Drinking water can be a major source of toxins. Some cities add fluoride which is a chemical and may contribute to health problems such as neurological problems, heart issues, cognitive development in children, thyroid issues.
Water can contain bacteria, parasites, lead, radiation, etc. The best way to make sure your drinking water is safe is to purify it yourself or buy bottled water.
My water is from a gravity fed spring, but has had coliform and parasite issues in the past, so I double filter it. First it’s filtered with a countertop Doulton filter that attaches to the faucet. That gets filtered into a LifeStraw countertop water pitcher. I’ve used Brita and Pur in the past, but they won’t filter out parasites. The LifeStraw is supposed to.
I prefer the simple, portable option of a countertop pitcher and faucet attachment, but there are whole house systems that might be a better option for some people.
Another option is to distill your own water. There are countertop distillers for less than $200. I haven’t tried them, but may at some point. They seem to be a much more budget friendly option than constantly buying bottled distilled water. Distilled water involves boiling water, capturing the steam and condensing it in another container. It removes minerals and microbes, but may not remove all chemicals. It may taste flat unless some minerals are added back into it. Distilled water is good for use in machines like CPAPS where the water needs to be clean, but doesn’t need minerals.
Buying bottled water is better than drinking toxic tap water, but you still don’t really know what you are drinking. Good quality distilled bottled water like Fiji or SmartWater are probably safe bets. They are a little pricier, but taste really good.
When I do buy bottled water, in the past I tended to buy bottled spring water over bottled purified water. Some bottled purified water makes my brain feel off. Surprisingly enough, Aquafina, made by Pepsi, didn’t cause any issues. It is purified using reverse osmosis, carbon filtration, ozonation, and Ultra Violet (UV) light. It seems to be a more budget friendly option than distilled water brands. Reverse osmosis removes impurities by filtering the water at a high pressure through a membrane with tiny holes that prevent impurities from passing through. In addition to the membrane, the reverse osmosis process also includes a filter with a pre-filter, an activated carbon filter and a post-filter. Reverse osmosis may not remove all pesticides, herbicides and fungicides.
I’m not sure if there is a clear advantage of distilled water over reverse osmosis. They both produce clean, safe drinking water. Maybe alternating through one and then the other is a good option.
Challenge:
If you don’t currently filter your tap water for drinking, do a deeper dive into whether or not you should be. Home water testing kits are available. Verify fluoride isn’t being put in your water. If you drink bottled water, research the process used by the company, what filtration process do they use, are there test results available to review, etc. Then decide if you should switch brands.
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More Water Purifier Resources
References
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3956646/
https://www.raynewater.com/blog/reverse-osmosis-vs-distilled/
https://waterfilterguru.com/reverse-osmosis-vs-distilled-water/