Home distillation is
convenient. You never have to run out for water between shopping
trips and there are no storage problems or heavy bottles. There is
no worry about the quality and freshness of homemade distilled
water.
Quality
distilled water is odorless, colorless, tasteless and safe. It can
improve the taste and color of food and the natural flavor of
coffee, tea and other beverages. Distilled water can also increase
the life of water using appliances like steam irons, coffee makers
and humidifiers.
What type of
water purification alternatives do I have?
Many
years ago, you could collect and drink rain water, but generally
today even this isn't safe. Rainwater falls through polluted air
containing bacteria, smoke, smog and chemicals.
Boiling
water, the age old method of disinfection, does kill bacteria...but
since some of the water boils off in the process, simple boiling
actually concentrates nitrates, salts, heavy metals and other
contaminants in the water that is left after boiling.
Should
I have my water tested?
Whether you're
drinking private well water or city water, the benefit of water
testing offers only temporary peace of mind since the quality of
your water can change even over short periods of time. And at an
average cost of $100.00 per test, it's certainly expensive and...it
does absolutely nothing to solve your problem.
In an attempt to
solve the problem, many people are either purchasing bottled water
or in-home water treatment devices. In fact, it's estimated that one
out of five U.S. households either buys bottled water or uses a
water treatment device. Let's consider these alternatives.
Is
bottled water a safe choice?
It seems easy to
purchase bottled water. But is this the wisest choice? It's
estimated that 20 million U.S. households have turned to bottled
water even though there is little scientific evidence to suggest
that bottled water is any healthier than most municipal tap water.
While bottled water
on the average costs about 89 cents per gallon, much bottled water
is nothing but tap water, with little or no processing, which is
sold at prices up to 1600 times its initial cost! In fact, 25
percent of bottled waters sold come from municipal supplies with
only chlorine and bad taste removed. Legally accepted sources of
bottled water are wells, springs and public tap water.
Have you ever
purchased bottled water at a local store only to discover that the
water tasted just the way the plastic container smelled? Water in
low grade plastic may leach toxins from the container, such as
methyl chloride, a carcinogen.
Freshness is also an
issue. A recent study conducted by Northeastern University reveals
that bacteria can indeed breed in bottled water. Elevated levels of
bacteria can cause intestinal problems, diarrhea and nausea. Bottled
water offers you no true peace of mind nor does it guarantee
consistent purity.
Do
water softeners help?
A water softener
treats hard water simply by exchanging sodium for hardness minerals
such as calcium and magnesium. Although removing hardness minerals
helps soap and laundry detergent dissolve more easily, softeners
have little effect on bacteria and do not remove synthetic chemicals
or heavy metals like lead. Softeners are limited in their ability to
purify water for drinking purposes and because sodium is added,
softened water could present problems for people on low salt diets.
How
about filters?
Filtered water has
passed through a fine strainer and/or activated carbon. While carbon
filters reduce disagreeable tastes and odors like chlorine, they are
not effective in removing contaminants like arsenic, copper, lead,
nitrates, parasites, sodium, sulfates... and the list goes on. And,
a filter can also become a breeding ground for bacteria as the
organic material which remains in the filter begins to decay.
Another drawback is
knowing when to replace the filter...bells don't ring, lights don't
flash. Manufacturers suggest replacing filters when bad taste or
odor returns but, in reality, a filter may be able to control tastes
and odors long after it has lost the ability to reduce tasteless,
odorless organics such as trihalomethanes.
Thus, even with
periodic replacement, filtered water may contain more contamination
than unfiltered water! Try asking a filter salesperson to guarantee
purity.
What
about reverse osmosis?
Reverse osmosis (RO)
systems force water under high pressure through a synthetic
semi-permeable membrane to reduce inorganic minerals. However, these
systems vary widely in their ability to reject nitrates, chlorides
and some other contaminants. RO performance is affected by water
pressure, water temperature, pH, bacteria, dissolved solids and the
chemical contaminant level of raw tap water.
An RO system works
by flushing contaminants out with additional quantities of water.
This process can send as much as 6 gallons of wasted water down
the drain to produce only one gallon of treated water. Put into
perspective, this means producing 3 gallons of RO water per day
would waste approximately 6,000 gallons per year!
Like other
filtration systems, gradual clogging will result in declining
effectiveness and can also lead to contamination from bacterial
growth.
Faced
with so many discouraging drawbacks to alternative sources of clean,
pure drinking water, it seems only natural to wonder whether there
is any guarantee that the water you're drinking is the purest
possible.
