Best ways to purify your drinking water

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Best Ways to Filter Your Tap Water So It's Fit to Drink     Most Americans assume that when they turn on the tap, clean and pure water gushes forth. But as our last article showed, they're most likely mistaken. Drinking water in most communities is filthy and toxic. (We're rerunning that article below, following this one.)     The last article was about the problem. This one is about the solution. Keep reading to learn what you can do in your own home to create safe, drinkable water. . . Continued below. . . Breast Cancer Survivor was told: "You'll be dead in a year" (Pssst!! That was 12 years ago!)     Doctors didn't give Wiltrude much hope when they diagnosed her with cancer in the year 2000. Wiltrude, a German psychologist, never thought cancer would happen to her. But it did. And it came as a big shock.     One doctor told her, "You'll be dead in a year." Late stage breast cancer isvirtually incurable using conventional treatments. Even M.D.s admit it. They talk about "buying you more time." (Don't count on it. The evidence shows you're better off doing nothing than chemo.)     When Wiltrude told her doctor she was going to try alternative treatments, he said, "You are committing suicide with what you're doing." But she was determined to find a way to beat her cancer.     Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, this European woman came across a book by my good friend Bill Henderson, one of the smartest and wisest people I know when it comes to cancer treatment.     She tried Bill's top, number one recommendation — a gentle treatment you can do at home for just $5.15 a day. What's more, the cost goes down to $3.50 after six weeks because you just need a maintenance dose. And it even tastes good.     Not only has Wiltrude passed the five-year cancer survival mark, she's survived for 12 years. We just interviewed her recently for this publication. The radiologist who tests her every year told her, "You're the only one with this kind of result."     You can find out about Bill’s proven cancer treatment plan in a free video presentation — click here to watch it now.     When I ask him about some of the treatments that top alternative doctors use, Bill sort of shrugs and says, "They're fine, but why bother? My treatment works, you can do it yourself, and it costs practically nothing."     He's coached thousands of cancer patients with all different types and stages of cancer. Most of the people who follow the detailed, specific plan in this Special Report get over their cancer and live for years.     "Almost any kind of cancer is reversible," says Bill. "I never give up on anyone." Click here and watch the free video presentation about Bill’s amazing cancer protocol. Do you spend up to 10,000 times TOO MUCH for your water?     That's what you're doing if you choose to drink bottled water. It can be a reasonable solution, but it IS expensive. And if you choose the wrong product, it may not be all that safe.     The bottled water industry is actually LESS regulated than your local water system.     Your community's public waterworks are required to test for contaminants more often than bottled water companies do, and these public utilities must give consumers a report specifying what contaminants are in the water. A bottler doesn't have to do that.     In fact, there's little empirical evidence to suggest that bottled water is any cleaner or better for you than its tap equivalent. I'm confident that water from a quality, brand-name bottler IS better than most tap, but no long-term human studies really prove the health benefits.     Actually, much of bottled water originates from municipal systems, just like tap water. The bottlers just filter it, ozone it or whatever, then sell it to you at fantastic markups. And there's evidence that blanket assurances of purity and safety from the bottled water industry are false.     Testing shows that bottled water can be contaminated too. Of more than 1,000 bottles tested, 22 percent were contaminated at levels that violated California state limits. And 17 percent exceeded sanitary guidelines for microbiological purity.1 To be fair, that means something like 80% of such water (four bottles out of five) did meet the state standards.     But even the best bottled water probably has some level of contamination. Consider the fact that water containers are generally plastic, raising the danger that BPAs get into your water. These chemicals are known to be carcinogenic. We wrote about the dangers in Issue #196. In a few weeks we're following up with another article on BPAs. The high cost of bottled water     Millions pay 240 to over 10,000 times more per gallon for bottled water than for tap water…     If you're purchasing for a family of four, bottled water can set you back a hefty $950 to $1,800 or more per year. I don't know about you, but to me that's real money. A home water system may set you back some bucks, but our research suggests it should pay for itself in a year or two.     Secondly, what's all that plastic doing to our planet? The biggest toxic dump in the world now stretches from Hawaii to Japan, spewing out chemicals into our sea water and our fish. And due to plastic's slow breakdown, nearly all the plastic ever made still exists… somewhere. Why contribute to all that collateral damage by buying plastic bottles? Filter your tap water into safe drinking water     I advise anyone drinking tap water to use some form of filtration system to reduce your exposure to contaminants. Most pollutants can be drastically reduced or eliminated with the right filter.     Sorry to say, it's not easy to decide which filtering system to buy...     The first step is to find out what YOUR particular water issues are.     If you're on municipal water, you can learn about your supplier's water quality from the "Consumer Confidence Report" published by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) online here (http://water.epa.gov/drink/local/index.cfm). If it's not available online, you should be able to get it from your city or town hall. It is updated July 1st of every year.     But please be aware -- the report doesn't address what happens to your water during the trip from the street to your faucet. Old piping — municipal piping AND that in older buildings — may add lead and other junk. Even brand new copper piping in a brand new house is coated with oil. It washes off gradually after a short while (so they say. . .)     The best way to know for sure what's coming out of your tap is to have it tested. National Testing Laboratories, Ltd., of Cleveland, Ohio (with testing labs in Ypsilanti, Michigan) is known to be a high quality testing organization, and they'll test both city and well water.     Then, once you know what you're dealing with… Find the right filter for your contaminants…     Here's where it gets tricky -- and pays to do your homework! There's a wide range of prices, filter media, and effectiveness.     There are thousands of water filters on the market. Some of them are more full of empty promises than clean water. Some use multiple technologies, others use just one.     These are some categories of filters to consider: Pitcher Faucet-mounted Countertop Under-sink Shower filters (protect your lungs from breathing toxic fumes, and your skin from absorbing them) Water softener Whole house filter system     Whole house filters are more effective at removing sediment, rust and scale. Pitcher and faucet filters remove organic chemicals, industrial solvents, and chlorine byproducts — and will improve your water's taste. Which filter medium is right for you? A primer…     Once you've decided where to put your filter, consider which medium will best resolve your water's problems. The idea is select a filter that matches your budget and the type of toxins you need to remove.     Following is a short list of filter media and what they remove. They each have their pros and cons, and you'll have to weigh them for your personal situation. I wish I could say "just do this and your problem will be solved." But sometimes life is more complicated than we'd like (most of the time, come to think about it!) Activated Carbon. Gets rid of: bad tastes and odors, including chlorine. Activated charcoal with NSF 53 certification filters out most concerning pollutants, disinfection byproducts; pesticides; radon; and volatile organic chemicals (MTBE and TCE). A word to the wise: A countertop filter cannot remove perchlorate, a rocket fuel ingredient that contaminates some water supplies. Found in: Countertop, faucet filters, under-sink units. How activated carbon works: Positively charged, highly absorbent carbon attracts and traps contaminants. Disadvantages: While the primary advantage is a low up-front cost, its shorter filter life will nickel and dime you with frequent replacements. And it is unable to remove certain metals, fluoride, most radioactive compounds, asbestos, and bacteria. Reverse Osmosis. Gets rid of: Most contaminants, including parasites (Giardia and Cryptosporidium), heavy metals (cadmium, copper, lead and mercury), plus other pollutants including arsenic, barium, nitrates and nitrites, perchlorate, selenium… Found in: Under-sink, often in combination with a carbon filter or UV disinfection unit. How it works: Semi-permeable membrane separates impurities from water. Disadvantages: De-mineralizes your water. Most mineral particles are larger than water molecules, so the semi-permeable membrane of the RO system removes them. Removing naturally occurring minerals is like drinking distilled water, which robs you of valuable minerals, according to some health advocates. They say if there are no minerals in your water, the water will leach them out of your body because water's natural state is to contain some dissolved solids. This theory hasn't been proven, as far as I know, but it's plausible enough to make me wary of drinking distilled water or other mineral-free water without taking steps to make sure I'm getting enough minerals. Removing all minerals also leaves water rather tasteless. Some people re-mineralize their RO water for taste and health benefits. Acidity. Removing minerals makes the water acidic… often well below 7.0 pH. Many alternative health advocates very strongly believe that the body's pH balance is essential to good health. The body should be slightly alkaline. Acidity contributes to cancer and many other diseases. Again, I've never seen large-scale studies to support this acid-alkaline theory of health, but after years of seeing alternative doctors turn around cancer cases, it gets my vote. Wastes water. A reverse osmosis system uses substantial amounts of water during the process. Tap water is pretty cheap (especially compared to bottled water) so I don't think this needs to be a major consideration for most people. Ultraviolet Disinfection. Gets rid of: Bacteria, parasites… Has been studied since the 1930's and is used to destroy microbes that cause indoor air and water pollution, and in hospitals. Found in: Under-sink and whole-house systems, often combined with carbon and sediment screen. How it works: UV light deactivates and rearranges the DNA of bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens, thereby destroying their ability to multiply and cause disease. Some sources say UV is a must for anyone on a well. Expect to pay in the neighborhood of $1800 for a UV unit (which can be added to other units). Personally, I'm on a well and I don't have one. Very likely your body ALREADY HAS any microbes that are in your well, and if they haven't killed you yet, they probably won't. But I'm in the mountains and my water, while heavily mineralized, isn't downstream of a cattle or hog feed lot and doesn't contain runoff from cropland that's laden with pesticides and herbicides. THIS IS WHY YOU NEED TO KNOW WHAT'S IN YOUR WATER AND GET A SYSTEM THAT'S RIGHT FOR YOU. KDF (Kinetic Degradation Fluxion) with Redox — may be a major water purification breakthrough. Gets rid of: Best known for removing chlorine, iron, iron bacteria, and hydrogen sulfide (the rotten egg smell). Some sources say it also removes lead, mercury, calcium carbonate, magnesium, chromium, bacteria, algae, fungi, and more… However, one water expert we contacted wasn't so sure. How it works: KDF is a patented medium — a giant step forward in water purification. It uses the oxidation and reduction of ions known as redox (reduction of oxidation) to remove most soluble heavy metals, reduce mineral hardness scale accumulation, and reduce pathogen levels. KDF media are made from highly pure copper-zinc granules, and supplement or replace other technologies to dramatically lengthen the life of the system, control heavy metals, toxic gases and pathogens, lower total cost, and decrease maintenance. Hydrogen sulfide and iron are oxidized and are attracted to the media's surface as if to a magnet. Heavy metals (lead, mercury, iron, cadmium, aluminum) are removed via an electrochemical process. This redox process converts contaminant electrons into harmless components. It inhibits bacteria, algae, and fungi growth by creating an electrolytic field where most pathogens cannot survive, and forms substances that interfere with the pathogens' functional abilities. Disadvantages: KDF works best when combined with other media for full-spectrum protection. It does not remove organic chemicals (pesticides, disinfection byproducts, MTBE, etc.), or parasites (giardia and cryptosporidium) by itself. If that's a concern, use other media in combination. KDF filters must be backwashed periodically to remove insoluble contaminants. This wastes many gallons of water, and dislodged pollutants can come out later with the (supposedly) filtered water. Activated Alumina — a major breakthrough in fluoride and arsenic removal. Gets rid of: Fluoride, fluorine, selenium, and sulfur. Found in: Pitcher filters, countertop and under-counter, and whole house units. How it works: Made of aluminum oxide. With an extremely high surface-area-to-weight ratio, its tiny pores run like tunnels throughout. As water passes through, it absorbs and traps these poisons. Ion Exchange Water Softener. Gets rid of: Calcium and magnesium, which form mineral deposits in plumbing and fixtures, plus barium and other ions that can create health hazards. Used in: Whole-house, point-of-entry units How it works: "Softens" hard water — a simple, well-documented ion exchange process. Solves a common and basic water problem — hardness. It's simple, inexpensive and somewhat automatic… no strong chemicals needed (just salt). Disadvantages: Does not create high-quality drinking water but merely exchanges the hardness ions for less-troublesome sodium ions. The treated water contains sodium instead of calcium or magnesium — but it is still unsuitable for most uses. Distiller. Gets rid of: Heavy metals, like cadmium, chromium, copper, lead and mercury, plus arsenic, barium, fluoride selenium and sodium. Also kills all or most microbes. Used in: Countertop or whole house point-of-entry units, can be combined with a carbon filter. How it works: Boils water and re-condenses the purified steam. Disadvantages: Removes beneficial minerals from the water, and any toxins it fails to remove can easily become even more concentrated in your water. I guess it's possible that lightweight chemicals are retained in the gas (i.e. the steam or water vapor) and may not be eliminated. Alkaline water. Does not filter contaminants out per se. It simply alkalinizes water that's already been made pure. Before you buy…     Obviously there are many options depending on your location and situation. And, unless you're wealthy and very determined, it's not likely your water will end up being absolutely perfect.     Don't get caught in the trap of throwing up your hands and doing nothing because we can't give you a pat answer. Remember, in most cases you're better off doing something than doing nothing... removing some contaminants rather than none.     Aim to get rid of the big problems — lead and arsenic, for example. (Arsenic is common in some parts of the country.) Herbicides and pesticides. Chorine and fluoride, of course. A sink or pitcher filter might get rid of some of this junk. It's better than doing nothing.     Bacteria may or may not be a problem, depending on where you live and what's in your water. If you don't have deadly bacteria — congratulations! You don't need to spring for an expensive ultraviolet microbe-killer. But be especially wary if you're in a farm area with big factory chicken farms or livestock feed lots. The fecal matter may find its way into groundwater.     I'm not an expert, but here's my take: A combination of activated carbon and reverse osmosis will give you very clean, safe water, and you need to add a UV layer of protection only if bacteria are a real problem.     The only downside I see to this approach is that reverse osmosis removes desirable minerals. You can buy a system that adds back minerals or simply take mineral supplements (which you probably do anyway, if you're a fan of this newsletter). Potassium, magnesium and calcium (iron, too, if you're female) are very inexpensive supplements.     Next best option is a system to distill your water, and you can get countertop distillers that make a gallon or two for drinking and cooking. When you drink distilled water you know you're getting nothing but pure H2O, and, frankly, I find that attractive (okay, maybe a few lightweight chemicals are retained). True, distilled water doesn't have any minerals in it, but see above. That problem is easy to fix.     Some people say distilled water doesn't taste as good as mineralized water. I have to say it tastes fine to me. And attention, all you sellers of machines that alkalinize water: please don't write about the "dangers" of distilled water. I've heard your schtick. People who eat a mineral-rich diet including supplements have little to worry about. Okay, so how much is this going to cost?     Costs vary drastically between pitcher-style filters starting at around $25 (but requiring new filters very frequently), up to a whole house unit, which can cost from $1500 to $3000 when purchased outright but might go ten years without a new filter. (Rental is sometimes an option.)     Under-sink systems can shave the initial cost substantially (at around $300 to $500). This article is focused on drinking water. Obviously, an under-sink system won't filter toilet and laundry water. If you have a well, that may be a concern for rust stains.     Be SURE you know how often filters need replacing — and how much they cost. This can cost you some serious money, especially if the filters cost $30 or $60 and need replacing every week or month. Don't get scared off by a higher initial price if the unit has a much lowerongoing cost. Project the total lifetime cost of the unit.     Consider also how long you plan to stay in your home before springing for a $2000 or $3000 water system. If your time horizon is short you might want to opt for a sink unit instead of a whole-house unit, as most home-buyers won't place the same high value on whole-house as you do.     Once you narrow your options but before you invest, check out online reviews, consult with local water companies, and check to see that your proposed unit is certified by a reputable independent water certification agency.     One of the most stringent certifications is UL (Underwriters Laboratories), which verifies product claims, and ensures the system is structurally sound and that its literature and labeling are truthful.     Units certified by the California Department of Public Health must pass more rigorous standards than those found elsewhere. And National Sanitation Foundation is a reputable independent product evaluation company. You can also look for a Water Quality Association (WQA) certification.     Water is a life essential — so why not make it as healthy, clean and safe as possible today?