Drinking an adequate amount of water every day is essential for your health. Water is a powerful drink that replenishes your cells with enough oxygen and aids nutrient absorption.
Not only that, but water also helps regulate body temperature and promotes a healthy digestive system.
If you're into weight loss and workouts, water is also the perfect go-to drink since it's calorie-free and helps with hydration. Water plays a crucial role in reaching your health goals, so it's essential to ensure your drinking water is of the highest quality.
Safe drinking water is the key to maximizing its health benefits. Otherwise, it will taste bad and pose many health risks. Drinking unfiltered tap water is not the best way to ensure water quality.
You may also think that constantly buying bottled water wastes money and is not environmentally friendly. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) strongly advocates for tap water instead of bottled water because plastic bottles contain harmful chemicals that can threaten the environment.
Realizing all these, you begin to entertain the idea of a water filtration system that allows clean, good-tasting water to pour at the turn of a tap.
Now, you won't have to endure the bitter metallic taste of unfiltered water, nor waste a dime on buying bottled water. Easy, quick, and convenient—who wouldn't want that in the comfort of your own home?
HOW DOES THE WATER FILTRATION SYSTEM WORK?
Physical Filtration Vs. Chemical Filtration
Before discussing a water filtration system, it is important to note that two techniques are used to filter water. One is physical filtration, in which water impurities are filtered out by straining. The other is chemical filtration, in which water is combined with active materials and chemically treated to remove impurities.
Types of Water Filters
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Granular Activated carbon
First on the list is a water filter commonly used in households. GAC is nothing like ordinary carbon; it is more reactive, purer, and has a higher surface area. It is used inside a water filter to remove chemicals such as chlorine, pesticides, chloroform, and other impurities from water.
As water passes through the filter channel, the loose carbon particles filter out certain chemicals dissolved in water. This is a cost-effective way of providing clean and filtered water for the whole house.
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Reverse Osmosis Filters
The GAC method is not feasible for filtering out chemicals such as iron and nitrate. Since these chemicals aren't attracted to carbon, other water filters are needed to remove them.
This is where the reverse osmosis system is considered. This filter system constrains polluted water through a semipermeable membrane with constant pressure. As a result, it filters out contaminants as water flows from the more concentrated area to the less concentrated area.
It is important to note that the more concentrated the water, the more contaminants it contains. Conversely, the less concentrated the water, the fewer contaminants it contains.
The water from the less concentrated side is called the permeate, or the clean water you will receive from the tap water. On the other hand, the water from the more concentrated side is called the brine (or the waste).
This water treatment system effectively filters out sediments, chlorine, and other contaminants or dissolved solids.
Furthermore, it is also known to have a high filtration efficiency rate of 99%, with its capacity to remove bacteria, sulfates, fluoride, and other toxins from water. This technological advancement allows water purification that works even in non-potable tap water.
In addition, it can also make water with high mineral content drinkable. One downside is that it can also remove healthy minerals from the water.
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Ion Exchange
Another filtration process is ion exchange, which involves more water softeners than water filters. Ion exchange binds with resin materials, removing magnesium and calcium. The water is then strained through the resins, and ions are interchanged with those in the resins.
It helps neutralize water by the equal removal of both negatively and positively charged ions and replacing "bad" ions with "good" ones.
So, how exactly does this filtering water process work? Ion exchanges use zeolite beads and sodium ions.
By definition, hard water contains magnesium and calcium compounds. When mixed with ion exchange, these compounds are transformed into magnesium and calcium ions.
Afterward, the filter beads trap these ions while freeing their sodium ions to exchange them. Without magnesium and calcium ions, the water becomes more drinkable to most people.
However, one disadvantage of this kind of water filter is that it requires constant recharging of filters, making it less energy efficient. You must regularly add a certain type of salt to recharge the filter's water softeners.
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Distillation
One traditional way to filter water is to use heat to kill microscopic organisms such as bacteria. Distillation is just a few steps ahead of boiling water.
It begins by heating the water until it reaches its boiling point. Next, the water undergoes condensation, which turns it into vapor and cools it as it passes through water pipes.
As the water vapor condenses, it begins the process of distillation. Distillation simply separates certain components from water through boiling and condensation.
While heat effectively kills bacteria, it does not effectively filter out other contaminants, limescale, and sediments.
Furthermore, contaminants like volatile organic compounds boil at a lower temperature than water. As a result, they simply evaporate along the steam without getting removed through the distillation process.
THE DANGERS OF DRINKING UNFILTERED TAP WATER
As previously mentioned, clean water is necessary for maintaining good health. Therefore, drinking unfiltered tap water carries health risks. Of the over 700 chemicals in tap water, chlorine and fluoride are two of the most dangerous.
Drinking water without chlorination (a disinfection process) poses health threats caused by waterborne microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses. At the same time, failure to remove fluoride from the water also results in bone and teeth issues when consumed.
It may even lead to more serious health problems such as skeletal fluorosis, joint damage, and impaired neurological development.
Since tap water comes directly from a natural source, it is expected to carry many harmful components in each flow. Hence, tap water will remain contaminated with harmful microorganisms and chemicals without water filters.
After all, tap water is raw water without any chemical treatment. We've always been taught that natural water is better, but in this case, natural water can be dangerous.
Yes, you will save a lot of money and energy if you opt to not get water filters, but it will compromise your health. If your primary water supply is unfiltered tap water, you will be susceptible to diarrhea, sepsis, and cholera. Worse, you may be setting yourself closer to death than you'll ever know.
Drinking unfiltered water is especially dangerous to children, the elderly, and people with comorbidities or weak immune systems. Adverse effects from contaminated tap water can easily attack them.
Furthermore, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have publicized some advisories about drinking water without filtration and/or treatment systems. According to them, unfiltered water may lead to outbreaks of salmonella, hepatitis A, E. coli, and norovirus.
Among all these, drinking filtered water is the best option for your water needs. Drinking untreated and unfiltered water is unsafe and dangerous. Setting up filtration systems at home may be difficult initially, but it will save you a lot in the long run.
Water filters are the best option for providing your family with clean and safe drinking water. Spending money on water filtration systems is always better than hospital bills.
THE BENEFITS OF DRINKING FILTERED WATER
Cleaner, Safer, and Healthier
As previously mentioned, filtered water is much cleaner, safer, and healthier for drinking. This is perhaps the biggest benefit of drinking filtered water.
It protects your body from diseases caused by waterborne microorganisms and serious symptoms such as vomiting, stomachache, and diarrhea. It also protects your body against toxins and harmful chemicals in unfiltered water.
It gives you purer and healthier drinking water, replenishing your bodily functions and strengthening your immune system.
More Chlorine-free
Unfiltered tap water contains chlorine, a harmful component that can disrupt the respiratory system and cause symptoms such as airway irritation, wheezing, coughing, and difficulty breathing.
Chlorine can also pose health risks, such as eye and skin irritation. Recent studies have linked it to cancer. In retrospect, chlorine is especially dangerous when consumed in large quantities. Hence, it is necessary to remove chlorine from drinking water.
You don't have to worry about this with filtered water, which is proven to be more chlorine-free. Filtration systems remove up to 99% of the chlorine in tap water.
Hence, using filtered water will free you from the chlorine-related health hazards that can make you unwell for a few days or more.
No Metals or Minerals
You can expect your filtered water to be free of metals and minerals besides chlorine. This may also include water filters that remove sediment, mold, dirt, and other impurities.
Water is also easily contaminated by rust from dirty pipes. However, if you use water filters, you will get clean water quality that is safe to drink for you and your family.
Better Taste and Smell
As we all know, unfiltered water has a bland, sometimes bitter, metallic flavor that is hard to brush off. It also has the same bad, metallic odor that sometimes resembles water from a contaminated sewage system.
Water needs to taste good when consumed; otherwise, people will buy artificially flavored drinks, such as soda, to compensate for their bad taste.
Water filters also improve the taste and smell of water. They remove toxins and other pollutants, making drinking water more pleasant.
A More Eco-Friendly Choice
Drinking filtered water is more eco-friendly for clean water than bottled water. Amid climate change, it is important to do your part and go green for the sake of the surroundings.
Instead of splurging on plastic bottles, buy a recyclable and reusable water bottle and fill it with filtered water. In that way, not only will you gain access to safe drinking water, but you're also helping the environment heal from plastic pollution.
Cheaper and More Convenient
You may think buying bottled water is cheaper since it only costs a few bucks. However, a single bottle will only last you for a few hours, and then you must buy it again to satisfy your water needs.
If you add up the money you've spent on bottled water throughout the day, you will be surprised by how big the total amount would be. In contrast, investing in a reliable filter will cost you less in the long run and keep your water hydrated for a few weeks.
On the other hand, investing in water filters at home is also more convenient. You can easily get drinking water by turning a tap.
You won't have to go out and buy water since you can have it just a few steps inside your home premises. In addition, you can also use filtered water to cook and refill water tumblers.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, water is essential for daily life. Some studies suggest that people can live without food for eight to twenty days. However, they can't go waterless for a few hours without feeling dehydrated, dizzy, and light-headed.
You will also endure hard stools and bad constipation. You'll also experience side effects of lack of water, such as dry and dull skin, abdominal pains, and cramps. Therefore, water is not something that you can live without.
However, access to water is only the bare minimum. The water should be clean, sanitized, and properly treated to positively affect our bodies.
This is why drinking filtered water is important for maintaining health. As previously discussed, there are several ways to filter water, including different types of filters.
Depending on your preference and the kind of household you maintain, you can simply choose from the ones listed above and hire an expert to ensure a professional installation.
To conclude, "Health is wealth" remains true in every individual's life. We depend on sanitized water for natural absorption and cell oxygenation. We also drink water to flush waste from our bodies, aid digestive processes, and normalize blood pressure.
Water also helps us maintain smooth, healthy, and radiant-looking skin. Therefore, spending money on a good and reliable water filtration system is a good investment. It will provide you and your family with one of the basic needs: drinking water.
It will also prevent you from contracting diseases and illnesses caused by unsanitized and unfiltered water.
Luckily, Berkey water filters, portable purifiers that have gained popularity in the United States over the last few decades, help us sustain a fresh and purified water supply.
So, there we have it! Drink clean and safe water in the comfort of your home. You don't have to be always on the line, waiting for your turn in the cashier queue just to pay for your bottled water.
You just need to take a few steps, turn the tap on, and enjoy a drink of filtered non-contaminant water.
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