What the Heck is Tap Water, Anyway?

It's crazy to think that something as necessary as water can either be our bodies' best friend or its worst enemy. If you're wondering what I'm referring to, it's the ingredients in tap water. Naturally occurring water is mineralized and healthy, but as it becomes polluted with all the waste circulating the environment, toxic substances begin to heavily contaminate the water. This causes it to now become a serious threat to our health, from previously being the most refreshing beverage our bodies know!

With a mind-boggling list of over 2100 carcinogenic substances, most tap water will contain some of the following dangerous, and potentially fatal, ingredients:

Lead - we've all heard it. Growing up, I remember hearing kids crack jokes at one another about having swallowed paint chips or ingested lead as a child/infant. While some of these jokes persisted into adulthood, most people probably still don't know why it is one of the most talked-about ingredients in tap water. Lead has gained notoriety for its proven adverse effects on development in fetuses and infants, often resulting in lifelong and irreversible learning disabilities.

Drugs - Yes, drugs - as in prescription drugs. As most prescription drugs are synthetic organic chemicals (SOCs) and volatile organic chemicals (VOCs), these are commonly found ingredients in tap water. In what way can this be harmful? An example would be traces of antibiotics contaminating the water - creating what are referr

d to as "super-bugs" - microorganisms which are resistant to antibiotics. It is estimated that these alone can be the cause of tens of thousands of deaths each year!

Herbicides/pesticides - These poisons make their way into our water supplies by poor breakdowns in the soil. Toxic to certain animals, plants, insects and fungi, they are suspected of causing cancer in humans.

These are just a handful of the many harmful chemicals found in our country's water supplies, which ultimately end up as our drinking water. Many of them simply cannot be filtered in water treatment facilities because it would be too costly to implement such a system. And so that leaves us with exactly...(computing)...ONE realistic, affordable solution: a home water filtration system.

Since there are so many different contaminants which call for different filtration technologies, you need to be selective when choosing the best system for you. For showerhead filters, look for something that removes chlorine and enhances pH balance, usually achieved by a granular media system. It should also be able to block the passage of SOCs which could otherwise vaporize and be inhaled from the steam in the shower - intensifying the effects more so than through skin absorption. The cartridges in these usually have to be replaced semi-annually, making it a very economical solution.

For regular kitchen/bathroom faucets, you'll need something that reduces sediment and turbidity, which is the first step to getting clean, fresh-tasting water. Since lead is one of the most prevalent and dangerous ingredients in tap water, you will need a filtration system that reduces lead content. This means it will need to have some kind of ion-exchange system which is the most effective method ever developed to eliminate lead in tap water.

So having reviewed some of the ingredients in tap water, it is clear that they are harmful to our health. The only way to truly have peace of mind about what you are drinking is to invest in the right home water filtration system. What are you waiting for? Make water the best friend your body ever had!

Jesse Metzger is dedicated to research of pure, clean water products. He shares his research on his website; http://www.water-clean-and-clear.com

Looking for clean, pure water? Visit his site now to learn about water products Jesse personally recommends. ingredients in tap water