Remove the Chlorine
With so many pollutants soaking into groundwater and flowing through municipal pipes, it’s no wonder our cities look for inexpensive, effective ways to clean it up. While some cities don’t treat water at all and others filter it, most add chemicals to kill bacteria. Chlorine is the highly toxic chemical most commonly used to make city water bacteriologically safe. However, that doesn’t mean it’s pure. Chlorine does destroy pathogenic bacteria; unfortunately, it isn’t “target-specific” and also destroys our friendly intestinal bacteria required for proper digestion and a strong immune system. Chlorine has been linked to cardiovascular disease and cancer, and it isn’t effective against certain parasites. Chlorine is added to kill organisms, but remember, you’re an organism too!  An effective way to remove chlorine from your tap water is to install a high-quality water filter.

Remove the Fluoride
Fluoride is a toxic industrial waste product from the phosphate fertilizer industry that’s added to most municipal water supplies in the United States. Unfortunately, fluoride kills most of our beneficial enzymes; attacks the hypothalamus gland in the brain; inhibits proper functioning of the thyroid gland; can cause weakening of the bones; and can cause dental fluorosis in children, which is an irreversible mineralization disorder of the teeth.  Sodium fluoride is also a central nervous system toxin that can diminish IQ, even in small doses. Although we’re told that fluoride is added to our water supply to prevent cavities, numerous large-scale studies have shown no difference in tooth decay between fluoridated and non-fluoridated communities in the United States.  If you’d like to keep this poison out of your body and your children’s bodies, install a high-quality water filter in your home.

Ozone Treatment
While many argue that we need chlorine to keep our drinking water safe, much of Western Europe uses ozone gas and ultraviolet light to purify municipal water supplies. Since passage of The Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments in 1986, a number of cities in the U.S. have shown interest in ozone treatment. Today there are over 400 water plants using this method. Mitsubishi Electric has developed environmentally friendly ozone water treatment technologies. When combined with activated carbon filtration, ozonation removes agricultural chemicals and industrial wastes. Ozone is not only the strongest disinfectant known for potable water treatment, but it is also extremely versatile: it can enhance taste, remove undesirable color, destroy harmful algae and oxidize many organic compounds. While it’s not simple, ozone treatment has been shown to be economically viable for water treatment systems.

Reverse Osmosis Treatment
Most home water filters on the market won’t remove sodium fluoride from your tap water. However, reverse osmosis will, and it will also effectively remove bacteria, viruses and parasites, as well as chlorine. In fact, most of the modern units take out nearly all toxins, gases and minerals. Tap water is pre-filtered to remove suspended matter and dissolved solids, then forced through a very fine semi-permeable membrane, which separates pure water molecules from remaining contaminants. The purified water is then stored in a pressurized tank. When “tapped,” it passes through an activated carbon post filter, ensuring the best possible taste. Although effective in removing contaminants and especially fluoride and chlorine, it also discharges a large amount of wastewater during the process. You can find reverse osmosis filters at hardware stores and on the Internet.

Deionization Resin Filtration
If you want to remove fluoride, chlorine and other contaminants from your tap water, you may want to install a deionization resin filtration system. Deionization resin filtration is the filtration technique used by the electronics and biomedical industries to obtain ultra pure water, and it’s available for home use through Custom Pure.  Custom Pure MB Filters also use activated carbon absorption. This combination produces distilled quality, delicious tasting water, and effectively removes chlorine and chloroform, fluoride, lead, arsenic, asbestos, rust, copper, sodium, sulfates, nitrates, sediments, pathogens and other dissolved solids. Their systems also include an optional ultraviolet light sterilizer for bacteria reduction.  For the ultimate in affordable in-home water filtration, consider deionization resin filtration by Custom Pure.

Water Softeners
Depending on where you live, your tap water can be classified as either relatively “hard” or “soft.” Hard water contains much more calcium than does soft water, whereas soft water contains more magnesium. Soft water saves on gas and electric bills, because it takes more energy to create hot water from hard water. Softening the water removes large-molecule pollutants like lead and arsenic. Traditional softeners add sodium to the water, making it a poor choice for drinking and a burden to our soils. Fortunately, new technologies employ magnetic water conditioners that retain the beneficial minerals found in “hard” water as well as introduce cleansing benefits associated with “soft” water. GMX International offers a university-tested magnetic water conditioning system that uses a salt-free solution effective for both commercial and residential use.