How To Purify Tap Water - From Pollution To Purity

You might want to leave the question of how to purify tap water to the experts. Of course, in emergency situations, like floods and other natural disasters, boiling or bleaching may be necessary, but on a daily basis, the average home owner can do little, on his own, to improve what the public treatment facilities have already done.

That's not to say that daily home purification measures are unnecessary. Technological advancements allow homeowners to remove traces of chemical contaminants and other impurities that public facilities cannot remove. In fact, some of the health threats in our waterlines are CAUSED by the efforts that they make.

Chlorine and other chemicals are used to kill bacteria, algae and other life forms that cause illness and interfere with transfer. Chlorination and other disinfection methods cause the formation of byproducts that are commonly referred to as THMs (trihalomethanes).

If you are wondering how to purify tap water that is contaminated with chlorine and THMs, you need a technologically advanced purifier. Even granular carbon will not reduce THM content and those chemicals have increased the number of cancer cases by hundreds per year...per country.

Researchers have proven this, by comparing the number of cases in homes where private wells are used and disinfection is unnecessary to those homeowners that are serviced by public treatment facilities. It's interesting to note that some of the best-selling and most highly advertised purifiers on the market (Brita and PUR for example) will not reduce the THM content, even though they reduce chlorine. And, that is simply illogical.

But, it takes special filtering media to reduce THMs. Chlorine is easily removed with granular carbon, although a carbon block is more effective, because water can channel around the granules and pass through with chlorine dissolved in it.

Perhaps, you're wondering how to purify tap water that contains cysts. The US Environmental Protection Agency has made public statements concerning the presence of cysts in publicly treated supplies.

If you haven't heard of them, these "bugs", for lack of a better word, cause illnesses that can be deadly in some individuals. They will simply make the average person sick for a day or two.

Facilities cannot test for them on a daily basis, as daily testing is considered "unfeasible". Levels are higher during the spring and summer months, lower during the fall and winter. So, here's how to purify tap water that is likely to contain cysts. Chlorination does not work.

You can boil everything that you drink, brush your teeth with or use for washing fresh fruits and vegetables, but that will release chemical contaminants into the air of your home. You can install an expensive reverse osmosis filter in your home, but that won't remove chemical contaminants. Or, you can buy an affordable system that includes a sub micron filtration step, a carbon and multi-media block, as well as ion exchange to remove lead.

So, that's how to purify tap water in your home. Buy an effective filtration system and drink up!