After receiving loads of requests from a talk I did on the importance water filtration in the time of Covid where people are focusing more on eliminating pathogens from the water they drink, I created an entire table of pros and cons of current water systems available. I’ll be posting my research over the next few days to provide some cool information! Take what resonates, leave what doesn’t, and looking forward to sharing more with you 💧
Starting with my favourite:
Carbon water systems 🌋
Carbon filters use black organic carbon (such as coconut shells or coal which has been heated to a high temperature) to filter pollutants via adsorption where contaminants stick to the carbon as it passes through (ionic absorption and micro filtration.) Ancient Egyptians found water stored in charcoal maintained freshness and purity.
Pros: Tastes pleasant. Removes sediment, and very good at filtering out Chlorine, mercury, pesticides, fluoride, VOCs, viruses and parthenogenic bacteria. Keeps beneficial minerals. No chemicals added so it’s completely natural. The carbon filters last up to 6,000 gallons before they need to be changed. Gravity fed and does not require electricity. Takes less than one hour to filter one gallon. The only filter that filters out pesticides and herbicides. Cost effective.
Cons: Does not remove heavy metals or inorganic solids easily such as nitrates or fluoride. High upfront cost (Berkey system) but then effectively free after that. According to the Berkey Calculator, based on my average water consumption of 2 litres per day I won’t have to change the filters until May 2031! https://www.getberkey.com/filter- calculator/
An example of a great carbon filtration water system is the Berkey system ❤️ ------------------------
When I was very young in the early 90’s, my mom took me on a three year excursion through Central America and Mexico where we slept in a Westfalia van (the kind with a pop up roof!) How did we get our water? We, my mom put chlorine into local Guatemalan tap water to “clean” it! And that’s where I got the majority of my water intake from 2-5 years old, not a great way to nurture a young gut biome or healthy constitution in general!
So for your reading pleasure, today I’m sharing some key pros and cons of (the worst) way to “clean” water!
Chlorinated water
A water “disinfectant.” Chlorine began being added to public water systems in the late 1800’s in England and then other countries followed suit, including America. Chlorination is the most popular way for public water to be treated.
Starting with the Pros:
•Cheap
•Eliminates pathogens
Cons:
•Cancer risk and heart attack risk increases significantly for people who drink water with chlorine (U.S. Council of Environmental Quality)
•Kills healthy guy bacteria
•When Chlorine is mixed with even the smallest percentages of organic compounds found in tap water, dangerous biproducts are produced which damage cells and even when consumed in small amounts are carcinogenic
So there we go, a little about the water disinfectant which is definitely the worst way to clean water you ingest or wash in!
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Reverse Osmosis: What is it? 💧
Water is moved through membranes via water pressure which trap impurities. Often used in combination with sediment and carbon filters.
Pros:
•Distasteful flavours are removed from the water
•More impurities such as pesticides, salts, asbestos, chlorine, metals and a majority of fluoride are blocked than by using carbon filters alone
•Also filters microbial cysts like Giardia 🦠
Cons:
•Beneficial minerals like magnesium and calcium are removed, resulting in water tasting flat similar to distilled water
•Wastes clean water (30-50% used) as the wash/brine water that rinses minerals from the membrane goes down the drain
•Does not remove VOCs
•Becomes slightly acidic as carbon dioxide is absorbed from the air
