How to Clean Up Your Water
I’m not quite sure when it became popular to drink bottled water, but I believe it was during the 90’s. Before that time, water rarely received any press. Do you recall drinking 8 glasses of water when you were a child? When I was growing up, milk was the cool kid, not the stuff you drank out of the fountain at school. Over time, water has received the recognition that it deserves and rightfully so. With that, the scrutiny over what is in our water has turned up a notch (rightfully so), which has forced our hand to start thinking about how to protect our health and the health of our families when it comes to the one thing you absolutely cannot live without.
Why Clean Water Matters
Clean water isn’t just something that tastes better (although it does): It’s a cornerstone of health and home wellness. Think about all of the ways that you utilize water every day. You use water to shower, take a bath in, wash your hands with, wash your dishes with, cook vegetables and pasta, all the way to filling your water bottles with. Hidden contaminants like heavy metals, chlorine byproducts, pesticides, PFOS, PFAS, or even bacteria can have lasting effects on energy, digestion, skin health, and overall vitality. Water quality also has an impact on your appliances, plumbing, and even air quality (think steam from showers or humidifiers). Over time, poor water quality can wear down both your health and your home, leading to costly repairs and stress on the body.
Speaking of stress on the body, your body relies on water for nearly every function: From circulation, detoxification, temperature regulation, and even the way our cells create energy. When water carries pollutants like lead, microplastics, etc., it can quietly burden the nervous system, hormones, gut, and immune function over time. Even low-level micro-doses of exposure add up, especially for children, whose developing brains and bodies are more vulnerable.
What Went Wrong
We live in an ever-increasing toxic world; a statement that we can all hopefully agree upon. What we once took for granted while sipping from the garden hose, we now have to think twice about before purchasing bottled water. We’ve also encountered ex-military bases that have contaminated the ground over decades with forever chemicals (many called Superfund sites), Sunoco pipelines slowly leaking and contaminating private wells, and even aging water infrastructure pipes. We have seen the movie Erin Brokovich and read about Flint, Michigan. Locally, we’ve even experienced buildings burning to the ground, releasing toxic chemicals into the air, neighbors’ properties, and the water: An event which officials are still trying to quantify their effects. The point is that we are now at a time in history where many different factors are affecting the very water you use on a daily basis, and waning trust overall with public officials and experts.
So what is the solution? Do you have to spend thousands upon thousands of dollars on top-of-the-line elite systems in order to ensure proper filtration? The short and quick answer is no. There are things that you can do that won’t break the bank to help you get cleaner water quickly. I’ve broken down what you can do for both well and public water systems to hopefully shed some light on how to clean up your water.
How to Clean Up Your Well Water
Just because you are on well water doesn’t mean you can stick a straw into the ground and go to town. Wells are a great way to be able to have control of your own water and where it comes from, but that doesn’t mean you can be more lax about it. Wells have their own unique sets of challenges, but fear not. Hopefully, after reading this section, you can feel more confident and take back your power when it comes to ensuring you’re drinking clean water.
When you are dealing with a well, the first thing that you should do is get it tested. Not all wells are the same, and each well will have its own set of unique needs and challenges. Ideally, you have a professional in your area that you can trust to set your system up right the first time (speaking from experience), but if not, here are some filtration facts to keep in mind.
UV Light - When it comes to wells, this is a non-negotiable. There are many differnt types of living organisms that can find their way into your water system, and into your morning brewed coffee. You also want to make sure that you have some sort of filtration in place prior to the well water hitting your UV light, because things like too much calcium in your water can cloud up the glass tube the bulb sits in; thus rendering its efficacy moot. Keep in mind that you should change out your UV light bulb every year to make sure it is doing its job in keeping your water contamination-free.
Carbon - Carbon will filter out a lot of elements, including chemicals, heavy metals, chlorine, chloramine, and more. It won’t take out everything (that’s reverse osmosis, but we will discuss that in a bit), but it really will pack a punch when it comes to cleaning your water. When you set up your well water filtration system, make sure that carbon isn’t the first tank that your well water hits when it comes into your house (ideally, you have another tank or a few before your carbon). If so, your carbon will be used up quickly, and you will have to replace it more often than the recommended 1 year.
Water Softener - Inevitably, your well water will have some hardness to it. To protect your pipes, water heater, and your hair, make sure to have a water softener as a part of your well filtration lineup.
Other tanks include a neutralizer (for acidic well water), Oxygenation/Aeration Systems, and a Venturi valve: A device that can be added to the system's return line to draw air into the water, increasing oxygenation without additional equipment. By adding a Venturi Valve, iron and manganese are oxidized, making them easier to remove by filtration. Venturi valves also increase oxygen, which helps prevent the conditions necessary for anaerobic bacteria.
When I was on well water, I had a few different tanks in the system, including all of the ones you see above. Even still. My end point use for drinking water, cooking, and ice was a reverse osmosis system set up to feed the refrigerator (for ice), and a tap right at the sink for its other uses: Installed by my preferred and local trusted Water Cleaner.
How to Clean Up Your Public/City Water
Here in Pennsylvania, you can check the testing that your local water company does on your area’s water. Currently, where we live, we are serviced by Aqua, but here’s the fun part: The testing results on their site represent results from a YEAR AGO (read the small print). I don’t know about you, but that isn’t something that sits terribly well in my mind and body. I highly encourage you to consider routinely testing your water each year from a reputable company that has easy-to-read results and has a plethora of contaminants that you can test for.
Public water whole-house filtration is a little less cumbersome than well water, due to it being processed by water treatment facilities. With that, one of the benefits is that chlorine or chloramine will be added to your area’s water to kill any bacteria in it (much like how well water relies on UV light to kill living organisms). The problem is that chlorine and its constituents aren’t the best to drink, and can even cause various skin issues (rashes, dryness, eczema flares), respiratory issues, sinus issues, etc.
When it comes to public water, here are the filtration devices that I recommend:
Carbon - Still a non-negotiable when it comes to whole-house filtration, even when you are on public water. Carbon will do a lot of heavy lifting for you (including removing chlorine/chloramine), but it won’t do it all. When it comes to end-use water, as in what you use for cooking, drinking, etc., reverse osmosis is still the gold standard. I’ll get to that point in a minute.
Water Softener - Depending upon where you live and what your results say, your are may have hard water to contend with. As mentioned earlier, not only will hard water mess up your hair and skin, but it can wreak havoc on your pipes, your home, and your appliances (including blowing out your hot water heater if you aren’t careful…ask me how I know). By adding a water softening unit to your home, you are taking the stress off of both the health of your home and your body. There is a combo unit that you can get for your home for both a water softener and a carbon filter. Locally, The Water Cleaner is the way to go to get this installed; otherwise, you can ask your local trusted professional about this type of unit.
Reverse Osmosis - As mentioned earlier, reverse osmosis offers you the best chance of truly clean drinking water, without jet-setting off to the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and sticking a straw in the side of the mountain. The issue with reverse osmosis is that it removes everything from our water: The good and the bad. Reverse osmosis removes the beneficial minerals that your body needs for hydration. If you go this route, make sure that your reverse osmosis system adds back in calcium, magnesium at a bare minimum, and then sodium and potassium.
Budget-Friendly Options
Water Pitchers - Clearly Filtered or Epic. I used to be a fan of the stand-up stainless steel water filters, but I have since changed my opinion on them. These two brands of pitchers will help you tremendously, so at least your drinking water is covered.
AquaTru - If you want a budget-friendly reverse osmosis system, this is your best bet. You also have the option to add minerals back into your water (feel free to read here about how minerals are vital to your health).
Bottled Water - I’m not looking to pick a fight over bottled water, but rather just list a few brands that I personally prefer: Mountain Valley Spring Water, Saratoga, Aqua Panna, and Evian.
Don’t Major in the Minors
Everything in life, I believe, is about having a balanced perspective. Although it is true that we live in an ever-increasingly toxic world, and our bodies are having a harder time detoxing and keeping up, we have to try and stay as grounded as we can. There’s enough stress in our modern daily lives that the last thing we all need is to put our nervous system more into hypervigilance about water. Whatever step you take towards cleaning up your water will have a huge impact on the health of your home and your body.
