One reason for the attractiveness of drinking water filters is public skepticism
about the relative safety of bottled water. There's no guarantee that bottled
water is healthier or purer than tap water. In 2004, the Ig Noble prize for
chemistry was presented to the Coca-Cola Company of Great Britain for "using
advanced technology to convert liquid from the River Thames into Dasani." The
company was highlighted for essentially bottling London tap water and selling it
as high-priced Dasani bottled water.
Bottled water is much more expensive than tap water, but there are legitimate
concerns about the safety and quality of normal tap water. A recent study by the
Natural Resources Defense Council found that the tap water systems of 19 U.S.
cities were plagued by pollution and out-of-date plumbing.
Many U.S. cities continue to rely on water delivery and treatment systems dating
the early 1900s. These old pipes break, leach contaminants into the drinking
water and provide a breeding ground for bacteria. Old water treatment methods,
designed for early 20th century threats are proving inadequate for 21st century
contaminants like pesticides, industrial chemicals and arsenic.
A similar study by the Environmental Working Group found 141 unregulated
chemicals and an additional 119 for which the Environmental Protection Agency
has set health-based limits. Disinfection byproducts, nitrates, chloroform,
barium, arsenic and copper were the most common among the chemicals found in
drinking water studied. The study looked at water samples over a five year
period almost 40,000 water utilities serving 231 million people.
So it seems that the best solution is to install drinking water filters at home.
Inexpensive home drinking water filters are able to remove chlorine and
bacterial contaminants, making your water both taste and smell better.
Countertop drinking water filters can effectively provide safe, clean water at a
much lower cost than buying bottled water.
Regularly drinking clean, safe water can boost your immune system and promote
overall good health. Drinking water filters also conveniently provide filtered
water for cooking, improving the taste of many dishes. Your risk of contracting
gastrointestinal disease from water-borne micro-organisms is reduced by
one-third if you drink filtered water. Drinking water filters enable you to
provide the clean, healthy water you need for your children's growing bodies and
developing immune systems.
Drinking water filters successfully eliminate more dangerous contaminants than
any other purification method. Home drinking water filters are specifically
designed to work with municipal water supplies. Drinking water filters have also
been able to remove cryptosporidium from drinking water, something that
municipal treatment plants and bottle water companies have consistently failed
to do.
When analyzed on the economics, the pure water provided by drinking water
filters costs only a tiny bit more than untreated tap water. Drinking water
filters require no additional energy than is already used to send water through
your plumbing system, which gives drinking water filters an environmental
advantage of water bottling plants.
There is simply no better solution available today to the problem of providing
pure water than home drinking water filters.
