Improve Your Drinking Water - Tips for Drinking Clean & Healthy Water

People have different definitions for clean water. For some, good ole fashioned tap water works just fine; the chunkier and chewier the better. For others only the purest virgin water from the springs in mount Olympus will do. Others sleep well at night knowing their water had passed the FDA/EPA minimum standards for safety.

Whatever your definition of clean water is, the fact remains that the quality of the water that goes into our bodies today will eventually have a strong effect on our health in the future. Below are some tips you can use to maximize the quality of your drinking water regardless of the water source.

When it comes to municipal tap water in the United States, you can be pretty certain that there will be chlorine and fluoride in the water. Your city adds chlorine in the water to kill bacteria and fluoride to fight tooth decay. However both these chemical additives are not good for your body and may cause bone disease and cancer with pro-longed exposure. So what are your options if you want to continue to drink tap water?

1. Do nothing and take your chances.

If you do nothing you may still live a long healthy life just like some smokers live long lives. However you should realize that drinking tap water without a water filter means your BODY ends up becoming the filter.

2. Boil tap water.

This is a better option over doing nothing because by boiling water you will get rid of microorganisms and bacteria in the water and help release some of the chlorine in the water. However this method does not remove the many hundreds of other harmful containments that can affect your health. Still if you choose this method, remember to set the water aside for 1 day in open air to let the chlorine escape from the water before using it.

3. Install a water faucet filter.

This method is a better than boiling water because it removes many more contaminants. Most faucet filters are carbon filters which remove chlorine, lead and a variety of other contaminants. However not all filters are the same and you should look for filters with a 1 micron rating or below for better filtration. Remember the lower the micron rating the better the filter.

4. Install a reverse osmosis water purifier.

This is the best water filtration system and removes 95-99% of contaminants in the water. A reverse osmosis filter has a .0001 micron rating and will remove hundreds more contaminants than countertop faucet filters. These are usually multi-stage filtration systems and you should look for a 4 or 5 stage system for the best performance. These systems will deliver water comparable to top quality bottled waters.

5. Check your water quality with a TDS meter

This step can be done to check the cleanliness of both filtered and unfiltered tap water. A TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) meter reads the total amount of organic and inorganic substances present in water. These substances are microscopic and invisible to the human eye and may be safe or harmful depending on the contaminant. The US has established a water quality standard of 500 mg/l as the maximum allowable hardness for drinking water. The lower the number, the cleaner and softer the water. With the use of a TDS meter you will be able to tell exactly how hard/dirty your tap water is. You can also use it to check your filter's effectiveness and plan for filter replacement.

All of the above systems have costs associated with them. Reverse Osmosis systems have the highest up front costs but are competitive with faucet filters which require more frequent and expensive filter changes. Reverse Osmosis also provides the cleanest water. Boiling water may incur some gas/electrical bills and tap water is free. However health complications down the road that may arise from drinking un-filtered tap water may be very expensive. A TDS meter will help you evaluate the cleanliness of your tap water and if you should get a water filter.

When it comes to bottled water in the United States, you can be pretty certain that they all come packaged in a plastic bottle. Sure everything these days use plastics what's the big deal? Well chemicals used in plastics are known to leach into water and often times they are toxic chemicals that are bad for human health. Plastics may leach hazardous chemicals like Bisphenol A and Phthalates which may cause infertility and cancer. Plus laboratory tests have shown that 22 percent of bottle water brands contained chemical contaminants in the water itself at levels above strict state health limits. So what are your options if you want to continue to drink bottled water?

1. Choose your water bottle brand carefully.

About 75 percent of bottled water sold in the U.S. comes from natural underground sources, which include rivers, lakes, springs and artesian wells. The other 25% comes from reprocessed municipal sources. (Think filtered tap water) While natural spring water sounds more beneficial there is really no way to tell which brands are safest to drink. The key is to look for water that has been treated with reverse osmosis and distillation as these technologies offer the cleanest water with the least containments. Remember to always check with your favorite brand for more details on their water quality.

2. Store your bottled water correctly.

The majority of all water bottles are made of polyethylene plastic which is known to leach chemicals into water when exposed to sunlight and heat. Storage in cool and dark places helps reduce leaching of these potential toxins.

3. Drink bottled water quickly, never reuse the bottle.

Most bottled water comes with an expiration date. The funny thing is, I think this expiration is more appropriate for the plastic bottle than for the water itself! The sooner you can finish the water the better because the longer water sits in the plastic bottle the more the plastic will breakdown and leak chemicals. Never save these bottles for reuse as these plastics will continue to breakdown faster and faster over time.

4. Check under the bottle for the plastic type used.

All plastic bottles are marked with a triangular recycle sign displaying a number that tells you the type of plastic it was created from. Looking for this number is not as useful for bottled waters because almost all bottled water are Type 1 & 2 water bottles made of polyethylene and high density polyethylene. However if you are looking for a re-usable water bottle for the purpose of refilling your own water, then pay attention. Re-usable water bottles are often made of polycarbonates (Type 7) which contain a toxin called Bisphenol A. To be safe, never purchase a #7 plastic bottle unless you know exactly what it is made of. Instead look for #5 type plastics made of polypropylene which is the safest of all plastics due to its resistance to leaching, durability, and re-usability.

I would say that on average, bottled water is healthier to drink than most municipal water provided American cities. However the costs of bottled water can be enormous to both our pocketbooks (bottle water costs thousands of times more than tap water, and is more expensive than even gasoline)and it is harmful to the environment.

So which is better for your health, Tap water or Bottled water? That is really impossible to measure but we do know that both these water sources contain impurities. The question is just how much?

The cleanest waters are usually either bottled or tap water treated with reverse osmosis filtrations systems. Still the quality may differ by brand so it is always good to have a TDS meter to check the cleanliness of your water on a weekly basis.