Water is the most essential thing we drink, and most people never think twice about what's actually in it. Contaminants in tap water are usually invisible: no color, no smell, nothing that tips you off. That doesn't mean they aren't there. Without a filter in place, the quality of your water depends entirely on your local utility and how well it's regulated.
Where Do Common Contaminants Come From?
The water delivered to homes, offices, and businesses comes from surface and groundwater sources, moving through the infrastructure of local water companies and municipal systems. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets the federal standards that utilities are required to meet.
Even with those standards in place, contaminants still make their way into the pipes that carry water to your home. Aging infrastructure, sewer issues, and manufacturing runoff are all common sources, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
What Contaminants Show Up in Tap Water Most Often?
Some minerals, like calcium and magnesium, are harmless in the amounts typically found in water. Others are not. Here are some of the contaminants most commonly found in tap water:
- Chlorine: A disinfectant added to kill bacteria and other pathogens. Small amounts are not harmful, but larger or ongoing exposure can affect taste, smell, and appearance.
- Asbestos: Once widely used in construction, asbestos is still found in some older pipe materials. The EPA sets an enforceable limit on it under its National Primary Drinking Water Regulations because of its serious health risks.
- Fluoride: Added by many municipalities in small amounts to help prevent tooth decay. Consuming it at high levels over time has been linked to bone issues.
- Lead: A dangerous metal with no safe level of consumption, according to the EPA. The Flint, Michigan water crisis is the clearest example of what happens when corroded pipes and solder leach lead into a city's drinking water.
- Iron: Small amounts support normal body function, but overexposure has been linked to hemochromatosis, which can lead to joint and organ problems over time.
This is a partial list. There's a much longer list of common drinking water contaminants that can turn up depending on your region and local infrastructure. Testing your water with a TDS meter is a simple way to get a read on what's actually coming out of your tap.
How to Reduce Contaminants in Your Water
Water filters use different methods to target these contaminants, and not all filters work the same way. Some are pitcher or dispenser based; others sit under a sink or attach to a whole-house system. Many basic filters use a simple two-stage process.
ZeroWater's pitchers and dispensers use a 5-stage ion exchange filtration process that removes up to 99.6% of Total Dissolved Solids, going further than a standard two-stage filter to help ensure the water reaching your glass is as clean as possible.
