

Microbial Contaminants

Read the rest of this entry »

A typical home reverse osmosis treatment system is shown in the figure below. A reverse osmosis system is normally located beneath the kitchen sink since it is used to treat water for drinking and cooking purposes. RO systems consist of the pre-filter, RO membrane unit, a pressurized storage tank for the treated water, a post-filter and a separate delivery tap for the treated water supply.

A Typical Home RO System Includes: (1) particle filter, (2) reverse osmosis membrane unit, (3) pressurized treated-water storage container, (4) carbon adsorption post-filter, and (5) separate treated-water tap.

The water supply entering the RO unit should be bacteriologically safe. RO units will remove virtually all microorganisms but they are not recommended Read the rest of this entry »