By Lucy Cho


While it certainly isn't easy to tell if the water in your house is safe to drink, if you have a purification system, such as an under sink water filter, you may feel better. Most of the time, you can rely at least a little on your senses to alert you to things that might be making their way into the water system of your home, such as sulfur or too much chlorine; however, in some cases, contaminants such as bacteria, viruses, lead, and other chemicals can't be smelled or tasted. Certainly, in the case of your water smelling like rotten eggs, tasting like salt, or spots on your glasses, testing your water, or having it professionally tested, will help to assure quality. Certain additives, such as shilajit powder, can also help make sure the water in your home is safe to drink.

The water in most municipal systems within the United States is safe because any system that serves 25 people or more must comply with the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. Unless you have a private well on your property or live in remote rural area, chances are that your water comes from a municipal system. Unless you have reason to believe otherwise, you can reasonably assume that the water you receive in your home meets federal standards; however, unless you are using an under sink water filter, the only way to know for sure if your water is safe to drink is to have it tested. This brings up a few questions, such as: how can I test my tap water? Should I test my well water? And am I better off just using filters or drinking bottled water?

Testing your tap water on a municipal system within the United States, might be as easy as calling your local water supplier. They, by law, must provide you with the results of the testing routinely performed for your area. Of course, this will not be specific of your individual home, rather a selective sample of the system as a whole. Some municipalities will come and test the water directly from your tap, free of charge; otherwise, you may have to have a test done by a state-certified lab or independent firm. You can also perform a water test yourself with a home test kit. Most of these tests do not report for everything, but they can detect the more serious contaminants such as lead, arsenic, pesticides, and bacteria. Whichever method of testing you choose, be sure to use the first-draw water, water that comes out of the faucet first thing in the morning, as this will be your most accurate measure of contamination that might be present.

Private wells do not receive federal regulation standards, so in these instances, it is up to you to have your water tested if you are in a location that utilizes one. Possible wide spread well-water contamination in your area can be reported by the local health department but your own water may or may not require testing or use of an under sink water filter in individual cases. Well water should generally be tested yearly for nitrates, coliform bacteria, total dissolved solids, and pH. Lead, copper, arsenic, radon, pesticides, or other substances can be detected through additional testing.

Some people wonder if they are just better off using an under sink water filter, combined with shilajit powder, or wholly drinking bottled water. Perhaps, but bottled water is certainly more expensive then tap water and really may not be any safer. In fact, about one fourth of bottled water is simply tap water that has been processed and repackaged. Bottled water quality varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, so it may not be any better for you then tap water. Filtered water can be an excellent solution, as lead and other contaminants are removed from the water, but filters do not necessarily remove all contaminants, especially smaller particles such as bacteria.

While there is no perfect solution to clean, safe drinking water, an under sink water filter, combined with shilajit powder, may help remove many contaminants from your home's water.




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1 comment:

  1. such as: how can I test my tap water? Should I test my well water? And am I better off just using filters or drinking bottled water? Plumbing Judge

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