With the emergence of spring you can anticipate several issues with your drinking water. You may be asking why your water suddenly tastes differently.
First, your city may flush their distribution pipes for an extended period of time. This can result in higher chlorine levels and changes in taste. Continue reading
Spring is here and I have been outside working in the yard. My eyes were itching from the pollen so much that it was one of those rare occasions that I took allergy medication. And then it occurred to me that I haven’t taken allergy meds for a number of years now. I used to take them daily. Continue reading
What is the best home water purification system? People often ask me which is the best home water purification system. There isn’t one. The system you need depends on what’s in your water? This discussion focuses on those of you who have a public water source with some form of chlorination, but the same idea holds true for those with private well water. Continue reading
NSF Certification of Water Purification Systems Is Misleading. Many of those who evaluate water filters, like Consumer Reports and Natural Resources Defense Council, recommend that you purchase an NSF certified water filter. I wonder if these organizations actually know what the certification process involves. If they did, I think they’d be disappointed. The certification does not necessarily mean what you, the consumer, are lead to believe… Continue reading
I have long been concerned about the level of nitrates in Fresno and the Salinas Valley drinking water supplies. Nitrates are dangerous at levels far below those allowed by EPA or the State of California. You can read my previous post on this topic below.
A University of California, Davis study suggests that half of the 2.6 million people who live in California’s agricultural heartland drink water with nitrates in excess of federal and state standards. The study also predicts that the situation will get worse. Continue reading
Yahoo News reports another case of potential private well water contamination by fracking for natural gas….
PITTSBURGH (AP) — At least 10 households in western Pennsylvania fear their drinking water has been ruined by natural gas drilling, but state officials said tests don’t show that.
“Everything was fine. Now, I don’t use my water at all,” said Kim McEvoy, who lives in Connoquenessing Township, about 35 miles north of Pittsburgh. Continue reading
The Thyroid Pandemic
Are you one of the 27 million Americans suffering from a thyroid condition? Have you been told that you will have to be on medication for the rest of your life or get treated with a radioactive therapy to destroy your thyroid gland?
There is an increasing amount of disturbing evidence that one of the factors that could be causing the thyroid pandemic is the presence of fluoride in our drinking water. Continue reading
The Urban Defender whole house water filter
A backwashing whole house water filter that backwashes is better than an upflow filter. This article is intended to clarify the difference between my Urban Defender, a backwashing whole house carbon filter system and those systems that do not backwash. The latter cost less but also deliver less.
The backwash function on a whole house water filter cleans and redistributes the media bed on a consistent basis at a specified flow rate for the proper duration. The backwash also removes media fines to the drain. Proper back wash helps to provide consistent flow, increased contaminant removal and longer media life. Continue reading
Nitrates often come from septic tanks or farming
US EPA has established a maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 10 parts per million (ppm) for nitrates in drinking water. In my view this level is dangerously high. I will not drink water that contains even 3 ppm of nitrates. Several studies now show that nitrates may cause cancer at levels far below the EPA standards. People in agricultural communities or with well water may may be susceptable.
I view EPA MCL’s as guidelines that are heavily influenced by the political realities of imposing cost burdens on the cities that must comply with them. So for many contaminants I have my own tolerance standards. Nitrate is one of those.
Nitrates in drinking water may cause of cancer at levels below the EPA maximum contaminant level. Continue reading
Does reverse osmosis waste water? People ask me this question every day. At issue is the fact that for every gallon of purified water produced by a reverse osmosis system some amount of water goes down the drain, carrying along with it the unwanted contaminants from the water source.
Depending on a variety of factors (including water temperature, dissolved solids, contaminants) the amount of water going down the drain will vary. It is not a fixed amount. The amount of water going down the drain is significant, but in my view it is not waste. Continue reading