You might be guzzling down bottles of bottled water every day while nestling in the comfortable thought that your water is the purest drinking water available in the market. However, before drinking bottled water study filtration methods used to filter that water since this fact will clearly inform you if your bottled water is indeed better than your tap water.
Bottled water is subjected to many different processes until it finally reaches the bottle. These processes ensure that the bottled water is free from any physical contaminants, harmful heavy metals, bacteria and other micro-organisms that could inversely affect the drinker’s health. However, not all bottling companies follow the complete filtration process and many skip over some processes in a bid to make a quick buck albeit at the cost of the consumer’s health. You should study the filtration process required to produce pure drinking water so as to turn into an informed consumer.
The raw water used could be from a municipal tap or a well or a mountain spring. It is first filtered by using activated charcoal or carbon particle filters so as to remove physical contaminants and metals such as iron while also softening the water. Some bottling companies also use the distillation process where the water is turned into steam to remove harmful metals and minerals and then the vapors are cooled again to get safer water before proceeding to the next process.
This water is then purified by using an electric Ultra-Violet purifier that uses rays to kill almost 99% of all harmful bacteria and other micro-organisms before being filtered by another set of carbon filters. Reliable bottling companies also use the Reverse-Osmosis process where even the minutest of bacteria and harmful chemicals are stopped when the water is forced through the filtering membranes. The next set of filters can normally remove contaminants that are larger than 0.2 microns. The last stage involves the ozone process that disinfects the pure water and also the bottle in which that water would be bottled.
However, there is still some debate on the purity of bottled water available in various markets. While some claim that the plastic bottles used for bottling can disintegrate and cause cancer over time, others point out discrepancies in the processing methods that result in the final product being hardly safer than normal tap water. There are also others that advocate drinking bottleless filtered water by installing a personal purifier with an inbuilt cooler at home or in the office. These filters too use activated carbon, UV rays, and reverse osmosis to provide users with safe and clear drinking water. There is also a green aspect to this process since one does not have to buy bottled water from stores and then store the empty bottles in bags that then need to be returned or disposed off in an unhealthy manner.
While bottled water offers safety and convenience, there are various studies that show that some companies do not follow ideal filtration processes to offer water that is better than tap water. A personal water purifier can do the same job without worrying about disposing empty bottles of various sizes. Thus, before drinking bottled water study filtration methods and also look at other alternatives that could provide you with the same quality of water before you make your choice.