A Home Water Filter - Do We Need To Filter Our Drinking Water?

By Andie Klein

Do we really need a home water filter? Can't we just assume the water that flows from our kitchen and bathroom tap is sufficiently treated for contaminants by our municipal water facility? In order to answer these questions, we need to obtain a little more background information.

Next to air, water is the most important element for our survival.

Water is an integral part of our life and we use it for many household tasks throughout the day, such as: drinking and brushing our teeth, steaming fish and vegetables, washing salad greens, face and hand washing, showering and bathing, feeding the pets and watering our plants.

Most of us take it for granted that our tap water is safe to drink and use for common household tasks. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), however, estimates that 45,000,000 people drink tap water that is polluted with chemicals, lead, germs, parasites and other impurities.

A large majority of the major U.S. cities still employ the same basic water treatment technologies that have been used since before World War I. In cities such as Atlanta, Boston and Washington, D.C. consumers are relying on pipes that are, on average, over a century old. Many people don�t realize that our municipal water treatment plants are not designed to remove synthetic chemicals and as a result we find traces of health threatening contaminants in most of our public water supplies.

Situations arise when our tap water is polluted with more than the usual amount of contaminants. Municipal treatment plants have breakdowns that take time to repair. Lead leaches into our drinking water from old pipes and private wells. Smaller water-supply sources can become contaminated from agricultural and other environmental pollutants.

It is difficult to be sure of the exact amount of toxins in our water supply. The EPA has estimated that, in our modern society, we use in excess of 75,000 toxic chemicals and more than 1000 new chemicals are developed each year. The Ralph Nader Research Group� after reviewing thousands of pages of EPA documents acquired through the Freedom of Information Act� concluded that to date more than 2100 toxic chemicals have already been detected in U.S. water supplies.

Our planet earth reuses the same water over and over again, which means there is no "new water". Every single chemical used in our society, eventually winds up in our water supplies. As the use of synthetic organic chemicals increases, so does the toxicity of our water. The earth's natural filtration process is not effective at removing these toxic synthetic organic chemicals.

The human body is made up of over 70% water. The proper function of each organ system, as well as every healing process that happens inside our body, takes place with water. Optimal functioning is only possible when water, our body's transport medium is clean. Wastes form during the body's metabolism and if these wastes are allowed to accumulate through insufficient water intake, fatigue and even illness results.

If we drink water that contains chlorine or other organic and inorganic chemicals, we force our liver and kidneys to act as a filter for these contaminants. The liver purifies and detoxifies the blood of waste products and toxins. In addition to regulating the body's water balance and maintaining optimal pH, the kidney also removes metabolic waste products from the bloodstream.

By providing the liver and kidneys with water, a universal solvent and transport medium, they are assisted in their role as a natural body filter. Bombarding these organs with water that contains traces of additional toxins only hinders the body detoxification process and delays waste removal.

Water may not cure every ailment, but it is a primary ingredient that allows our body to dilute and eliminate toxins that have accumulated over time.

What Can We Do To Provide Healthy Water For Our Family?

The simplest, most effective and also the most economical way to treat municipal tap water is a home water filter. Multi-media water filters that combine activated carbon with iron exchange media such as KDF are an excellent choice.

Carbon and KDF work together to remove or reduce traces of contaminants such as chlorine, lead, Cryptosporidium and Giardia cysts, synthetic chemicals, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), MTBE, pesticides (lindane, atrazine), chemicals linked to cancer (benzene, TTHMs, toxaphene) and hundreds of other chemical contaminants that may be present causing bad taste and odors in your drinking water.

The result is healthy, great-tasting water that still contains natural trace minerals that are beneficial to optimal wellbeing and health.

� Copyright 2005 Andie Klein

About the author:
Andie Klein is a Registered Nurse and webmaster of http://www.home-water-filter-guide.com, where you can get the answers you need about drinking water contamination, comparing water filters, the health benefits of drinking water and more.