This may seem like a no brainer to many of you, but I’ve never taken bottled water seriously and haven’t had much of a problem drinking tap water for pretty much my whole life. When I was in Haiti, we drank bottled water everyday, and while there were a lot of other things going on with me (like food poisoning and malaria for example) I shed nearly 25 pounds in 3 weeks and never had a problem falling asleep (again for many reasons I am sure). I cannot help but wonder, How much of that weight loss and good sleep came from drinking bottled water?
I have read many articles about all the excess junk that is in tap water and while I doubt it probably doesn’t hurt us over the short term…what in the world are all the consequences of drinking tap water that has very low levels of contaminants over extremely long periods of time? The two things that really scare me are the amounts of chlorine and the hormones. This could explain feeling “off” or groggy if you are constantly drinking water contaminated with small amounts of hormones. Do we really know what the effect of this is? Most people are surprised to learn that tap water is usually LOADED with chlorine. One of the first blog articles I ever wrote was a test on Tap Water and there is a higher concentration of chlorine in tap water than in most swimming pools (3-5.0 parts per million).
So I decided to try a little test: drink only bottled or filtered water products for a month and see how I feel. It’s been a week so far and I must say I feel better in general. I do not like the idea of excess waste with the empty bottles, but I see many water companies are recycling them now. Yes – I am aware that there are a ton of articles claiming both are equally bad, but if one makes me feel better in general, I am going to roll with that.
Anyone else have any conclusive information about what is exactly in tap water?
After we had our water tested at our house and saw all the junk and the chlorine coming out of the spigot we put in a whole house reverse osmosis system. It removes 96 percent of the junk from the whole house and then at the kitchen sink it removes 99% of the impurities. While it was a hefty investment it has been well worth it. A lifetime warranty and the ability to take it with me if I move made the cost more palitable. I will say that when I have to drink water elsewhere the difference is dramatic. So, all in all I’m happy with the decision. So the pipes in the house are happy and the pipes in my body are happy….
Well, we used to drink bottled water only (because of the chlorine in the tap water). But going to the local recyling center (bringing the empty bottles back), is something which has to be done every week. I got fed up with this tedious Saturday-routine and found that using a ‘brita filter’ system isn’t too bad after all. I went as far as using a ‘soda club’ sytem and now have carbonated water this way. Saves me a lot of time and money as well…
A guy in our ward in Kihei works for a company that deals with water quality in HI. He told me that water from a filter, as long as it is kept fresh, will give you purer water than from a bottle of water. The reason is that he said that water bottle companies purify the water too much, and then it sits in the bottle. Since it has been purified so much, there is no good bacteria to fight off the bad bacteria that can enter the water from the bottle it had been put into. He said that you are almost better off drinking tap water than you are drinking bottled water. Go with a filter. If you want to call and talk with him, he is full of great information. He will also explain it a lot better than I can. Email me, and I will give you his name and number. He is my home teacher, and he is just a great guy.
Sorry about responding a second time, but I was over at my friend’s house tonight, the one who works with water. He said to also mention that the FDA only requires that the bottled water companies make the water as good as tap water. He also said that the other problem is that the plastic bottles when kept at warm temps, leach cancer causing agents into the water. You have no idea what temp the water was kept at while in transit to the store where you purchased it from. Just more FYI. The company he works for is a not for profit company, so he has nothing to gain from giving out information about the quality of bottled water.
Kjersti- Can you please ask your friend how adding minerals in bottled water effect water hardness and the leaching effect? Most brand name water bottle companies add minerals to slow leaching down, my understanding is it also takes a very long time for the plastics to get into the water. Chlorine and all the other crap is a sure thing in Tap water, plastic contamination seems to depend on a lot of other factors and I’m having a hard time believing what may happen for one type of bottled water under one set of conditions apply to all under every set of conditions. Interesting info. Thank you
My recommendation is to use one of the pitchers with a water filter in it.
If you need to take water with you, get glass bottles to carry it in.
I just clean my glass bottles and reuse them.
So now you have filtered water, and no plastic bottles with which to pollute the environment.
Tap water is definitely scary. Some of these other comments have pointed out the problems with bottled water as well. I think I have just recently found a great alternative. I have written a letter to you via your e-mail (to avoid a lengthy treatise here).
Bill thank you for the email- I am going to check it out. One reason I cannot go with with filters right awaty is that I am constantly on the road, and have been so for the last 2.5 years. (I literally live in hotels or stay with friends). When I settle in I will definitely get a filter system. I’ve been on my bottled water only experiment now for about 2 weeks and I can honestly say I feel so much better. Maybe its all mental, but it is making a difference and I feel a lot better.