What Can I Add to My Tap Water to Make it Taste Better?
Well, most restaurants having a problem with bad tasting water will try to mask it with a twist of lemon. But the real question you should be asking is, "What do I need to take OUT of my tap water to make it taste better?" Because, if you have good, clean, healthy water, you don't need to add anything to make it taste better, because that's as good as it gets. So, let's look at the likely culprits for bad taste and see how to get them out of your tap water.
The first one to look at is chlorine. Chlorine is added to the drinking water of almost all towns and cities in the U.S. in order to kill the germs in the water. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) oversees the chlorination of our tap water and regulates the amount that is to be poured into our water supplies.
And, they want enough chlorine poured in your water to kill all the germs, right up until it come out of your faucet. Since chlorine dissipates over time, they allow the utility companies to dump in enough chlorine to begin with so, even if you are the last home at the end of the line, your water can still have up to four parts per million of chlorine at your tap.
To understand just how much chlorine that is, a standard pool test kit shows levels above 3 parts per million are considered unsafe to swim in! It's a lot of chlorine. And, if your house happens to be close to the water utility company, the chlorine concentration may be even higher.
Chlorine is a chemical poison and it is foul smelling. If you are having trouble gagging down a glass of chlorinated water, it is because your body is telling you it does not like what you are giving it.
And, please, listen to your body and do not drink the water until you remove the chlorine! There is a lot of evidence linking both cancer and heart disease to the chlorine in our tap water. You might want to read my article, "To Your Tap, Drink Your Fill…If Cancer Don't Get You, Heart Disease Will."
Another culprit of bad taste is algae (microscopic plants). This usually means your water source is from surface water like a lake, river or pond. Algae problems usually show up in spring, summer or fall.
The third likely culprit is comes from what is called "hard" water, or water with excessive minerals content. If this is the case, then it is likely your water source is from ground water, a well, or springs, since surface waters contain fewer minerals.
In some areas of the country water percolates down through geologic formations containing water soluble minerals such as iron, sulfur calcium, magnesium, strontium, ferrous iron and manganese. The water may dissolve so much of some of these minerals that the odor or taste will make it almost impossible to drink.
All three of these bad taste and/or bad odor problems can be removed by filtering the water through a selective filtration system. The system I use, and highly recommend, uses ion exchange to remove the heavy metals causing the problem by changing their ions to become like little magnets that snap to the filter media. However, the ion exchange does not remove the lighter metals like calcium, potassium, magnesium, etc, essential to our bodies.
Chlorine, chemicals and drugs are removed with what the EPA recognizes as the best technology, and that is with activated charcoal. Finally, any remaining contaminants are removed by the tiny, submicron pores within the media filter media. I know it all sounds hi-tech, and it is, but it produces truly great-tasting water.
These filters will remove chlorine and algae plus lead, prescription drugs, pharmaceuticals, SOCs (synthetic organic chemicals), VOCs (volatile organic chemicals), and cysts (chlorine-resistant parasites) as well. All of which have been found in the water in the America’s municipal water supplies.
David Eastham is a passionate advocate of good, safe water and a researcher of home water filters. Visit his site now at [http://www.good-safe-water.com] to discover which particular water filtration systems David recommends after extensive comparison.
The first one to look at is chlorine. Chlorine is added to the drinking water of almost all towns and cities in the U.S. in order to kill the germs in the water. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) oversees the chlorination of our tap water and regulates the amount that is to be poured into our water supplies.
And, they want enough chlorine poured in your water to kill all the germs, right up until it come out of your faucet. Since chlorine dissipates over time, they allow the utility companies to dump in enough chlorine to begin with so, even if you are the last home at the end of the line, your water can still have up to four parts per million of chlorine at your tap.
To understand just how much chlorine that is, a standard pool test kit shows levels above 3 parts per million are considered unsafe to swim in! It's a lot of chlorine. And, if your house happens to be close to the water utility company, the chlorine concentration may be even higher.
Chlorine is a chemical poison and it is foul smelling. If you are having trouble gagging down a glass of chlorinated water, it is because your body is telling you it does not like what you are giving it.
And, please, listen to your body and do not drink the water until you remove the chlorine! There is a lot of evidence linking both cancer and heart disease to the chlorine in our tap water. You might want to read my article, "To Your Tap, Drink Your Fill…If Cancer Don't Get You, Heart Disease Will."
Another culprit of bad taste is algae (microscopic plants). This usually means your water source is from surface water like a lake, river or pond. Algae problems usually show up in spring, summer or fall.
The third likely culprit is comes from what is called "hard" water, or water with excessive minerals content. If this is the case, then it is likely your water source is from ground water, a well, or springs, since surface waters contain fewer minerals.
In some areas of the country water percolates down through geologic formations containing water soluble minerals such as iron, sulfur calcium, magnesium, strontium, ferrous iron and manganese. The water may dissolve so much of some of these minerals that the odor or taste will make it almost impossible to drink.
All three of these bad taste and/or bad odor problems can be removed by filtering the water through a selective filtration system. The system I use, and highly recommend, uses ion exchange to remove the heavy metals causing the problem by changing their ions to become like little magnets that snap to the filter media. However, the ion exchange does not remove the lighter metals like calcium, potassium, magnesium, etc, essential to our bodies.
Chlorine, chemicals and drugs are removed with what the EPA recognizes as the best technology, and that is with activated charcoal. Finally, any remaining contaminants are removed by the tiny, submicron pores within the media filter media. I know it all sounds hi-tech, and it is, but it produces truly great-tasting water.
These filters will remove chlorine and algae plus lead, prescription drugs, pharmaceuticals, SOCs (synthetic organic chemicals), VOCs (volatile organic chemicals), and cysts (chlorine-resistant parasites) as well. All of which have been found in the water in the America’s municipal water supplies.
David Eastham is a passionate advocate of good, safe water and a researcher of home water filters. Visit his site now at [http://www.good-safe-water.com] to discover which particular water filtration systems David recommends after extensive comparison.
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