Tips for Clean Water in the Kitchen and Bath
Do you know what you’re drinking when you fill your dinner glass with water from the kitchen tap? If not, you’re far from alone.
Water-safety experts agree that far too few homeowners take the time to analyze their home’s drinking water. And by not doing this research? Homeowners might be ingesting potentially dangerous chemicals every time they take a drink.
“People not only don’t know how to solve their water problems, they don’t even understand when they’re having water problems,” says Karen Puzder, senior manager of market development and management with Newbury, Ohio-based Kinetico, a provider of home water-treatment systems. “You’re not supposed to have to scrub the bathtub every time you use it to get rid of that ring. The white scales on your showerhead are not a necessary evil. You can treat water to solve those problems.”
Homeowners can choose from plenty of water-treatment options. There is a challenge, though. Not all water-treatment systems solve the same water problems. Before you buy a system, you need to first determine what issues you are trying to solve. And that’s not always easy.
“There isn’t one magic system that takes care of all contaminants,” says Cheryl Luptowski, home safety expert with NSF International, the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based public health and safety organization that certifies and tests consumer products, including water-treatment tools. “You can’t just buy a product off the shelf and assume it will improve the quality of your water.”
This is why Luptowski recommends that consumers research their water before they buy a faucet filter or under-the-sink product. Homeowners need to first determine what, if anything, is in their water – whether it be high levels of fluoride or inorganic compounds such as arsenic or chromium – before deciding about a treatment system.
This is an easier task for homeowners who receive their water from municipal sources. In the U.S., the suppliers of public water must provide a report every year on the quality of this water. Homeowners just need to read these reports to determine what chemicals and inorganic compounds might be in their water.
Homeowners who get their water from private wells have to do more work. They should test their water regularly – Luptowski recommends doing this at least once a year – to determine if their supply has too much chlorine, lead, mercury or other chemicals. Some homeowners might be able to bring a sample of their water to their local health department for testing. Others will have to call in a private company.
Few homeowners regularly test their water. Many never even read the water-quality reports drafted by their public-water supplier.
People might have their water tested when they first move into their home. “But then life gets in the way and they forget,” says Luptowski. “They might not think about it until their water smells funny or someone gets sick.”
The EPA maintains information about drinking water quality with fact sheets and brochures on water and health at its website, water.epa.gov.