Filtered Water: Discover the Former Luxury That is Now a Necessity

Thirty-five years ago a student living at the Houston Medical Center experienced a sudden onset of diarrhea. Another girl living in the same dormitory had a similar problem. Neither student could find filtered water in the shops that surrounded the Medical Center. At that time, most people viewed filtered water bottles as a luxury item.

Today both these are found almost everywhere. Consumers buy and use those products, because they do not want to drink water that contains cancer causing chemicals. Parents make drinks for their children using water that's pure, because they know that such drinks will not contain a dangerous level of lead.

Urban dwellers have discovered that they can enjoy softer skin and softer hair by drinking water that has been filtered. Such water does not contain a harmful level of chlorine. Families living on a farm do not need to worry about what might be in their well water. The family members can use point of use filters to put clean water into filtered water bottles. In the United States, each of the components in such point of use filters must satisfy the requirements of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Each component must be suitable for use with food grade material.

Today's consumer has a much better understanding of water quality than the consumer of thirty to forty years ago. Today's consumers realize that information about the total dissolved solids (TDS) in water says little about the quality of that water. Calcium and magnesium, solids that are dissolved in healthful water, can both be found in filtered water. Those minerals reinforce the benefits that come from refusing to drink water with zero TDS.

Having accepted the value of filtrated water, consumers are now learning more about how to store such water. Glass containers offer the consumer the safest way to store water that has passed through a filter. In the absence of a glass container, the consumer should use a bottle made with a high grade of polycarbonate.

How can a consumer know whether or not a plastic bottle contains polycarbonate? The consumer must examine the bottom of the bottle. There should be a recycle triangle on the bottom of the water bottle. A polycarbonate bottle has a triangle with "1" inside that triangle. A wise consumer refuses to purchase a water bottle that has "3" inside the triangle. The chemicals used to make the plastic in such a bottle could leech into any water added to that bottle.

A single bottle of pure and clear water is usually not too difficult to carry. Suppose, however, that someone is taking a trip and that he or she wants to enjoy access to water that's filtered during the planned trip. Is it necessary for such a traveler to carry with him or her large packs of bottles with filtered contents?

No, the sensible traveler purchases portable filter water bottles. The traveler can then add tap water to one of those bottles. Some bottles have a filter on the bottom; others have a filter on the bottom. Both of those bottles transform the tap water into contaminant-free, filtered water.

Today, both home bound water drinkers and traveling water drinkers hope to enjoy clean, pure, great-tasting water. The most effective point of use filter system delivers such water. What sorts of filtration equipment are normally found in such a system?

Such a system generally filters water by using activated carbon with ion exchange and micron filtration. Why do most consumers drink water that has passed through such a filtration system? Because most consumers realize that the choice of such a system represents the safest possible choice.

The water from such a filtration system provides the consumer with the ultimate in filtered water.