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Great tips & products to filter, save & celebrate water
Logo friendsofwater.com
For over 5 years, friendsofwater.com has researched and shared information about water. This family-owned and -run web business also selects the best products to filter water and save water, and presents the information needed to sort through the complexity. With their help, you can select the right filter for your situation.
Friendsofwater.com is different than many providers in that personal water issues are considered in context of the larger environment. This includes explanations about chemicals and contaminants in the water supply, what we can do about them – and considerations of how we can individually improve our impact on Mother Earth. Issues are explained realistically, without sensationalism, and with a positive outlook and a solutions attitude.
Pollutants & Chemicals in the Water Supply
There are many drugs in the water. Testing has found 315 pollutants in the tap water Americans drink, according to an Environmental Working Group water quality analysis. But many standards have not been updated since the 1980s. The situation appears to be that if somebody does a study of particular contaminants in the water – they find them in most locations. The implications have mostly not been studied and are not understood.
Chlorine is readily absorbed through the skin. You can remove it from your shower, bath, garden, and pool water with point of use or whole house filters.
A particular concern is that a growing number of municipalities now add ammonia to the water supply, changing chlorine into chloramines. One reason is that this reduces the number of chlorination byproducts, shown to be carcinogenic. However, there are no studies to show that the byproducts of chloramine are any less hazardous. Many people report immediate health problems, particularly with skin and breathing, when exposed to chloramines. Chloramine is considerably harder to remove from water than chlorine is. You need the right filter materials and more of it. People should determine from their water quality report or by calling their water supplier, to learn if they add ammonia to the water. Then get the right filter. Those designed to remove chlorine won’t do much against chloramine.
Save Water
Friendsofwater.com understands ‘Save Water’ in two ways: Stop wasting it and stop polluting it. To illustrate, reverse osmosis filters are not recommended. There are many reasons, but one is that they work by separating cleaned water from water with the contaminants still in it – and it sends that now more-polluted water back into the environment.
You can also use laundry balls that really do replace detergent, saving the environment and saving you money. There are garden sprinklers that put water where you want it, not on the sidewalk! Toilet adapters that allow you to choose between full and half flush, the single largest water saver possible in the home.
Visit www.friendsofwater.com to learn a lot about how water issues can be addressed in your own home. Sign up for The Waterfall, an occasional, emailed newsletter with information and fun water-related stories.
Lead image credits: Vanessa Pike-Russell (source: Flickr)
Tags: drugs in tab water, friendsofwater.com, garden sprinklers, great tips to save water, how to filter water, laundry balls, pollutants in tap water, toilet adapters, water consumption
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Water is life, human brain is about 85% water….this is one of the most vital component in any life forms….We enjoy water right in the comfort of our homes actually just a faucet away , but to others , they have to walk a mile just to get a bucket of potable water.