Top Five Green Products for Safe Drinking Water

What green products can cleanse your drinking water for a tasty refreshment? After reviewing the EPA's renewed concern for nationwide safe drinking water and the passing of World Water Day, what better ethical and healthy consumption tip to highlight? Countries worldwide are focusing on the World Water crisis that is upon us. Water is considered the most scarce resource on Earth, with potable water making up less than 2% of our global water supply.

Being a building block for life, we require clean and healthy drinking water, something that even the most developed of nations have yet to perfect. Outdated lead water pipes and water contamination are coming to the forefront of the discussion.
So what can an ethical consumer do to make sure that this essential building block is building other thing sup within their system?

First, get to know your local water system's specific quality concerns. Most federal and local governments provide annual water quality reports. This will determine the which type of water quality system best suits your locale. There are two types of water quality systems, those that work at the 'Point of Use' and those for the 'Point of Entry' essentially those that clean the water right before you drink it, and those that cleanse it before it comes out of the faucet. Next, review these green products to determine which best suits your specific system. Please note that each green product applies to specific water quality issues. Lastly, check the certification of the system you are considering purchasing and then drink away!

1)    Filter Pitchers $ - A Point of Entry filter, these are most effective at removing contaminants like lead and improve the taste of water. This may include an installation under the sink to filter before leaving the faucet, or filters like the Britta pitcher, that you filter the water through and then drink.

2)    Distillers $$ - A Point of Entry cleanser, distillers remove chemical contaminants and microbes that may cause disease by boiling the water.

3)    Reverse Osmosis Units $$$ - A point of Entry system that is most effective for removing chemical contaminants and disease-ridden organisms. These systems typically require a large amount of water to function, so if you are planning on saving water, this may not be your best option.

4)    Aerators $ - A Point of Use system that specifically removes radon and contaminants that tend toward the gaseous state. Additional filtration stages may be added to remove other contaminants.

5)    Water Softeners $$ - A Point of Use system, removes calcium and magnesium that make the water 'hard' as well as radium and barium.

These green products make your house safer, as well as eliminate the extensive footprint of bottled water use. When selecting your product check for certifications from National Standard Institutes recognized by your Country. Many systems are not certified, and the results may vary significantly if they do not undergo certification.  For questions in the United States, the EPA's Safe Drinking Water hotline can be reached at 1-800-426-4791.

Keep hydrated safely!

Thank you to the United States EPA, Health Canada, and the Safe Water Drinking Foundation.

Photo Credit: Apex Water.