Pure Water, Continued

Back to our concerns about clean water.  Last time, we discussed reverse osmosis and distillation, which as it turns out, may not be so hot for several reasons.  So what about purchasing bottled water to drink? Well, bottled water for several reasons is not a healthier or purer alternative to tap water and its pretty expensive compared to the cost per gallon of tap. If you have to choose between tap water and bottled water, tap water is definitely the more economical, and, in many cases, the healthier choice, despite the fact that tap water is not without problems. Yes, in the end, it seems that good old filtration may be our best bet for clean water.  However, depending upon the type of filter, it still may be less than ideal for purifying water.  For example, since some granular filters don’t use chemical adsorption, several contaminants can pass through the filter. Also, rapid water filters allot water inadequate contact time with the filter media, limiting the number of contaminants that may be removed.

Of course, we know that tap water is nowhere near free from dangerous contaminants. But still, water filters now provide the best and healthiest solution to the problems of both bottled water and tap water. Water filters remove more dangerous contaminants than any other purification method, and they are uniquely designed to work with municipally treated water. Also, drinking filtered water is much more economical than drinking bottled water. If you have a Brita at home, you may know that its solid block carbon filters use both adsorptive and slow filtration processes. They have a double action: the activated carbon filter eliminates from tap water bad odor and taste of halogen compounds that chlorine makes with water, he exchange ion resin lowers the concentration of calcium carbonates, accordingly softening tap water.  So now you understand the basics of pure water.  If anyone knows of better options, I’d love to hear from you!