Making sure you’re drinking clean water is important, especially at home. And if you’re a tap water drinker, perfect! You are in the right place, now keep reading because we will be discussing ways to drink clean tap water.
You’ll encounter instances in a variety of settings where you question the cleanliness of the tap you’re drinking. Moments such as sipping tap water at a friend’s house, from the office, or even ones they provide in restaurants. Since you’ll never really know, make sure the one in your house is.
To better understand clean tap water and the whole dynamic of it, below is a guide to consider:
1 – Understand where your water comes from (water source)
Maintaining a secure and healthy water supply for your home requires you to understand where your water comes from. Making educated judgments regarding water quality and safety requires knowledge about the source of your water. Is it from a private well or a municipal supply? Here is a difference of both:
Municipal Water Supply
Many homes in suburban and metropolitan regions get their water from municipal sources. Usually, municipalities treat water to make it safe to drink and to comply with regulations. Filtration, chloramine, or chlorine disinfection. Occasionally the addition of chemicals like fluoride is part of the treatment procedures.
Every year, municipalities are required to give the Consumer Confidence Report (CCR), a report on water quality, to the public. This report provides openness on the safety of the water supply by outlining the pollutants found and their concentrations. However, it’s still a good idea to take extra caution despite these therapies.
Private Wells
For private wells, maintaining their cleanliness is your responsibility. So this doesn’t go through the same treatment procedures municipal water goes through. Bacteria, nitrates, heavy metals and pollutants can commonly be found in private wells.
If you happen to source your home water from private wells consider taking extra precautions in filtering it. You can pick out various water filters available in the market, such as water filter taps and other filtration systems. Also, run tests to make sure the filtered well water is safe to drink.
2 – Consider regular testing
Tap water, whether it’s sourced from municipal waters or private wells, it’s essential to test it regularly. This is to simply make sure your tap water at home is safe to drink. Common tests to consider include testing for pesticides, lead, bacteria and heavy metals. You can get these tests done at your city’s local health department or even private labs.
3 – Change your filters
If you use filtration systems, consider regularly replacing them. Follow your manufacturer’s recommended maintenance and replacement schedule. Some recommend changing the filters around 3 months or 6 months.
Neglecting this can affect its effectiveness in providing clean drinking water. This can lead to contaminants in your drinking water so consider changing your filter!
4 – Boil water
Boiling water offers a straightforward and convenient substitute if you enjoy tap water but are wary about setting up intricate filtering systems. Boiling is an established technique that can help purify water in an easy-to-understand way. When you boil water, it starts to remove different kinds of impurities and becomes safe to drink.
A useful and simple method of purifying water is to bring it to a boil, particularly if you’re worried about germs and pesticides. The procedure is heating water to a rolling boil, which is usually maintained for one minute.
5 – Get your plumbing checked
Protect the quality of your water by doing regular inspections and taking care of any possible plumbing system problems. Keep an eye out for corrosion and leaks since they might introduce pollutants. As a preventative step to guarantee the cleanliness of your water supply, think about replacing old plumbing fixtures or pipelines.
Maintaining a dependable and clean water infrastructure for your home via routine maintenance. This includes replacements when needed, which is important for the long-term health of both the environment and human health.
6 – Consider proper water storage
Use proper storage procedures to guarantee the safety of the water you’ve kept. Choose hygienic, food-grade containers made especially to hold water. Do not use containers made of certain polymers or materials with dubious safety profiles that might leak dangerous compounds into the water. Following these tips will ensure that your saved water doesn’t get contaminated and will continue to be safe to drink and use in an emergency.