Today, it is possible to get pure home water, no matter what contaminants are left in by your treatment facility. Pure water technology for the home-front has advanced beyond what can be done by a public provider. But, you have to shop carefully, or your purity may be questionable.
A large number of companies claim to be able to provide you with pure home water. But, many of them only remove chlorine or odor and that's not real purity.
The most advanced pure water technology for the home is a multi-stage device that combines carbon with multi-media block adsorption, sub-micron channel filtration, and an ion exchange system. Each of these steps removes specific contaminants. I'll refer back to the relevant step for each common contaminant.
Chlorine & THMs
Chlorine is simple to remove with carbon, but many companies that claim to provide pure home water stop with carbon. The real threat of chlorine has little to do with the taste and odor. It does tend to cause digestive problems, but probably does little long term damage.
The real threats are the THMs or trihalomethanes that are released whenever chlorine is used for disinfection. THMs cause cancer, specifically bladder and colorectal cancer. Estimates vary, but you have at least a 30% higher risk of developing this when you are exposed to THMs.
Exposure can occur when swimming in a chlorinated pool, showering or even standing next to a boiling pot of unfiltered water. Recent research indicates that regular swimmers have an "unacceptable" risk, so if you swim, limit you must limit your exposure to THMs in other ways.
Pregnant women who are exposed are more likely to have children with birth defects and they have an increased risk of miscarriage. The only pure water technology that removes THMs is block adsorption.
Lindane, Atrazine & Alachlor
These are the most frequently used herbicides and pesticides. Many companies that claim to provide pure home water do not remove them. They are either known to cause cancer or cause disruption in the endocrine system that predisposes the bodily tissues to cancer.
Lindane is toxic to the central nervous system and "may" be carcinogenic. Alachlor is only considered "slightly toxic", but it is a known carcinogen and can damage the liver, kidney, spleen, nose and eyelids. Atrazine is an endocrine disruptor. Pure water technology with carbon and multi-media block is needed to remove all of these chemicals.
Cysts
These are egg-like parasites that float along looking for a host to infect. They have a very long lifespan and cannot be removed through chemical or UV disinfection methods. Boiling works, but so does sub-micron channel filtration. If ingested, they cause gastrointestinal illnesses. In some people, they cause death. The last large outbreak occurred in Milwaukee. Thousands of people because ill. Over 100 died.
Lead
This is a toxic heavy metal that has many uses. In the United States, house paint can no longer contain lead, but it took longer to ban its use in pipelines. So, in many areas with older plumbing, it has contaminated the tap-water. Ion exchange is the pure water technology that removes lead, as well as copper and replaces them with the electrolytes potassium and sodium.
There are many other contaminants that prevent us from having pure home water. These are just the most dangerous and the most common.
In order to find the right pure water technology for your home, you must compare product performance data. Be sure that all of the things mentioned here are removed and that the system uses multiple stages to remove the widest range of contaminants. It is the only way to guarantee that you really have pure home water.
Laurel Tevolitz is a dedicated researcher of critical issues that affect health and well-being. Visit her water purification blog now at
http://www.safewaterpurifier.com
to discover which water purification system she recommends after extensive research.
