All Wet: How to Identify and Remove Common Water Contaminants
(Page 4 of 4)
July/August 2003
By Lori Tobias
The limit for THMs was recently lowered, but Harrison says EPA standards are often set at a level above zero risk. “The EPA has said the maximum for disinfection byproducts formed when chlorine is in the water is eighty micrograms per liter,” Harrison says. “It can’t set it at zero because the agency doesn’t want to discourage cities and towns from adding chlorine, which eliminates pathogens. The lowest practical amount is eighty micrograms per liter, but anything above zero has a risk of causing cancer.”
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Safe water options
For guaranteed pure drinking water, bottled water often seems like a safe bet—and generally speaking, it is. All those plastic bottles, however, are costly for the environment. Water vending machines in grocery stores allow consumers to provide their own containers, but the water comes straight from the grocery store tap. While the machines’ filters supposedly purify the water, the Environmental Working Group recently reported that two-thirds of the machines in California could not meet claims of chemical-free water. Consumers were spending 25 to 35 cents a gallon for virtually the same water that cost them half a cent at home.
So how do you ensure pure water without spending a fortune or adding to the growing mass of plastic? Easy answer: home filters.
“Point-of-use filtration is simply a better way to get healthy water,” says Kurt Weingand, Ph.D., a principal clinical scientist with P&G Health Sciences Institute, parent company of Pur water filter products. “You can get filtered water for a tenth of the cost of bottled water.”
Point-of-use systems generally use one or several filters to remove solids, chemicals, and metals. Faucet-mount systems attach to the faucet and filter any water that passes through, while pour-through systems utilize a series of filters within a carafe to purify water poured into it. Prices for faucet-mount systems range from $35 to $107; carafe systems range from $20 to $156. There are also systems that fit beneath the sink and attach to the water pipe as well as those that require an auxiliary faucet mounted on the kitchen sink.
Point-of-entry systems, attached to the water line where it enters the home, filter all the water in the house but are significantly more expensive and may require a professional to install.
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