Drinking Water Safety - For Home and Office

We all know water is essential to live. But most of us are not aware of the crucial role water plays in virtually every organ and function of our bodies. Water does more than sustain live. Good water can actually improve our health, our fitness, and even our appearance. On the other hand, water with contaminants, chlorine or chloramines may slowly affect us.
Water is good for you only if it’s good water. But what is good water?
It has to be clear, clean, odor less, contaminant free, bacteria and virus free, there should be trace of beneficial minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and fluoride.
Potable water has become a major concern for many people today. The National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) maintains that the number of Americans exposed to water contaminant above EPA standard is growing.
Do you know what is in your tap water before it is in you?
We often take the purity of our tap water for granted - and we shouldn’t. There are endless reports of contaminants in our tap water. Aging pipes can break, leach contaminants into the water they carry and breed bacteria - all potential prescription for illness. Old-fashion water treatment -built to filter out particles in the water and kill some parasites and bacteria, generally fails to remove 21st century contaminants like pesticides, industrial chemicals and arsenic.
To disinfect, chlorine is added to our water supply at the water processing plant. Chlorine is a poisonous greenish-yellow non-metallic gas used to prevents algae growth and kills bacteria in water. (Simply, it’s a form of bleach, think of Clorox in the laundry room or the bathroom for disinfection) In many cities, ammonia is also added to the process which is called Chloramine, to stabilize the chlorine so it won’t vaporize over time. Here are a few quotes from our city (San Francisco) water department pamphlet: “Unlike chlorine, chloramines cannot be removed from water by boiling or by letting an open container of water stand to dissipate chlorine gas? It can be removed by specific treatment methods.”; “Chloraminated water can harm fish and amphibians, such as turtles and frogs, as chloramine passes through their gills and directly enters the bloodstream but it’s safe for people and animals to drink”

Huh? I have to scratch my head when reading this. Water does eventually enter our blood stream too, how does that make it safe, just because we breathe through our lungs? It won’t kill us right away, but will slowly if accumulated over a long period of time, like 10, 20, or 30 years? Chlorination is necessary to kill bacteria in our tap water, but should be removed before it’s coming into our bodies. Beside chlorine or chloramines, tap water may or most likely contain:

• Lead from soldered pipes. Lead can result in anemia, low birth weight in children, increase blood pressure in adults
• Microbiological growth inside pipeline or tank
• Particulates from corrosion and rusting inside pipes or holding tanks
• Pesticides from leeching industrial runoff
• Mercury, which may cause kidney damage
• Radon from land decade can increase the risk of stomach cancer
• MTBE (Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether), a cancer causing chemical
• Bacteria and viruses

EPA estimates that 2-10% of bladder cancer may be from contaminated drinking water. The use of at source water purification devices is strongly recommended to protect you and your family’s health.

I don’t know where this guy lives. He said in the video that he has been gone only for 3 days and return to his home to find that the water from his tap is ….

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Using a ultraviolet water purifier to treat drinking water is not only necessary when you are on the go but it’s equally important for treating the water that comes from your tap.

Even most of municipal water is treated with chlorine or chloramines to disinfect, many of the microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses and cysts along with many other contaminants may still be in your tap water. Drinking or cooking straight from the tap may post some health related issue, especially among children, elder and people with vulnerable immune system.

A team of scientists and engineers, who are experts in water quality technology since 1984, have combined the best of water filtration technologies to design the eSpring - carbon-block and ultraviolet water purifier that provides fresh, clean and great tasting water right from your tap and has been enjoyed by 3.5 million households.

The eSpring is the first in-home system to combine a patented carbon-block filter with ultraviolet water purifier and an electronic monitoring system. It is a major breakthrough in water treatment with its U.S. patented technologies, and it is certified by NSF International.

• The eSpring™ with ultraviolet water purifier destroys microorganisms. It also effectively reduces more than 140 other possible health-effect contaminants by trapping them in its patented carbon-block filter. No other in-home system does both.

• How it works: The UV bulb is located in the center of the cartridge, puts out up to 80 millijoules (units of measure) of UV light – enough to destroy more than 99.99% of waterborne, disease-causing bacteria and viruses in drinking water.

• Water always flows cold: Turning on the tap activates an electro-magnetic connection to the bulb that switches the bulb on, therefore the bulb is not on all the time.

Other benefits:

• Water from the eSpring with ultraviolet water purifier is safer than tap water
• Dramatically improves the taste, odor and clarity of water
• Reduces potential carcinogens that can be found in drinking water
• Is more convenient than bottled water
• Has a high flow rate to fill your glass or container quickly
• Treats drinking/cooking water for a family of 6 for up to one year
• Improves the taste of beverages made with filtered water
• Is convenient and easy to operate
• Has a smart, sleek, space-saving design
• Has convenient and easy replacements
• Is less costly than bottled water
• Has been certified to reduce more health effect contaminants than any other carbon-based system
• Effectively reduces chlorine
• Effectively reduces lead in drinking water
• Effectively reduces mercury in drinking water
• Effectively reduces radon and radon decay products in drinking water
• Does not remove beneficial minerals, such as calcium, magnesium, and fluoride
• Is designed, assembled and manufactured in the USA
• Comes with a satisfaction guaranteed or your money back

While you should be extra cautious when dealing with lake, stream, river or well water, you should not over look what might be in your tap water either. Invest in an eSpring carbon-block and ultraviolet water purifier will ensure you and your family the safest water available today, in your own home.

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Chlorinated water is founded in almost all municipal water.  City water is treated with chlorine (just in case you don’t know what it is, it’s the disinfectant like Clorex that you use to clean your bathroom or to bleach your white laundry with) to kill the bacteria. This is good for killing the bacteria, but there are drawback side effects not so good or even dangerous to our health.

Most people don’t like the taste or the smell of tap water because of the chlorine, but don’t think much about the bad side about chlorinated water. If you are drinking or cooking your meals straight from the tap, there are a few things you should know.

According to numerous studies , chlorinated water:

• Is skin irritant, could be associated with skin condition like eczema
• Can destroy vitamin E and polyunsaturated fatty acids in the body and generating toxins capable of free radical damage (oxidation)
• Destroys the friendly bacteria (intestinal flora) that help in the digestion of food and also protect the body from harmful pathogens.
• Contains chemical compounds called trihalomethanes, which are carcinogens resulting from the combination of chlorine with organic compounds in water. These chemical do not degrade well and are stored in the fatty tissues of the body (breast, mother’s milk, blood and semen). It suppresses the immune system function and interferes with the natural controls of cell growth.
• Aggravates asthma, especially in children frequently swim in chlorinated swimming pools.
• Chlorinated by-products can result in bladder, breast and bowel cancer as well as malignant melanoma.

Chlorination is necessary to kill bacteria in our tap water, but should be removed before feeding it to our bodies. Anything you can do to eliminate or minimizes chlorine would certainly be helpful or at least lower the chances of having the above mentioned health issues. Installing a water filter or purifier to filter chlorinated water is most practical and economical for your family’s well-being.

There is a video at the end of this post showing how water purifier can effectively remove chlorine and other contaminants from tap water.

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How to make tap water safe for drinking at home or the office has been the rising concern of many people today. Most people don’t like drinking tap water because of the taste, but there are more reason to rethink drinking right from your tap.

It’s impossible to have clean tap water. Water is transferred through old pipes that are decaying. Lead, heavy metal and tons of other contaminants leak into the water. The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention reports 30-40 outbreaks of waterborne diseases from viruses, bacteria and parasites in the U.S. each year, and half of those are related to drinking water.

Municipals water treatment plans use chlorine (some use chloramin, which is a combination of chlorine and ammonia)to purify water, and that can cause health problems. The Environmental Working Group did a study in 2005 and reported that there are more than 140 unregulated chemicals, including a gasoline additive MTBE. In many cases, water contaminants exceeded safety limits.

Because the rising question about tap water safety, people are turning to bottled water thinking they are supposedly cleaner than tap and they do certainly taste better, and more convenient. But there are reports showing that up to 40% of bottled water are worst than tap water. Beverage companies are not regulated by the FDA and not legally required to disclose the source of their water, so chances are many of the bottled water comes from the same source as tap water. In many cases, the consumers are paying more for a gallon of water than they are paying for gas. With the price of gasoline skyrocketing, along with the rise of everything else, it’s better to save money and stay with tap water, but clearing out all the harmful contaminants before allowing it getting into our body. A quality water purifier at your own tap is a smart investment.

The best way to make your tap water safe, at least for drinking and cooking, is to install a water filter or purifier in the kitchen. This is crucial if you have young children, are pregnant or have chronic illness that effects your immune system. Install a shower filter to filter out the chlorine is a good idea, especially if you or someone in the family has skin condition such as eczema and psoriasis, because even chlorine levels that are below the EPA limit can dry skin and worsen conditions, let alone that most city water exceeds EPA standard of safe chlorine level. Filter out the chlorine before filling your fish tank will definitely save your fish.

There are many types of water filtration system on the market. Range anywhere from $20 to a few thousands dollars. From faucet mounted, pitcher to whole house filter. Some just improve the water taste by reducing the chlorine and a few large particles, others will remove everything in the water including some beneficial mineral that our body needs. So how do you choose? Here are a few things to keep in mind when deciding on a type of filter:

• You want safe drinking water, not just taste good water, so you need to find the filter that will remove the most contaminants but not the beneficial mineral that are naturally in the water.
• Filter has its own lifespan, you need to know when to replace it or you are drinking water that are far more worst than the tap water itself, because all the contaminants got flushed out from the overdue filter.
• Fresh water always taste better and it’s better for the body because it’s full of oxygens. So freshly filter out of the tap water is better than water sitting in a pitcher or jar for a while.
• Flow rate might be something that is important to you if you are busy people.

Recently there are reports showing that pharmaceuticals - including antibiotics, anti-convulsions, mood stabilizers and sex hormones - have been found in the drinking water supply of at least 41 million Americans. So it is always good to go in for filters with maximum number of features and advantages, designed with the latest technology that help providing as best drinking water quality as possible.

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Choose the world’s best source of water,it has met the highest standards for clean water quality.
Here are a few reasons to choose the eSpring water purifier:
* destroys more than 99.99% of waterborne, disease-causing bacteria and viruses in drinking water
* reduces potential carcinogens that can be found in drinking water
* is more convenient than bottled water
* has a high flow rate to fill your glass or container quickly
* treats drinking/cooking water for a family of 6 for up to one year
* is convenient and easy to operate
* is less costly than bottled water
* effectively reduces chlorine
* effectively reduces lead, mercury in drinking water
* effectively reduces waterborne parasites
* effectively reduces radon and radon decay products in drinking water
* does not remove beneficial minerals, such as calcium, magnesium, and fluoride
* comes with a satisfaction guaranteed or your money back
* the only system certified to effectively remove lead, THMs and more than 140 contaminants
There are many more to list.

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Tap Water Purifiers - Which one filters out the most contaminants?
There are many types of tap water purifiers on the market, which one works best?

You need to know some facts about tap water before deciding on which water purifier or filter model you should decide on buying.

Most people notice a funny smell in their tap water, that is chlorine or chloramin used to disinfect water. There are over 140 of the unwanted “extras” that NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) found when they examined the drinking water of major American cities)
Just to lit a few: there are bacteria, viruses, cysts,lead, mercury, other heavy metal, gasoline additive MTBE, rocket fuel, arsenic, germs, pesticides….

With that many contaminants in your tap, what do you want out, what do you want to leave behind?Now is time to decide on which tap water purifier to meet your expectation.
If you only care about taste, then an inexpensive pitcher type or faucet mount type filter will do. Most of these type of filter do a good job of filtering out most of the chlorine in tap water thus improving the taste and odor. Like a Brita Grand Digital Counter Pitcher may filter out some lead, copper, mercury but has no claims about destroying bacteria or viruses. Slow Flow Rate.

With a Pur 3-Stage Faucet Mount,will improve taste and odor and reduce about 28 potential health-effect contaminants: heavy metals, chlorination by-products, agricultural and industrial pollutant. Will leave in the beneficial fluoride found in water. No claims made for destroying bacteria and viruses. Good flow rate.

The Hydrotech 4-Stage Reverse Osmosis will improve taste and odor and clarity. It reduces heavy metals, radium, fluoride, calcium, magnesium, chlorine, scales, sys ts….. The official listing shows 18 inorganic and 32 organic compounds reduced or effectively removed. Seem like a decent unit to treat your tap with two problems: 1) be aware of losing your body’s minerals if drinking it long term; 2)it wastes about 75% of the water in the purifying process. Filtered water stores in storage tank. Slow and inefficient.

The eSpring 2-stage filter/cartridge of activated pressed carbon block with ultraviolet light will improve taste, odor and clarity. It effectively removes 140 potential health-effect contaminants, from lead, mercury to VOCs, MTBE, and numerous of pesticides. It claims to destroy 99.95% of bacteria, viruses, and cysts. It retains the beneficial mineral such as calcium, magnesium and fluoride. Flow rate is almost 1 gallon/minute. Purifies water fresh from the tap. It meets 3 of the NSF International Standards 42, 53 & 55B while most other only meet 2 NSF standards.

OK, so now you have a general idea of some different types of tap water purifiers available to choose from. Deciding which one fits your need depends on how you value the quality of water that goes into your body.

Your often heard the term “you are what you eat”. You also “are what you drink” because water plays such a significant role in our body therefore affecting our health. If living a healthy life is what you are going after, then invest in improving the quality of your drinking and cooking water with a tap water purifier.

My choice, if you ask: the eSpring Water Purifier.

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If you know the danger of tap water to your health and well being, you would think twice before putting it into you body.

We often take the purity of our tap water for granted - and we shouldn’t. There are endless reports of contaminants in our tap water. Aging pipes can break, leach contaminants into the water they carry and breed bacteria - all potential prescription for illness. Old-fashion water treatment -built to filter out particles in the water and kill some parasites and bacteria, generally fails to remove 21st century contaminants like pesticides, industrial chemicals and arsenic.
To disinfect, chlorine is added to our water supply at the water processing plant. In many cities, ammonia is also added to the process which is called Chloramine, to stabilize the chlorine so it won’t vaporize over time. Here are a few quotes from our city (San Francisco) water department pamphlet: “Chloraminated water can harm fish and amphibians, such as turtles and frogs, as chloramine passes through their gills and directly enters the bloodstream But it’s safe for people and animals to drink?. Is it really safe for the human body? It won’t kill us right away, but will slowly if accumulated over a long period of time. Chlorine or chloramin is known to be the cause of some illnesses. There are other contaminants that tap water may or most likely contain:
* Lead from soldered pipes - which can cause brain damage and decreased intelligence in children, result in anemia, low birth weight in children, increase blood pressure in adults
* Microbiological growth inside pipeline or tank
* Particulates from corrosion and rusting inside pipes or holding tanks
* Pesticides from leeching industrial runoff
* Mercury, which may cause kidney damage
* Radon from land decade can increase the risk of stomach cancer
* MTBE (Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether), a cancer causing chemical
* Germs, bacteria and viruses
* Rocket fuel — perchlorate, harmful to the thyroid and possibly carcinogenic
* Arsenic, recently judged not safe at any level in drinking water, is still present at significant levels in the drinking water of 22 million Americans.

NRDC’s study revealed that periodic spikes in contaminant levels are on the rise, a sign that aging pipes and water-treatment facilities often can’t handle today’s contaminant loads. With the recent report on pharmaceuticals substance found in drinking water supply is just one of many cases. EPA estimates that 2-10% of bladder cancer may be from contaminated drinking water. The use of at source water purification devices is strongly recommended to protect you and your family’s health should you be concerned of the dangers of tap water.

Once a year you would change out the eSpring water purifier cartridge. The one on the left is after a year’s use, the brand new one on the right is pure white. So you can imagine what is being filtered by your kidneys if not done by the filter.

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