Water—pure, clean, clear water—is a key component to all life as we know it. Without water, nothing can survive. However, clean water is getting harder to find. Tap water from city water systems and private wells alike can contain dangerous toxins that harm your health. Bottled water is no better. The best way to get life-giving water in your home is to install a high-quality water filter.
Water Is Essential for Your Health
You can last over a month without food, but you’ll only make it a few days without water. Water is absolutely critical to your health. Every function in your body uses water, from the beating of your heart to the blinking of your eyes. It’s essential to digestion, temperature regulation, and even breathing.
Contaminants in Your Water
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Safe Drinking Water Act defines a contaminant as “any physical, chemical, biological, or radiological substance or matter,” found in drinking water.  Common chemical contaminants include pesticides, industrial runoff, and toxic metals like lead, mercury, and arsenic. Biological contaminants are bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Radiological contaminants can come from naturally-occurring uranium or radium deposits in the ground as well as from human-made nuclear waste.
These toxins can enter our drinking water from a number of sources. Some chemicals and heavy metals can occur naturally in the ground. Bacteria and pesticides from agricultural sites can be swept into our water supply by rain. Poorly maintained infrastructure can also cause problems. This is what happened in the still ongoing water crisis in Flint, Michigan. Government corruption and incompetence cause crumbling, old lead pipes to contaminate the city’s water supply, causing a severe health crisis for thousands of people.
Dangers of Drinking Polluted Water
When you drink water, you want it to be pure, clean H2O. At the very least, contaminants will make your water taste and smell funky. In worse situations, polluted water can be a serious risk to your health and life. It can cause rashes, upset stomach, vomiting, and diarrhea. In more severe cases, water toxins can lead to reproductive problems, developmental disorders, and even cancer. Children, infants, and pregnant women are especially vulnerable, as are the elderly and anyone with a weakened immune system from chemotherapy, AIDS, and certain medications. 
Is Bottled Water the Answer?
Considering the dangers of tap water, many people have turned to bottled water, but is this really the best choice?
The answer is no. According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is zero evidence that bottled water is any safer than tap. The perceived health benefits of bottled water turn out to be little more than slick marketing. 
Despite public perception that bottled water is healthier than tap water, the truth is that it might actually be even less safe. One problem that while tap water is highly regulated and monitored, there are few, if any, federal regulations on bottled water. For example, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has no rules or guidelines regarding storage time or temperature for bottled water. This can have a bigger impact than you might think. A University of Texas study found that bottled water has a significantly higher risk of bacterial contamination than tap water when stored at warm temperatures. 
The lack of regulations on bottled water also means that you never actually know the water’s source. The label might have a picture of a serene mountain vista, but the water inside could easily be the same dirty city water that you’ve been trying to avoid. The only difference is that the bottled version is sold at 5,000 times the price the company paid.
The bottle itself can also pose a threat. Plastic releases chemicals as it ages and these chemicals can end up in the water you drink. Another study from the University of Texas discovered that all commercial plastic products release some amount of endocrine-disrupting chemicals, including the notorious bisphenol A (BPA). These toxins can cause hormonal problems, including reduced sperm counts, early-onset puberty, damage to reproductive organs, obesity, and behavioral issues. They also increase the risk of certain types of cancers, including breast, testicular, ovarian, and prostate cancers. Worst of all, these chemicals have the greatest effect on children, newborns, and in-utero development. 
The Best Option? A Home Water Filter.
If tap water is contaminated, and bottled water is even worse, then what is the right thing to do? By far, the safest, healthiest, most eco-friendly, and least expensive option is to invest in a high-quality home water filter. A water filtration system for your home might cost a little more up front, but once installed, you’ll enjoy the benefits of cheap, clean water for many years.
Homewater offers several water filter choices to improve your quality of life. Check out our top-rated EZchange water filter and experience the joy of clean, delicious water from the convenience of your tap.
Benefits of Filtered Water
A high-quality water filter will remove chlorine, lead, arsenic, mercury, VOCs, waterborne pathogens, and other toxins found in tap water.
Drinking more water improves hydration and health. By filtering your water, you get only the cleanest, purest water for your body.
Makes Food Taste Better
If you cook with nasty water, you get nasty food. Cooking with pure, filtered water will preserve the flavor of your soups, stews, rice, and pasta.
Protects the Environment
Every year, millions of plastic water bottles are carelessly discarded. They eventually end up sitting in a landfill or polluting our oceans. Getting water straight from your tap is the eco-friendly choice.
Bottled water is expensive, but tap water is almost free for most people in the developed world. Skip the bottles and enjoy cold, clear, cheap water in your home.
- Types of Drinking Water Contaminants. EPA.gov.
Updated September 29, 2016. Accessed June 30, 2019.
- Water-related Diseases and Contaminants in Public Water Systems. CDC.gov.
Updated April 7, 2014. Accessed June 30, 2019.
- Drinking Water Quality. CDC.gov.
Accessed June 30, 2019.
- Raj SD. Bottled water: how safe is it? Water Environ Res. 2005;77(7): 3013.
- Yang CZ, et al. Most Plastic Products Release Estrogenic Chemicals: A Potential Health Problem That Can Be Solved. Environ Health Perspect. 2011;119(7):989–996.