We oftentimes don’t think about how to keep our drinking water clean from tap at home.
We think our tap water is safe and we could even make it safer by boiling or using filter to get out contaminants.
We simply turn on the tap and fill ourselves a glass of water without a second thought.
However, many states and cities in California, Texas, Florida, Nevada, Michigan in America still suffer from potential hazards that are in tap water.
This can bring about serious health concerns for people who digest it.
Lead-laced tap water for example can damage the brain, cause problems to the body cells and your kidney. This is what happen when you take tap water for many years.
Some recent studies on a radioactive element (Radium) in tap water system suggest people in safer regions like New York, Arizona, Chicago, Detroit, Delaware, Fort Lauderdale and many other cities and states should be watchful of the risk of cancer in consumers.
Taking the right precautions to ensure that the water you are drinking in your home is safe is key to preventing yourself from getting sick.
If it’s lead-laced method, it is required that lead should not be more than 0.015ppm.
Also make sure that your drinking water supplier comply to the regulations set by EPA.
EPA is a US Environmental protection Agency responsible for keeping public drinking water safe for the people living in the US.
There are safe Drinking Water Act in US which ensure drinking water sources, including tap water is safe for people.
To protect your health from the risk of poor drinking water, here are some tips that you can utilize at home to ensure your drinking water is safe to consume.
What the Age of Your Home says about safe Drinking Water?
Older homes face a large problem when it comes to water quality.
The service line that connects the water main in your home is made of lead. This type of metal can break down over time and potentially contaminate your water supply.
It is important to inspect your piping every year or so to ensure that it does not need replacement.
Failure to do this could lead to you or your family becoming sick. Replace your piping if it is old to prevent this from happening.
Get your Drinking Water Tested From a Lab
Though this method requires some more legwork, it is an important step to determine the safety of your water.
Getting an EPA certified independent water testing lab near you, taking samples from your tap and sending it to them can help you find out if there are any contaminants in the water.
They can test for hardness, bacteria, nitrates, lead and other chemicals.
There are also health departments that will test your water sample for nitrates and bacteria for free.
Be sure to wake up early to collect the water samples too.
Whenever people in your house use the water for any purpose during the day, it can flush out lead and skew from the water you wish to sample.
This is key to determining the quality of the water.
Why you should be Careful Drinking Warm Water?
While warm or hot water can be taken in an empty stomach in the morning, before bed or throughout the day.
It can ease digestion, help detoxifying the body, burning fats, reducing risk of heart attack, helping the skin and others .
You will need to be careful about the temperature of the water for drinking and even cooking.
It is highly recommended that you do not drink or cook with already warm water because of possible side effects.
Warmer water contains higher levels of lead and can lead to getting you sick. This is one of the few disadvantages.
And for those who warm their drinking water so as to kill germs therein, unfortunately, boiling water does not remove pollutants from the water per the CDC.
Getting a whole House Water Filtration System
Getting a whole house water filtration system is one of the best things you can do for your water supply.
Some of the most common water filtration systems you will find attach themselves to the sink’s faucet or the showerhead in your bathroom.
These will help prevent pollutants from either touching your skin or being consumed by you.
Make sure that the system is also approved by certified organizations such as NSF International or The Water Quality Association before purchasing.
Doing Your Part to Stay Safe
There are many towns in America that suffer from poor water quality. While places like Flint, Wisconsin, Texas, Michigan are examples.
There are also other towns that supply water that is not safe to consume.
Too much consumption of contaminated water can lead to a variety of health issues that you can’t afford to develop.
Use this guide to prevent pollutants from building up in your water supply.