Water Filtration

There are two ways of evaluating how much purifier you need, and you should consider both ways. The first way is comparing your Tap Water Profile which is based on the following factors:

• The test report from your public water utility (or on your own test results if you have a well or other private system)
• Whether your public utility is in a city or large town as opposed to a small town
• Whether your public utility get its water from underground or surface water (or whether your private source is a well or surface water)
• The region where you live

Your Tap Water Profile helps you keep track of what you know about your tap water. That leaves what is unknown. The second way of looking at how much purifier you need is to realize that of the estimated eighty thousand chemicals in commercial use today, many of which have been found in water supplies, only a hundred or so are regularly tested for.

From this perspective, the safest course is to get a purifier, or water filtration system,  that will remove any specific pollutants that you know are in (or have been in) your tap water, and that will also remove the most of all the many kinds of pollutants that may be in your water.

• 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.

Water treatment systems that treat only drinking and cooking water are commonly called POU (point-of-use) systems. Water systems that treat water in the entire house are called POE (point-of-entry) systems. Water softeners are an example of POE systems, as are large tanks filled with various filtration media. In some instances, especially where radon gas, volatile organic chemicals (VOCs), or pathogens are in the water supply, it is desirable to have safe drinking and washing water at all water outlets in a house.

POE systems for health-related treatment can consist of one or more large canisters or tanks filled with granular activated carbons or other filter media. They can be simple flow-through tanks or timer-controlled tanks with automatic backwashing. Simple flow-through canisters and tanks for whole-house water treatment systems can cost from around $300 to $800. Automatic backwashing systems typically cost from $1,100 up to several thousand dollars. For removing chlorine, VOCS, or radon gas, a single, flow-through tank with granular carbon will suffice. If bacteria or viruses are a concern, a POE UV system or an ozonation system is required. If cysts are a concern, a large carbon block filter or an ultra-filtration filter is indicated.

Simply type “whole house water filtration systems” into any Internet search engine to find a wide range of suppliers.

Before the advent of the Internet, it wasn’t always easy for consumers to obtain information on water purifiers from manufacturers and distributors, and the only way to buy purifiers was through local dealers who offered only a very limited number of products. In contrast, there are now thousands of websites that not only provide a glut of information, but also sell directly to the consumer. For most products, simply type in the brand name of a purifier or generic descriptive terms ( for example, “drinking water filter  ” ) in a search engine and you’ll find a multitude of websites that have detailed information and pictures, plus more models and options than can possibly be mentioned in this post.

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is higher in the electromagnetic spectrum than visible light. It is known to be effective in killing bacteria and pathogens. The only type of pathogens that cannot be killed by ultraviolet are those with hard coverings, such as giardia cysts. Ultraviolet purifiers are made for the specific purpose of disinfecting water and are not effective in removing other pollutants which requires that a high quality water filtration system also be used.

Most materials, including modern glass, do not transmit ultraviolet radiation efficiency. One of the best transmitters of UV radiation is quartz glass, so it is used for most UV lamps. In order for a UV unit to disinfect water effectively, three conditions must be met: (1) the UV lamp must produce radiation above a critical intensity; (2) the water must be subject to this radiation for a minimum period of time; and (3) both the input water and the UV unit itself must be clean. UV units employ many different designs to meet the first two conditions: one with water flowing straight through a quartz cylinder past a long tubular UV lamp and the other with the water conduit wound in a spiral to increase the amount of time the water is exposed to the UV lamp. In the latter design, the spiral tubing must also be of quartz glass in order to transmit UV energy efficiently.

To meet the the third condition, clean water, pre-filters must always be used. If the water contains particles, some bacteria and other pathogens will be shielded from the UV radiation and will pass through the unit unscathed. Because water cleanliness is so critical to UV operation, all UV units for home use need to be designed to allow easy access for cleaning.

UV treatment adds nothing to water and takes nothing away. The advantage of this is that no toxic disinfectant remains in the water, as it does with chlorine disinfection. But that’s also also a disadvantage: If pathogens enter the water at any point after the UV treatment, there is no residual disinfectant to kill them which is why you should use a UV treatment in conjunction with a standard water filtration unit.

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

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.