Legal water isn’t necessarily safe water.
The legal limits for most contaminants in your tap water hasn’t been updated for over 20 years, and getting a passing score from the government doesn’t mean that your family should be drinking it.
Luckily, there’s a simple solution to purify even the most polluted tap water, but more on that later...
For now, let’s take a closer look at what might be lurking in your tap.
The Environmental Protection Association (EPA) enforces federal tap water laws according to the Safe Drinking Water Act, which sets minimum safety standards for the state and local governments. They’re responsible for monitoring more than 90 different contaminants and work closely with local wastewater treatment plants to purify water for human consumption, and ensure your tap water is safe.
Every year, local water suppliers conduct safe water testing and publish a public report for residents.
Unfortunately, not all of the tests pass with flying colors…
Many of the most harmful contaminants are difficult to treat and inaccurate to test for, and it isn’t uncommon for pollutants to slip through the cracks.
Some of the most common contaminants in tap water are:
But what does this mean? Is tap water safe for your family’s health?
In most cases, trace amounts of contaminants won’t make you sick that day, that week, or even that year, but dangerous side effects can accumulate over time.
Depending on the type of contaminants, side effects can include:
Even tap water that meets the EPA’s safety guidelines can ultimately harm your health.
A 2019 study from the Environmental Working Group linked over 100,000 cases of cancer to contaminated tap water.
Two of the biggest culprits were the heavy metal arsenic and (drum roll please) chlorine! The very tap water disinfectant that’s supposed to be keeping your family safe.
Let’s take a closer look at what might be lurking in your water…
Arsenic makes its way into the water supply through industrial activities like coal plants, petroleum refinement, and runoff from animal feed and pesticides.
The gut easily absorbs arsenic and spreads it throughout the body quickly. In the long run, this can lead to hormone imbalances, severe skin problems, and cardiovascular and nervous system disorders.
Worst of all, arsenic exposure increases the risk of several types of cancer, including:
Symptoms can take years to develop, so you probably won’t know that something's wrong until it’s too late.
With a contaminant this toxic, you’d think that the EPA would have a zero tolerance policy, but they actually allow up to 10 ug/L!
So if you want safe tap water with zero arsenic, you’ll have to install an in-home treatment system that can handle hard-to-remove toxins.
Municipal water suppliers add chlorine to kill germs and fluoride to prevent cavities.
Chlorine not only makes your tap water smell and taste bad, but it also produces compounds called disinfection byproducts (DBPs), which promote inflammation and destroy vitamin E---one of the body’s most important antioxidants.
Studies have also linked DBPs to heart disease, cancer and liver failure.
One of the most shocking studies found that people who drank chlorinated tap water were up to 53 percent more likely to develop bladder cancer and up to 93 percent more likely to develop colon cancer.
Due to the harsh effects of chlorine byproducts, many municipalities have switched to chloramine, a similar disinfectant with potentially fewer side effects, but the long-term effects are still unknown. Roughly 1 in 5 Americans drink water that contains chloramines.
For over 40 years, the government has been adding fluoride to tap water to help prevent cavities, but moderate-to-high levels have been shown to cause serious health problems, like:
Fortunately, 99.9% of fluoride can be removed with a combination of reverse osmosis, charcoal filtration and ion exchange. All of which are used in Cloud Water Filters.
Did you know that pipes installed before 1986 may contain lead?
As pipes age, lead fittings can corrode and leach lead into your drinking water, killing brain cells and promoting disease.
This is exactly what happened in the Flint Water Crisis, where over 9,00 children were exposed to lead.
Lead has especially devastating effects on young children. As it accumulates in the body, it can stunt brain development and cause behavioral changes, hearing loss and slowed bone growth.
It also weakens immunity, increases the risk of cancer, and damages the heart, kidneys and nervous system.
If you thought there’s no way that the U.S. had nuclear waste in their tap water, think again…
Uranium and radium are found in the water supplies of over 170 million Americans. Texas and California are especially bad.
Radium is a byproduct of the radioactive decay of uranium, and both are linked to kidney toxicity, birth defects and cancer.
Luckily, a high-end reverse osmosis system can remove nuclear waste lickity-split.
Texas and California aren’t the only U.S. states with serious tap water quality issues---locations across the country struggle to provide safe drinking water to their residents.
While rural areas have some of the worst contamination, several major cities also suffer from aging lead pipes and poor enforcement standards.
As scary and widespread as water contamination is in the United States, there’s no need to be afraid.
Installing a reverse osmosis (RO) water system can remove 99.9% of contaminants, from lead to nuclear waste and everything in between, and the best RO systems don’t just remove the bad stuff, they also protect your pipes from “hard” water and remineralize with electrolytes to create perfectly alkalized, pH-balanced water every time.
If you’re ready for tap water that’s not only safe to drink, but also as healthy as can be, then it’s time to invest in a Cloud Water Filter. It fits right under your kitchen sink and is easy to maintain.
Cloud even provides white-glove installation and automatically ships replacement filters right to your door.
Click here to learn more.
