Unless you having been living under a rock over the last few weeks, I’m sure you have been hearing the discussions about buying bottled water versus using tap water. A lot of people have been buying bottled water not only because it is convenient, but they are under the impression it is better for them rather than tap water. However, Choice magazine has found that consumers are paying huge money for bottled water compared to tap water and are not getting what they are think.
“If you drink two litres a day from the tap, you'll pay about $1.50 a year. Drink the same amount from single-serve bottles, however, and you could be looking at more than $2800 a year.” Choice Magazine, 8th August 2014.
Do you buy bottled water? What are the reasons why you buy bottled water?
Do you think it is cleaner – free of contaminants?
Tastes better?
Do want to use filtered water? No chemicals like fluoride.
Are you monitoring the amount of water you are drinking?
Bottle water is healthier for you?
But have you considered
Is the bottled water any different to tap water?
The environmental cost – processing, bottling, transport and the plastic waste.
Are there real health benefits using bottled water?
What process used to filter the water?
Is the quality any better when bottled?
You may be surprised with some of the answers. Not only can tap water be cheaper, but in some cases the quality of tap water can be better. We are lucky in Melbourne because we have such high standards for our tap water, but in other locations they may not be so lucky. Even if the water doesn’t meet high standards, this doesn’t mean you have to resort to bottled water. The water source, the age and the condition of the plumbing can all affect the water conditions. If you correct the specific issues you have with your tap water by filtering, there will be no need for bottled water.
There are many ways to filter water:
1. Ceramic filters
These filters can remove particles such as asbestos and chlorine, but if the pore size is smaller than one micron bacteria such as cryptosporidium and giardia can be removed.
2. Charcoal (Activated carbon)
A charcoal block is placed in a cartridge, allowing the water to flow through to trap the particles and chlorine.
3. Silver charcoal (Bacteriostatic)
This works similar to charcoal Activated carbon filters, but has one extra benefit. As the cartridge sits in the water, the added silver inhibits the growth of bacteria.
4. Sediment filters
These filters are usually placed under the sink. As the name suggests it works based on sedimentation to mechanically remove particles.
5. Reverse osmosis
This is another under the bench filter. Water is passed through a membrane under high pressure. Although this is a very effective, it is very slow, wasteful with water (for every litre filtered, much more is lost) and it is very expensive. Also, it often has to be used in conjunction with a sediment filter to remove chemicals such as chlorine.
6.Ion exchange
These filters are made up of resins that are either positively or negatively charged. They remove particles based on their charge (negatively charged particles, such as fluoride and nitrite are attracted to the positively charged resins, and vice versa).
Even if you don’t want to have the expense of installing a filtration system in your home, think about why you are buying bottled water. With the quality of tap water being high in most areas, using a drink bottle or flask is just as good for you, your hip pocket and the environment.
We would love to hear your thoughts. Please feel free to comment here.
Hope you are having an earthly passionate week,
Attracta & the earthly passion team