 Types
of Drinking Water |
 |
You are thirsty… do you know what you're drinking?
Tap water has been chemically treated for living organisms. This usually
involves adding bleach to kill bacteria, viruses and parasites. Little
filtration is done to the water. The water in different cities may vary
significantly in its purity. This is the reason why consumers are turning
into bottled water, but do they really know the type of bottled water
they are drinking?
TYPES OF BOTTLED WATER:
Spring Water
Spring water is simply water that has come from an underground source
such as well or spring. Bottlers are responsible for making sure their
water is free of bacteria, viruses and parasites, but much like tap water,
they do little more. Spring water often contains elevated dissolved solids
and may still contain many of the mineral salts, inorganic metals and
chemicals that can be found in tap water.
Filtered Water
Filtered water has passed through a fine strainer and/or activated carbon
filter. A filter is like a screen on your home's window, it keeps out
the big bugs, the cottonwood and the puffs. The size of the holes in the
screen determine the quality the water.
While carbon filters reduced bad tastes and odours like chlorine, most
are not effective in removing contaminants like nitrates, lead, sodium,
bacteria… and list goes on. Carbon filters can also remove organic
chemicals however, most are too small to be very effective.
The quality of filtered water frequently goes down as the filter gets
full. Filters eventually get clogged and must be replaced. Using a clogged
filter may lead to the filter rupturing, dispensing all of those impurities
directly into your glass… for you to drink!
Purified Water
Purification does more to clean the water than with a filter.
The most common purification system is called Reverse Osmosis. This system uses filters to remove
particles, then uses a special membrane to purify the water. This removes
most of contaminants (chemicals like bleach, fluoride and toxic waste
and dissolved solids like mercury and other poisons), leaving water to
its purest form.
They must contain 10 PPM or less of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) or less.
