Bottled Water or Filtered Water? Which One For You?
Guest post by Amanda Green
Keeping well hydrated is essential for good health. Plain water, rather than carbonated beverages, tea, coffee or juice, is the best choice for staying hydrated, because it hydrates and nourishes your entire body, with no side effects. In most areas of the western world, water directly from the tap has to meet certain standards. However, this does not mean it is truly safe to drink.
Tap water can contain traces of lead from old pipes, chlorine from water treatment, as well as, traces of other potentially dangerous substances. This is the reason why many people use unfiltered tap water only for washing clothes, dishes, and bathing. They use bottled water, or water that has gone through a filtering process for drinking.
English: My humorous rendition of Nikki Grahame and her infamous Bottled Water Tantrum. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Bottled Water
Bottled water is convenient. It is easy to store in the refrigerator to have cold water available to grab and take with you on a hot day, or anytime. When bought in bulk, bottled water can run as low as twenty cents, versus the typical individual bottle price of over $1. You also have a choice of spring water, purified water or distilled water for purchasing. However, distilled water is not recommended for drinking.
Bottled water has several drawbacks. No matter how cheap you find a case of bottled water, it is still more expensive than tap water. Furthermore, many studies on various brands have detected impurities, similar to the impurities found in water straight out of the faucet. When you drink bottled water, you do not know exactly what you are getting, no matter what the label says. In addition, unless you recycle each bottle, it adds to the growing problem of consumer waste, and way too many plastic bottles in landfills.
Filtration Systems
Home water filtration products and systems are another option, to having fresh clean drinking water. The least expensive route you can take, is to purchase a water-filtering pitcher. Many companies sell these. After filling the pitcher, you can use the water for drinking, making coffee or tea and cooking. The only downside to the pitchers are you must replace the filters periodically, and the pitchers do not hold enough water for large families.
Now, many of the newer refrigerators have water filtering systems in the door, where you can always have a fresh glass of water, and even add ice. These options, also require a filter change once or twice a year, depending on how much they are used. This option can also save you money by giving you the option to fill your own glass bottle, or Thermos, for taking with you.
Other filtering alternatives include faucet filters, or undersink filters. A faucet filter attaches directly to the faucet. When you turn the tap on, the tap water goes through this carbon filter, which removes many of the impurities in the water. Undersink filters, are systems that are more complex and are attached to the pipes beneath the sink, rather than the faucet. Installation requires more time, effort and skill than a faucet filter. The main downside to faucet or sink filtration systems, is if you want filtered water for other sinks in the house, you must buy a separate filter for each.
Whole house water filtering systems, benefit homeowners who not only want filtered water for drinking and cooking, but for bathing and laundry as well. LifeSource Water Filters, for example, filter water for the entire home. This is especially helpful in areas where hard water is a problem or overall water quality is suspect.
Whether you want clean water simply for drinking, or also for other needs, you do have many options for avoiding the chemicals and other impurities found straight out of the tap.
