Water is essential for life. After all, more than 60 percent of our body weight is comprised of water. That’s why it’s recommended for everybody to drink 8 to 10 glasses of water daily. But it should also be guaranteed one ingests something that’s safe for drinking. And this is where the importance of water filters comes in.
Local or municipal water treatment services can’t always put in check outbreak of contaminants in water that make it to your faucet. For many developing countries, consumption of contaminated or impure tap water is the cause of certain epidemic diseases. Some if these waterborne diseases are: diarrhea, cholera, typhoid, dysentery, amoebiasis, etc. Left untreated, your life can be in great danger.
There are also certain types of toxic materials that may make their way into your tap water, other than those bacterial in nature. Chlorine, by-products of chlorine, and pesticides are some. Then there are also mercury, lead, iron, aluminum, etc. – some examples of heavy metal poisons. These heavy metal poisons are known in the medical world to cause certain cancers, such as those involving the colon. Imagine consuming 8 to 10 glasses of water with poisonous metals daily!
Drinking clean and pure water is vital for everybody, most especially children. It’s a requirement for their proper growth and development. Needless to say, water is a major role player within our bodies, for optimum health and functioning. It regulates body temperature, It transports nutrients and oxygen into the cells. It helps in flushing out toxins within our system. And the list goes further.
Bottled water cannot be a practicable alternative to tap water. Each bottle can be quite expensive not because of the clean water inside it. It’s because of the total costs of bottling, packaging, shipping and marketing. Other than the steep cost, there’s also the environmental issue that needs to be considered. These plastic bottles take up precious landfill space and leak toxic chemicals into groundwater. And it takes so many years before they biodegrade.
Boiling is effective in making sure what you drink is pure and clean. It’s great at getting rid of those bacteria that may harm you and your family. However, it’s not at all that practical, just like resorting to bottled water. Your monthly bills may swell up. It may take only a few minutes for water to boil all right. But imagine the amount of electricity or gas your stove consumes each and every day.
Installation of water filters can be a more practical solution than buying bottled water or boiling of water. Generally, there are two basic kinds of filters. One kind is something that you install directly in the faucet. The other kind is something that you set up in the plumbing system. The first kind is evidently cheaper, but regular maintenance is necessary. The second kind may be more expensive, but maintenance isn’t too often.
In addition, water filters use various filtration systems. What’s best for your home depends on the contaminants present in your tap water. That’s why it’s important to have your water laboratory tested. For present organic chemicals like pesticides, a carbon filter may be useful. But for present organic elements like iron or lead, a reverse-osmosis filter is more applicable.
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Tags: drink, food, Food and Drink, home, water filter