Today, there are more different types of water available to consumers than ever before. It’s no wonder that there is confusion about the best type of water to use for drinking, cooking or other purposes around the home. There’s tap water from municipal services, well water piped into many homes and a dizzying array of bottled water purchased from stores. Which is the best one for your purpose?
To choose the right water for your purpose, it becomes necessary to understand the pros and cons of each type of water and the health effects of each.
What is Distilled Water?
Distilled water is any water that has been run through a steam distillation process. Water distillers range from small countertop devices a person might use to purify water in an emergency to huge commercial units.
Properly distilled water has nothing in it but water molecules. Distillation removes:
- Sodium
- Calcium
- Magnesium
- Iron
- Manganese
- Bacteria
- Viruses
- Organic compounds
- Heavy metals
- Chlorine
- Chloramines
- Radionuclides such as uranium and radium
- Trace minerals
- And more
While it is desirable to remove many of these impurities, the complete removal of all of them makes water taste flat and dead. It is also not the best water for every need and may not be the healthiest water to drink. Extended drinking of distilled water can deplete a person’s body of necessary minerals, resulting in dizziness, weakness and muscle cramps.
What is “Regular Water”?
The term “regular water” refers to non-distilled water that is ready for human consumption. It may be drawn from a well or processed for consumption by a municipal water company. The category includes household tap water, filtered water, purified water, well water and various types of bottled water including mineral water and spring water. Because of the wide range of types of water, “regular water” may or may not be the right type of water for the use you have in mind.
A Closer Look at Types of Water Available to a Consumer
Tap water: Municipal tap water or well water can contain more of certain components than are desirable. For example, tap water in many parts of the country contains high quantities of calcium and magnesium which build up in plumbing and appliances and can clog up the works. This buildup is called scale and also creates cosmetic problems on sinks, tubs and toilets.
Chemicals left over from the municipal disinfection process can also make their way into tap water. Municipal systems may not be completely capable of removing all undesirable contaminants in the water. City water may meet legal standards set by the EPA but still be higher in some substances you might not want your family to drink. For this reason, many homeowners install household filtration or treatment systems to improve the quality of their water.
Well water: Well water can become contaminated with toxic minerals found in bedrock and soil around the well. It can also become contaminated with pesticides, fertilizers or animal feces from farm activities near the residence. Industrial contaminants can also make their way into groundwater. Toxic plumes of this contaminated water can travel miles from an industrial site. Well water should be tested on a regular schedule to ensure that it is safe to drink.
Purified or filtered water: This water has been processed to remove harmful substances such as microorganisms, heavy metals or harmful chemicals. It may be processed through a reverse osmosis system, activated charcoal filter or similar process. When water is sold as “purified,” it must meet specific standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Mineral or spring water: Mineral or spring water comes from sources such as natural springs or artesian wells. While this water is filtered to remove undesirable components, other substances like calcium carbonate, magnesium sulfate, potassium and sodium sulfate are left in the water for their health benefits and for the fresh taste they provide. Carbonation may be added to mineral water. This water often tastes great but can come with a high price tag.
When Is the Right Time to Use Distilled Water?
Distilled water might not be the best water to use for an everyday beverage, but there are still times when it is the right water to choose.
CPAP machines: Using distilled water in a CPAP machine will keep it free from any mineral buildup. It will also be free of bacterial contamination.
Water flossers: If you live in an area with hard water, it would be better to use distilled water in a water flosser to prevent mineral buildup inside the machine or its tubing or on the tank.
Irons: It is smart to have a bottle of distilled water around to fill your steam iron or other type of clothes steamer.
Hospital uses: Hospitals use distilled water to clean equipment because it is free from any contaminants. It is also used for lab tests.
Drinking: If there is a problem with water contamination, the best choice for drinking water might be distilled water with minerals added in. This would eliminate any possibility of health effects from consuming heavy metals, bacteria, viruses or other contaminants. There are plenty of trace mineral products in liquid form available online or at health food stores. Twenty to 40 drops in a gallon of water (or more or less, depending on the product) will restore a fresh taste to distilled water.
When Is the Right Time to Use Regular Water?
Use clean regular water for these uses, as distilled water can have adverse effects:
- Watering plants
- Making coffee
- Giving pets water
- Filling any kind of automatic ice maker
- Drinking for an extended time
Of course, whichever kind of regular water you choose, you want to make sure that it is pure and healthy. This may take a little examination and monitoring of the water quality in your community or a study of the other options available. Here are a few things to be aware of when choosing a source of drinking, cooking or household water.
Community water: As far as community water goes, a professional water testing company can provide a test you can use to monitor your local water. These test results can tell you if you need to install a water filtration or purification system to get a supply of clean, healthy water in your home. Your community water provider may also publish the results of routine testing of your city’s water. You can ask for these results or find them online.
Bottled spring or mineral water: The Food and Drug Administration sets bottling, purification and shipping standards for both purified and mineral water. You can learn more about the source of a bottle of water and the purification process used for that brand by reading the labels. Illness associated with bottled water is rare so this is normally a safe choice.
Well water: You may have the idea that well water is pure and uncontaminated since it comes straight out of a well. Wells are subject to contamination from minerals in bedrock or soil, flooding, agricultural uses, industrial spillage and animal-raising activities. Further, old abandoned wells or septic tanks can produce contamination in nearby wells. For that reason, well water must be tested on a regular basis and wells must be kept in good repair. Contaminated well water is particularly harmful for a person who is immunocompromised and can cause serious digestive upsets or infections such as Legionnaires disease.
With the right monitoring or filtering as needed, any of these waters can be suitable for drinking or general household use.
When Tap Water Is Not the Best and Safest Water to Drink
Tap water is supposed to be immediately usable and healthy for human or pet consumption. But that is not always the case. Consumer protection groups all over the country monitor community water quality and, too often, the results are startling. Stories of cities with contaminated water hit national media on a regular basis, as in the following stories.
Phoenix, Arizona: Water in this community has the highest average levels of chromium-6 (hexavalent chromium), a chemical known to cause cancer.
Washington State: This state’s water has elevated levels of arsenic, chloroform, chromium, nitrate, radon, radium, and uranium. Some of these contaminants are found at levels above the limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency. These contaminants increase the risk of heart disease, cancer and birth defects.
Holiday, Florida: This small town was found to have alarming levels of toxic chemicals known as PFAS (polyfluoroalkyl substances) that are associated with thyroid disruption, higher cholesterol levels and a number of types of cancer, including testicular and kidney cancer. The EPA recently lowered the acceptable level of PFAS to 4 parts per trillion in drinking water, but this community had levels as high as 80.8 parts per trillion.
Reno, Nevada: Eight contaminants discovered in this city’s water were above limits set by the EPA. Three of them actually violated the law: manganese, tetrachloroethylene (a cleaning solvent) and arsenic. Long-term exposure to tetrachloroethylene increases the risk of cancer, nervous system problems and organ damage.
Flint, Michigan: Flint’s water situation has been in the headlines for years. The water passing through community and household plumbing was corrosive and caused the lead in pipes to be released into drinking water. There was so much lead in the community’s water that it could be classified as hazardous waste. Lead poisoning is especially dangerous for children as it can cause brain damage, behavioral problems and learning disabilities.
Testing Is Advisable for Both Tap Water and Well Water
If you get your water from a municipal system or a well on your property, it is a smart idea to know what’s in it. When you know what substances you need to remove from your water, you can then determine which filtering or purification system would be the best investment.
The most popular household filters are activated carbon, reverse osmosis and ion exchange filters. Each of these filters removes different contaminants.
Activated carbon: There are different types of carbon filters on the market and they remove varying substances, making selection of a carbon filter a little more complex. Most remove chlorine used for disinfection and improve the taste and odor of the water. Others remove contaminants such as lead, mercury and volatile organic compounds. They do not remove common pollutants such as arsenic, fluoride, hexavalent chromium, nitrate and perchlorate, a chemical used to propel rockets or give fireworks their sparkle.
Reverse Osmosis: These systems remove more contaminants than activated carbon. They can remove microorganisms that can cause illness plus sodium, chloride, copper, chromium, and lead. They may also reduce arsenic, fluoride, radium, sulfate, calcium, magnesium, potassium, nitrate, and phosphorus. Reverse osmosis systems remove the minerals that make water taste good. Some reverse osmosis systems have a feature to add these minerals back into the water.
Ion exchange: The effectiveness of an ion exchange system is similar to that of a water softening system. It removes calcium and magnesium that makes water hard and may remove some iron and manganese.
Many household water filtration systems are designed to put the water through multiple processing steps before it reaches the tap. If you are planning to add a filtration system, your first step should be to find out what undesirable elements are in your water. You can get this information by using a professional water testing company. With the test results in hand, you can then consult with water treatment professionals and tell them about your concerns.
ETR Laboratories Can Provide Peace of Mind About Your Water Quality
When you are ready to examine the quality of your community or well water to make sure your family is getting pure, healthy water, ETR Laboratories can help. ETR Laboratories has provided tens of thousands of tests for well owners, concerned families, real estate professionals, municipalities and companies that drill and service private water wells.
In just a few days, you can have the results you need. Visit the ETR Laboratories to choose a water test and discover exactly what’s in your water that needs to be filtered out. Both you and your family can soon be more confident and comfortable drinking and cooking with your household’s healthy source of water.