The chlorine residual in drinking water can easily be removed at the point of use, which to most of us means in our homes. Why can’t the treatment facilities take care of this for us? Many of you may already know the answer. In order to remove chemicals effectively, the flow rate must be reduced. This is acceptable in our homes, but would not be acceptable to a company responsible for meeting the needs of thousands of homes and businesses. A reduced flow rate in the shower can be compensated for by increasing the pressure, usually through concentration. For example, a showerhead system that includes a filter and a hand-held removable head would give you a good pounding shower and use less water. So, you would be practicing conservation of one of our most precious natural resources while you protected your skin and hair from the drying effects of the chemicals. Not only that, you could be reducing your risk of cancer, too. The chlorine residual in drinking water varies from one area to another and even at different times of the year. Facilities typically need to use more during the spring and summer months, because bacteria flourish in warmer temperatures and algae grows thick in the spring. If farm runoff flows into your source, more pesticides will be present during the spring and summer. There is also an increased risk of cyst contaminations. Cysts, primarily Giardia and cryptosporidium, are pre-larval stage of illness-causing pathogens. They get in the rivers and other open sources due to run-off. Animal waste is where they grow. Despite their best efforts, no one has come up with a way to ensure that cysts are not present in public supplies. Outbreaks over the years have caused hundreds of deaths, mostly in the sick, the very old and the very young. Like the chlorine residual in drinking water, cysts can be removed at the point of use. So can pesticides, herbicides and other chemical contaminants. A filter must be certified to remove anything larger than one micron in order to guarantee cyst removal. In order to reduce the chlorine residual in drinking water, the filter must contain granular carbon, although a carbon block is actually more effective. Some of the best systems include both the granular and the block form to reduce contaminants by the highest possible percentage. Other media must be included in order to remove contaminants like MTBE, a fuel additive that seeped out of underground storage tanks and entered our freshwater supplies as a result. THMs and VOCs can be removed, too, as long as the filters include the right media. You can find out what a filter you are considering will remove by reading the certified product performance data. Underwriters and other independent laboratories will do the testing if the company requests it. You never know what the chlorine residual in drinking water might be. It’s good to know that there is a solution to fix the problem Gordon Hall is fervent about enabling you and everyone to live a healthy lifestyle, and is an ardent reviewer of Water Purification Systems. Visit his website now at Water-Safe-And-Pure.com to discover which Water Purification Systems Gordon recommends after far ranging comparisons.
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