If you watch television, you may have noticed that there are a lot of infomercials airing that are selling aluminum or steel water bottles. These metal water bottles as a breakthrough in that they eliminate the need for plastic water bottles, which have been proven to be dangerous in that the plastic can leach toxic chemicals into drinking water.

However, you still need to fill up that metal water bottle, and if you fill from the tap you are still drinking all kinds of toxins, microbes, and chemicals.  Home water purifiers can fix this problem – they filter all the unwanted material out of tap water so you can safely enjoy your new style of water bottle.

You see people carrying water bottles almost everywhere now – at the gym, at the supermarket, and in the cup holders in their vehicles.

You may buy bottled water yourself on a regular basis.  However, it may be time to examine your water-buying habits in this down economy.

How much do you spend on bottled water per month?  It is not cheap, and if you start to do the math for a week, a month, or a year, all those little bottles add up.   Buying home water purifiers can help you save money in that you will no longer need to buy bottled water.

All you will need to do is buy a reusable water bottle and fill it up every day from your home water purifier.  This change will pay for itself in a matter of weeks or months.

Do you ever wonder if the water you drink and bath in just may not be healthy for you and your family?  If so, I encourage you to roll up your sleeves and learn about Household Water Filters.

You see safe home water may not be as safe as you think.  Recent studies have shown the average household water contains some level of contaminants and toxins.

Typical contaminants include chlorine, THM and believe it or not — one study even found sex hormones in the local tax water.  Hard to believe, but true.

There are a variety of household water filters made by several manufacturers. 

Some of the top manufacturers include:

Auqasana (my personal favorite for best value)
Brita
Pur

When researching filters, make sure you understand the differences.  There’s a fine line between getting a junky one that doesn’t last and dramatically overpaying for one that doesn’t even do a great job.

Here are some common things a household water filter should remove:

Lead
TCE
MTBE

95+ or better chlorine

In addition, you want a filter that on a per gallon cost is reasonable.  The quality filters have a replaceable cartridge so some companies gouge you on replacement filters.

The reason I like Aquasana (Model AQ-4000) is they provide a complete solution at an average yearly cost of $173.  This is one of the more economical solutions while getting a solid household water filter.

I wrote a more thorough analysis of the problem with home drinking water.  You can Read It Here. 

Have you ever wondered, just how is tap water tested for contamination, anyway? I thought that my readers would probably find that interesting. I often recommend testing for well-owners. I often write about the different contaminants that are present in the waters of our world. But, how do we know?

The testing that is used depends on the type of contaminant. So, I have broken the question down into three categories, relating to specific contaminant types.

When it comes to bacteria, how is tap water tested for contamination?

Microscopic evaluation will reveal the presence of bacteria, but you can only look at a drop of water at a time. That’s not really enough to make a reliable conclusion. Besides, when it comes to testing water supplies, there are more reliable tests.

Specific bacteria react with specific substances in known ways. For example, an enzyme substrate called magenta GLUC is used to test for E-coli. Only a single type of bacteria may be tested for at any one time. So, numerous tests are usually conducted to check for E-coli, cryptosporidium, giardia, Legionella and other bacteria that cause waterborne illnesses.

When it comes to chemicals, how is tap water tested for contamination?

When we think of chemicals, we think of things like chlorine. But, everything, animal, vegetable or mineral has a chemical composition. Through studying these compositions, scientists have learned that chemicals react with one another in specific ways.

Reactants are chemicals compounds that are known to react in certain ways in the presence of other chemical compounds. Reactants are used to test water for contaminants.

For example, if you wanted to detect the presence of nitrogen, sulfur, fluoride, chlorine or bromine, you could use a sodium fusion test. The reactant is sodium, but the process requires heating the sample. A simple litmus paper test will reveal the presence of chlorine and give you a “high, medium or low” result.

How is tap water tested for contamination by the EPA?

The EPA uses nearly a thousand different tests to determine the type and amount of contaminant present in a supply. They use gas chromatography to test for volatile organic compounds or VOCs. They use spectro-photometry to test fro nitrogen and nitrites. There are thousands of different pollutants in the environment and each has its own test.

The thing that I would like for you to realize is that most home-tests are largely inaccurate. The ones that are very accurate are also very expensive. Collecting a sample and sending it to a qualified laboratory is a good choice for a well-owner. This kind of testing is basically unnecessary for a person service by a public treatment facility.

It isn’t that there are no contaminants in your supply; it’s just that we know what they are likely to be. The levels of contaminants change as time goes by. So, you’d have to test several different times to get accurate results.

How is tap water tested for contamination at home? Do it yourself-tests are mostly inaccurate. Buy a high quality tap water filter and stop worrying.

We have all heard that water helps all sorts of bodily functions, and this may sound odd, but have you thought about the fact that water is a moisturizer?

When a lot of folks think of the term “moisturizer,” they picture a thickish, pink liquid in a bottle that you buy off the drug store shelf.  Or, they may think of the drops that help solve “dry eyes.”  Or they may think of personal sexual products.  Or they may think of nasal mists.

Have you ever wondered why we need so many products to help our various orifices and organs stay adequately moist?

Could it be we don’t drink enough water?

Water filtration systems come in a wide variety of forms to suit the needs of individual households. These needs can change over the years, though. Whether you feel it’s time to upgrade from your faucet-mounted system or you’ve just got a nasty shock from your water company’s latest water quality report, it may be worth looking into a more advanced water filtration system.

Undersink/below counter

While faucet-mounted and counter tops systems are better than nothing, undersink systems offer several advantages. Most importantly, the offer more stages of filtration, which results in cleaner water. They also provide better water pressure than faucet-mounted filters.

Whole House Water Filters

Whole house, also called in-line water filtration systems connect to your main water supply and filter all water coming into your home. These can cost over $1000 and usually require a certified plumber to install, but provide major benefits over the point-of-use filtration systems that hook up to single faucets. You’ll not only get clean water for washing clothes and doing dishes, you’ll eliminate the harmful chorine gas in the air caused by chlorinated water.

While filtering your drinking water should be your top priority, if at all possible, you should be filtering the water in which you bathe, wash your dishes, and clean your clothes, too. After all, any time contaminants in the water come in contact with your skin, the have a chance to enter your bloodstream.

If it’s been a while since you’ve checked into you area’s water quality, now may be a good time to do so. This will let you know if you’re fine with your old system or if you should start looking at some of the more advanced water filtration systems available.

Okay, ladies, I know what you may be thinking. You hate to sweat, right?

Or maybe you hate the stench associated with your man when he sweats?

Of course, the noxious odors associated with perspiration are annoying, but trust me when I say this, “ A healthy body sweats, and a body that sweats is healthy.” Sweating is important to maintaining proper body temperature, getting rid of toxins, and keeping the organs and skin healthy. Without enough water, you don’t sweat properly, and your health can suffer.

Drink water to keep the perspiration system functioning well.

Today while surfing I came across an excellent post on the problems of bottled water as an answer to safe healthy water. The author provides several alternatives including drinking water filters.

You can read the full post here: Click Here

Here’s today’s tip on the health benefits of drinking water.

Do you believe in a higher power?  Studies show that vast majorities of people do, even if they don’t regularly practice the traditions of their religious upbringings.  There may be a lot wrong with this world – mostly the result of man-made negativities – but there is one thing right about planet earth.  It is covered in water.  Can’t you just picture God saying, “Hellooooo…hint, hint?”

Tap water filtration systems from reputable companies come backed with scientific proof of their ability to clean water. Some systems, however, do little more than filter money out of your wallet. When you look for a system, keep the following in mind.

The real meaning of “pure.”

Unfortunately, there’s no scientific definition of “pure.” A manufacturer can claim their filter will “purify” your water when all it does is make it smell better. For specifics, check the performance data on exactly what the filter can remove.

The no-maintenance myth

A “set and forget” filtration system sounds great and advertisers know this. In fact, some claim their tap water filtration systems require no filter changes ever. The catch? After about six months, the whole system has to be replaced!

Understand the prices

Sure, your health is worth $1000 and then some, but you don’t need to shell out that much for any of the effective tap water filtration systems. Be as wary of the high-priced filtration as you would of the cheapies.

Water filtration quackery

Energized, magnetized, ionized and oxygenated – just name it and you can find a filter that will do it. Unfortunately, the fancy terms are more indicative of marketing spin than they are of health benefits. These types of tap water filtration systems probably won’t harm your health, but they won’t help it much, either.

There are many excellent tap water filtration systems on the market, but there are also a few that aren’t worth the plastic they’re made out of. Before you buy, read up each systems your considering so you can stay clear of the scams.