For those with older homes which may still have copper piping, please note that in a lot of cases plumbers used lead-based solder to connect the older copper pipes. Over time the lead from that solder typically found its way into the water carried by those pipes. If you suspect that you may have these older pipes and solder-based connections in your home, we suggest that you use one of the following lead in water drinking water test kits on a periodic basis:

• WaterSafe Lead Home Drinking Water Test Kit
• WaterWorks Lead in Water Drinking Water Test Kit

Should any of the results turn up positive for lead, meaning your drinking water contains 15ppb or greater concentration of dissolved lead, we highly recommend you have your water evaluated by a certified water professional.

Although we keep repeating ourselves, do-it-yourself drinking water test kits serve as great screening tools for the average consumers but no one should ever rely upon them as their sole testing method. Remember: It’s your water, your health, your life.

An excellent question!

Many municipalities still use the older, metal-based piping systems put in the ground many years ago when concepts such as sterilization did not enter city planners’ minds. Over time these large systems of metal pipes may have shifted as a result earthquakes, vibrations from vehicles traveling the roads above them, etc. Connections between pipes may have gotten wrenched slightly out of place resulting in the creation of small openings where outside matter such as dust, dirt, debris and harmful bacteria could enter the water supply.

Here’s a fact that many NEW homeowners overlook: While almost all new homes built in the United States use PVC or some other form of high density, metal-free piping to convey water into the residence, they still must connect those brand new plastic pipes to the older metal water pipes coming from their local water supplier.

Remember we said that a lot of the older water systems used metal pipes? What happens to metal over time? It corrodes, right? Where do you think those broken off pieces of metal may wind up? Answer: Your faucet.

The question which naturally follows deals with figuring out the most appropriate way to test the water coming into one’s home, school or place of business. To this end we recommend several different water quality test kits, all regarded by water professionals as some of the most accurate, reliable and easy-to-use water quality test kits in the industry. Oh, and remember that since we DID say ‘easy-to-use’, you won’t need to break out your old chemistry text books from high school.

• WaterSafe All-In-One Drinking Water Test Kit
• Complete Water Quality Test Kit
• Drinking Water Quality Test Kit

Although we keep repeating ourselves, do-it-yourself drinking water test kits serve as great screening tools for the average consumers but no one should ever rely upon them as their sole testing method. Remember: It’s your water, your health, your life.

Over the years we have read about various ‘horror stories’ where people suffered from acute allergic reactions to fluoride. Back in 1998 a member of our staff worked with a woman whose daughter received a fluoridation treatment at her dentist’s office accidentally (her chart cleary noted an allergic to fluoride) and the girl required immediate medical attention.

While few and far between, one study indicates that approximately 1% of the population suffers from allergic reactions to fluoride, the dangers do still exist. Should most of the world fear the fluoride content of their water? Probably not.

Given the likelihood of most people having an adverse to the addition of fluoride to their drinking water, if you still want to know if your tap water contains fluoride, get your water professionally tested. Then make a decision on water treatment options to remove fluoride – if necessary.

Note: I said ‘professionally tested’ because to my knowledge, no reliable at-home test kit for fluoride exists. Most kits rely upon the use of more advanced chemical techniques and/or require a meter to read the results.

In times of emergency, such in the event of a natural disaster, personal and municipal water wells may become contaminated by flood waters and local water treatment facilities may go ‘offline’ experience technical difficulties and go offline for a period of time.  Both of these situations mean your drinking water may NOT qualify as ‘safe to drink’. So what can the average homeowner do at times like these?

1. Boil the water — The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states: “Boiling water will kill most types of disease-causing organisms that may be present. If the water is cloudy, filter it through clean cloths or allow it to settle, and draw off the clear water for boiling. Boil the water for one minute, let it cool, and store it in clean containers with covers.” This method has worked for a long time and is widely regarded as one of the oldest methods of domestic water treatment used to kill harmful organisms.
2. Chlorinate the water with bleach – The US Environmental Protection Agency EPA recommends that you then “Add 1/8 teaspoon (or 8 drops) of regular, unscented, liquid household bleach for each gallon of water, stir it well and let it stand for 30 minutes before you use it. Store disinfected water in clean containers with covers.” While this method will not kill off ALL the harmful organisms which may have gotten into your water supply, it will kill of a good number of them. Please note that the US Environmental Agency suggests filtering cloudy or otherwise murky water through a cloth to remove sediment and other solids.

Once the emergency has passed, water quality experts suggest that people get their water tested professionally before resuming normal consumption and periodically check the water for a short time afterwards to make sure all fitration and purification equipment has continued to operate properly.

Many people ask us how they can determine what sort of drinking water filtration system they ought to have installed in their home or office. We respond to each inquiry in the same manner: Find out what you have in your water first, then choose an appropriate drinking water filtration system.

In simpler terms this means we ALWAYS suggest that consumers test their water, or have it tested, before making a purchasing decision.

Consumers have two options when it comes to drinking water testing:

1) Call the Environmental Protection Agency’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 800-426-4791 for a list of state-certified drinking water testing laboratories in their area.

2) Obtain a home drinking water test kit such as the WaterSafe All-In-One drinking water test kit or the SenSafe Water Quality Test Kit from a local retailer or a reputable online vendor such as FiltersFast.Com, TestProducts.Com or FilterWater.Com.

Important Note: While at-home test kits provide reasonable piee of mind when it comes to monitoring the safety and purity of your drinking water, if you have serious reason to suspect your water may have gotten contaminated you will definitely want to have your water tested by a certified drinking  water professional.

As part of WebMD‘s investigation into the safety and purity of bottled water versus the safety and purity of tap water they commented briefly on the following question posed by a number of their viewers/members: If I Drink Tap Water, Should I Use a Filter?

If you live in a home with older pipes, have odor or taste issues with your tap water, or just want an extra level of protection, a filter may be a good idea. But you have to get the right one for your specific problem, Janssen says.

“It is important to know what you are trying to filter out before you spend the money,” she says. “A reverse osmosis filter will get rid of most contaminants, but charcoal may be enough for odor and taste problems.” (source)

You may use the following links to find information on the benefits of using:

• Reverse Osmosis drinking water filtration systems
• Activated Carbon drinking water filtration systems
• Cation-Exchange Softener drinking water filtration systems
• Distillation drinking water filtration systems
• Ultraviolet Disinfection drinking water filtration systems

Given the increase in concern over the purity and safety of bottled water, many people have asked the following question: How Can I Tell if the Water I Purchased Started Out As Tap Water?

The folks over at WebMD explored that question recently and had this to say:

Roughly 45% of the water sold in single-serve bottles comes from a municipal water source.

By law, bottled water that comes from a municipal water supply has to disclose this on its label unless the bottler takes steps to further purify the water, which most do. In this case, the label will say “purified water” or “purified drinking water,” but the original source is probably tap water.

Water labeled “spring water” comes from an underground water spring, but it may be piped to the bottling plant.

“Mineral water” comes from an underground source and must contain no less than 250 parts per million total dissolved solids, such as salts, sulfur compounds, and gasses. No minerals may be added to the water by the bottler.

“Artesian water” or “artesian well water” must come from a well that taps a confined aquifer. (source)

What happened to the days when you could TRUST a company not to misrepresent a product they touted as ‘pure’?

Our opinion: Those days died with the dinosaurs or they never really existed!

Looking for ways to cut back in these tough economic times? An environmental group suggests skipping the bottled water and drinking from the tap. It might even be healthier.

The Environmental Working Group says its tests how 10 popular U.S. bottled water brands contain mixtures of 38 different pollutants, including bacteria, fertilizer, Tylenol and industrial chemicals, some at levels no better than tap water.

Wal-Mart’s Sam’s Choice at several locations contained contaminants exceeding California’s bottled water quality standards and safety levels for carcinogens under the state’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, according to the group’s laboratory tests. Giant Foods’ Acadia brand consistently retained the high levels of cancer-causing chlorination byproducts found in the suburban Washington DC tap water from which it is made.

Overall, the group says the test results strongly indicate that the purity of bottled water cannot be trusted.

“It’s buyer beware with bottle water,” said Jane Houlihan, Vice President for Research at EWG. “The bottled water industry promotes its products as pure and healthy, but our tests show that pollutants in some popular brands match the levels found in some of the nation’s most polluted big city tap water systems. Consumers can’t trust that what’s in the bottle is anything more than processed, pricey tap water.”

“For years the bottled water industry has marketed their product with the message that it is somehow safer or purer than tap water,” said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of the non-profit consumer advocacy group Food & Water Watch. “This new report provides even more evidence that the purity of bottled water is nothing more than a myth propagated to trick consumers into paying thousands times more for a product than what it is actually worth.”

EWG said that laboratory tests it commissioned at one of the country’s leading water quality laboratories found 38 contaminants in ten brands of bottled water purchased from grocery stores and other retailers in nine states and the District of Columbia.

The pollutants identified include common urban wastewater pollutants like caffeine and pharmaceuticals, an array of cancer-causing byproducts from municipal tap water chlorination, heavy metals and minerals including arsenic and radioactive isotopes, fertilizer residue and a broad range of industrial chemicals. Four brands were also contaminated with bacteria.

Unlike tap water, where consumers are provided with test results every year, the bottled water industry does not disclose the results of any contaminant testing that it conducts, EWG said.

Americans paid $12 billion to drink 9 billion gallons of bottled water last year alone, EWG said. Yet, the tests show several bottled waters bore the chemical signature of standard municipal water treatment–a cocktail of fluoride, chlorine and other disinfectants whose proportions vary only slightly from plant to plant. In other words, some bottled water was chemically almost indistinguishable from tap water.

The only striking difference, the group says, is the price tag. The typical cost of a gallon of bottled water is $3.79–1,900 times the cost of a gallon of public tap water. (source article)

So what can YOU do to help make sure the water you consume does not contain harmful chemicals? Simple: Learn everything you can about the source your water comes from. If it comes from a bottle, read the bottle label and research the company that did the bottling. By law they must divulge the source of their water and you may find out that they merely take water from their own local (municipal) water supplier, run it through an activated carbon filter, bottle it, and ship it to you.

• For those of you using well/spring water: click here for at-home drinking water testing options

• For those of you on municipal water systems: click here for at-home drinking water testing options

Little known fact: Some bottled water companied simply take tap water from their local water source (municipal or otherwise), “filter” it, and bottle it. Always read the labels on the outsides of the bottles to see where the water really came from — especially if you find yourself buying an ‘off-brand’ of bottled water.

Some of the items we found in our impromptu testing of various bottled water products included nitrates, nitrites and trace levels of heavy metals.  While none of the levels exceeded Primary Drinking Water Standards, it did cause us to scratch our heads and say, “Weren’t these things supposed to get removed at the bottling plant?”

So in conclusion, we suggest learning as much as you can about the water you drink whether it comes from the tap, from the ground, or from a plastic bottle with a ‘pristine-looking’ label.