Drinking water is essential for human survival, but the problem is, natural water all around the world is contaminated. The tap water coming into your home is loaded with a number of toxic contaminants, and chemicals are included in that list of contaminants.
Fortunately, most people are aware of the health risks that can occur due to drinking chemical-affected water. This is the reason why, many of them have seen asking their local water professionals whether their drinking water is chemical-free or not.
So, we decided why not to come up with a detailed guide providing a detailed answer to this question. In this blog, we will explain stuff like common chemicals found in regular water, ways to determine them, and methods to remove them.
Common Chemicals That Usually Found in Drinking Water:
Chlorine:
Chlorine is the most commonly found chemical in drinking water all around the globe that present in water naturally. Not just this, this chemical is also added by municipal authorities in order to kill bacteria and viruses in the drinking.
However, when chlorine reacts with other chemicals present in the water, it ends up producing byproducts. According to medical experts, long-term exposure to byproducts can cause serious health risks like cancer.
Nitrates:
Nitrates are substances that are typically discovered in manures, fertilizers, and liquid waste from septic tanks and plumbing systems.
Short-term exposure to water with nitrate levels can be harmful, particularly for young children. Since it can cause methemoglobinemia – a disease reduces the blood’s capacity to carry oxygen and results in bluish coloring. This disorder can be fatal for infants.
Arsenic:
An organic version of the metallic chemical arsenic can be found in trace amounts in nature. There are two ways arsenic could enter your water supply. Mineral formations that may contain levels of arsenic can be found in a very small number of places, including Illinois.
Arsenic is more typically introduced into water supplies by hazardous waste produced by companies that produce the substance.
According to studies on the chemical, arsenic can have a number of negative health impacts, including skin thickness and discoloration, digestive issues, numbness in the hands or feet, and a number of skin malignancies.
Lead:
Lead is also a chemical that is commonly found in drinking water, it gets into the water through pipe lines, especially those that are too much old.
Drinking water that is affected with lead can also cause a range of health problems, developmental delays in children, reduced IQ level, and many more problems like these ones.
Fluoride:
It has long been advised to add fluoride to water as a useful water additive to help prevent tooth decay. It is commonly added by municipal water suppliers to the water. Exposure to a small amount of fluoride is ok, but its large amount can cause many health issues, including tooth decay, bone diseases, etc.
How to Determine if Your Drinking Water is Chemical-Free
Now that you understood what are the most commonly found chemicals in the water. It’s time get familiar with different ways about how you can determine whether your drinking water is chemical-free or not.
Check your areas water quality report:
The very first method to determine whether your drinking water is chemically affected or not is by checking the water quality report. You can go to the local water supplier office and ask them to provide a water quality report.
They will provide you with a report that will contain all the essential information found in the water.
Test water quality by yourself:
If you don’t want to follow the above method, then you may like this one. You can purchase a water quality testing kit from the nearby market to test your home’s drinking water quality. You just need to dip the testing kit into the water for a few minutes. And then read the instructions on it to understand the results.
This method requires minimal effort, and is cost-effective. However, its results will not be completely accurate.
Test water by a certified laboratory:
This is the preferred method to test your water quality, you can take your home’s water sample to the nearest certified laboratory for testing. They will provide you with a detailed analysis of contaminants found in your water sample.
Moving on, the laboratory report will also let you know the overall quantity of contaminants so that you can take necessary steps according to it.
Now, let’s understand how you can remove them from the water.
How to Remove Chemicals from Drinking Water – Different Methods
Method 1: Install a water filtration
The most effective way to remove chemicals from drinking water is by installing a water filtration system. Water filters can efficiently remove a wide range of chemicals from the water.
For instance, an RO filter has the ability to remove a number of chemicals, including fluoride, arsenic, lead, etc., all thanks to the semi-permeable membrane.
On the other hand, activated carbon filters will remove chemicals like chlorine, and volatile organic compounds from it.
Method 2: Boiling water:
Before discussing this method, let us tell you one thing, boiling water will only eliminate specific chemicals from the water. These include nitrates, fluoride, etc. So, if your home’s water contains some other kinds of chemicals, then boiling water will not work.
Additionally, boiling water is a short-solution and time-consuming way to remove chemicals.
Method 3: Make use of a point-of-use treatment system:
Point-of-use treatment systems are installed at the point from where water is coming such as under sink faucets, taps, showerheads, etc. These treatment systems are specifically designed to remove toxic chemicals and minerals from the water.
Wrapping up
Water all around is polluted with a number of contaminants and chemicals are one of them. Drinking chemical-affected water can cause serious health risks, and most people are aware of them. This is the reason why, they always have a concern whether their drinking water is chemical-free or not. In this article, we have provided the answer to this question in detail.