A Troubling Question: What Can I Add to My Tap Water to Make it Taste Better?

Too often government authorities express concern when they hear a member of the public say, "What can I add to my tap water to make it taste better?" Government authorities want to provide the residents in their area with good-tasting water. Unfortunately, any time that government officials choose to focus on the taste an area' s tap water, those officials can overlook a dangerous component of that same water.

When government officials seek to put an end to inquiries such as this: "What can I add to my tap water to make it taste better?" those officials fail to insure the safety of the local water supply. Not every possible contaminant in tap water has distinct taste. A human can not, for example, taste whether or not there might be any THMs in a glass of water.

What are THMs? THMs stand for trihalomethanes, organic compounds in which three of the four hydrogens in a methane molecule have been replaced by halogen atoms. THMs are used in certain industries; they are an important compound in present-day refrigerants. Tasteless THMs have made their way into tap water.

Why should public officials be concerned about the level of THMs in the tap water? Officials should act to keep THMs out of the local water source, because THMs are known carcinogens. When humans consume large amounts of water containing THMs, those humans stand at risk for developing some type of cancer.

While public officials realize that they should act to eliminate any possible carcinogens in the water, those same officials seldom hear any local resident say, "What can I do with my tap water to rid it of THMs?" Instead, public officials are more apt to hear this question: "What can I add to my tap water to make it taste better?" When chlorine has been added to water as a precautionary measure, that chlorine can cause the water to taste bad. Residents who are forced to drink that safer water usually lack an appreciation for the ability of chlorine to kill harmful microbes.

By adding some sort of sweetener to tap water, the thirsty resident of an area can disguise the taste of chlorine. If that resident does not want to use some type of sweetener, then he or she needs to filter the bad-tasting tap water. Of course, filtration by reverse osmosis removes the minerals in the water. Water that is lacking in natural minerals tastes "stale" or "flat."

Homeowners and business owners welcome a chance to invest in a filtration device that can purify their tap water, and also provide workers or residents with good tasting water. A growing number of homeowners and business owners have elected to purchase an activated carbon filter. When combined with micron filtration, such filters can lower the number of contaminants in the tap water.

Still, filters that rely on activated carbon do not remove minerals from the tap water. They do not cause the tap water to taste "flat." By investing in an activated carbon filter, a homeowner or business owner can know that he or she can assure residents and workers of the chance to enjoy clean, safe and great-tasting water.