We drink water, water is the main ingredient in many things like coffee, tea, and soups, we bathe and wash clothes in water. Because of water’s omnipresence, I put filtered water at the top of the list of priorities for having a healthy home.
We cannot live without water. The fact that we can go into the kitchen, turn on the faucet, and be able to safely drink the water that comes out of there all day, every day, without worrying is really quite amazing. This phenomenon was practically unheard of in our not-so-distant past (like, 140 years ago), and is still a dream today in many other countries. So in the scheme of things, we are lucky. But that is not to say that we shouldn’t pay attention to our water and question whether or not it contains contaminants that may be harmful to our health.
Where does our drinking water come form? You don’t actually have to know this to take action on this tip, but if you are curious, just check your city’s website and it should tell you. In Minneapolis and many of its surrounding areas, the water comes from the mighty Mississippi River. Here’s how it works for the City of Minneapolis:
The water we take from the river goes through a cleaning process. Impurities are reduced by a number of processes, including filtration, disinfection and sedimentation. Fluoride is also added to our tap water to help prevent tooth decay. In addition to cleaning the water, Minneapolis is one of the few cities in Minnesota that softens water at a centralized softening plant. A variety of tests are performed on our water throughout the treatment process. On average, 500 chemical, physical, and bacteriological examinations are done each and every day. Once it’s cleaned and treated, the water we produce is stored in a reservoir. There is enough water kept in the reservoir to satisfy two days of average tap water demand.
The good news about water quality is that there are federal safety standards prescribed by the US Environmental Protection Agency that limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by cities or municipalities. (The FDA regulates this for bottled water.) The bad news is that the standards allow for some contamination, and do not address every possible contaminant.
Every year, the City of Minneapolis puts out a Water Quality Report.
Thankfully, the results of their tests show that the water quality is high and meets regulations. However, it also shows that there are a certain number of contaminants still in the water, and it doesn’t test for everything. Common contaminants include (according to the City of Minneapolis Water Department):
- 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 metals, which can be naturally occurring or result from urban stormwater runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining, or farming.
- PESTICIDES AND HERBICIDES, which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban stormwater runoff, and residential uses.
- ORGANIC CHEMICAL CONTAMINANTS, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals, which are byproducts of industrial processes and petroleum production, and can also come from gas stations, urban stormwater runoff, and septic systems.
- RADIOACTIVE CONTAMINANTS, which can be naturally occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities.
Sound appetizing? Not to me! So what can you do? To begin with, you may want to test your water. There are a couple types of testing kits out there:
- A digital TDS (“Total Dissolved Solids”) meter, also known as a ppm (“parts per million) pen that reads the overall purity of your water. The lower the TDS, or PPM, the purer the water. A 0 is pure H2O. The only downside is that it does not test for biological contaminants. The cost on Amazon is $15.82.
- A Water Testing Kit. This is a one-time use kit that tests the levels of pesticides, chlorine, nitrates, lead, pH level, and hardness. The cost on Amazon is $19.66.
Either of these will help determine whether further action is needed. Your budget might also determine what you can do, so here are different options:
Low Cost/Just the Basics Option
Filter just your drinking water on an as-needed basis. A Brita 5-cup water filter that you fill up and keep in your fridge is $10.99, and a single filter (about $5 each) can replace up to 300 bottles of water. (I’m using Brita just as an example; there are other good products on the market as well.) The filtration system decreases chlorine taste and odor, zinc, copper, mercury, and cadmium often found in tap water. It is not designed to remove fluoride nor to purify water, but it does make water taste better.
Medium Cost/Most bang-for-the-buck Option
Get a reverse-osmosis filter for your kitchen sink and a chlorine filter for your showerhead.
A reverse osmosis (RO) system is not a filtration system; it is a process of purifying water through a semipermeable membrane. I do not actually understand the scientific methodology, but I do know that RO systems do the best job of getting your water closest to pure H2O. It takes time for the RO system to work, requires an additional faucet dispenser dedicated to the RO water system, and can only produce a limited amount of RO water each day – though it should be enough for drinking and cooking. A basic General Electric system that can be installed under a sink is $147 at Home Depot; a fancier one at Costco is $289. This will take care of your drinking water.
For bathing, the biggest concern is the chlorine that water treatment centers add to water to eliminate bacteria. Chlorine is very damaging to skin and hair and unhealthy to breathe in. There are many options out there that attach to the showerhead (or bath tub faucet) and filter the chlorine directly, avoiding more costly whole-house filtration systems. Shower filters range in price from $20-$40 and are fairly easy to install. (And while you’re at it, make it a low-flow shower head to conserve water and save money!)
Highest Cost/Most Thorough Option
Whole house water filtration systems filter chlorine and many other contaminants from your water at the point at which your water source is plumbed into your house. The benefit of this is that you do not need to install individual filters at each shower, bath, sink and laundry outlet. A once-a-year service takes care of all the filtering issues at the same time, so you don’t have to worry about it the rest of the year.
This does involve hiring someone, though, unless you are a stellar do-it-yourselfer – hence the higher cost. The upside though, if affordable, is that the installer will do the water testing for you to ensure they are appropriately filtering your water. And if the installer is any good, he or she will provide you with before and after results.
A reverse osmosis system for drinking water is just an additional step – (it’s especially nice for icemakers), and you can do this for your whole house too, as long as an installer can run the pipes to the different sinks where you want drinking water. These do have separate faucets because the water pressure is lower and the plumbing is separate, so you would need to have the space on your counter for another water dispenser.
Whatever your budget, another thing to consider is the reduction in bottled water that you will need to buy. These single-use bottles are a major trash and recycling issue, not to mention costly. Bringing your own water with you, in your own reusable water bottle, is one of the best things you can do to have a positive impact on the environment and ensure you are reducing your exposure to potentially harmful contaminants. And, substituting your own clean filtered water for bottled water will save you money in the long run.
Disclaimer: The information provided is my personal opinion based on my own experience and comes with no guarantees. Products that are mentioned here are for informational purposes; there is no guarantee of accuracy or quality of third parties mentioned.