Every year, many people all over the world die as a result of insufficient drinking water. Lack of safe drinking water also causes a waterborne disease that affects many people around the globe.
The biggest misfortune is that there is enough freshwater in most parts of the world to sustain almost everyone. However, due to a lack of knowledge about keeping and treating the water safely, people still encounter a lot of water-related diseases and deaths.
To ensure that your drinking water is safe for consumption, you need to take the following actions.
Test the Drinking Water
If you’re using a well, ensure that it is tested regularly by a lab-verified by your state of residence. This allows you to account for changing conditions like bacteria and nitrates. Experts have recommended that every household should test its water annually. You can also test for particular impurities like lead if you don’t trust your drinking water supplier.
Filter Your Drinking Water
If you want to defend your drinking water against contaminants, then you can filter it. Some experts always insinuate that filtering water isn’t necessary. But you need to understand that drinking water isn’t just like any other water; hence should be given a special treat.
You can opt for water filters that are contaminants-specific to destroy the kind of impurities in your water. This can be done after water testing. When buying a filter, there are specific factors you should consider. An expert should be at hand to advise you on the way where necessary. Please buy a brand of filers that is well known for its quality. For instance, Big Berkey Water Filters are suitable for drinking water filtration.
With filters, you are going to get the value of whatever you pay for. If your water contains different contaminants or chemicals, you will need to buy a more expensive filter. Many people affix the water filter to the kitchen tap and forget other taps in the house. It would be best if you considered setting up the filters on every channel leading to the drinking point. Also, ensure you change the water filters regularly as per instructions by the manufacturer.
If you are buying a costly water filtration system, ensure that the system is tried and tested by an expert. If possible, acquire a warrant of purchase for the water.
Update Your Plumbing System
Many people think that paint flecks are the only carriers of the poisonous impurities in houses. It would help if you changed the lead pipes in your home regularly to prevent such water impurities.
Contaminants in lead pipes can cause diseases in children. It can also cause issues such as infections of the kidney and high blood pressure in adults. Also, consider replacing any copper pipes that are rusted. If drinking water is exposed to copper for a long time, it can cause kidney or liver damage.
Don’t Poison the Source of Water
You need to avoid contaminating your source of drinking water using chemicals, fertilizers, or pesticides. Consider taking used oil to antifreeze or for recycling. Also, some substances in the landscaping process can drip into the ground to contaminate any water source like rivers, streams, and lakes. There are cases where pollutants can seep into wells even if they’re deeply dug.
Distill Your Drinking Water
A water distillation system is known to provide the purest water. However, there could be some bacteria and contaminants left in the water after distillation. The worst part of this system is that there could still be gases like chlorine left in the water, and there can be a need. Still, water purified by distillation is the purest. Most good distillation systems can remove approximately 97 percent of water impurities.
Consider Drinking Boiled or Bottled Water
If you aren’t sure of the safe drinking water source in your area, you can temporarily drink bottled water or boil water before drinking. Boiling water kills all the germs making it pure and safe for drinking. After some tests, the local public health authorities may ask the area community to boil water from specific sources. You must adhere to the rules to avoid any diseases caused by contaminated water. Boil-water campaigns always come in place after some contamination by natural disasters or even massive main breaks. For instance, Charleston’s residents in West Virginia were once forced to use bottled water during a severe chemical spill.
Conclusion
For us to survive and stay fit and healthy, clean and safe drinking water is crucial for our lives. If you can’t trust the safety of drinking water available in your home, you need to find ways to make it safe for consumption. It all starts by knowing the contaminants available in your water and then using the most appropriate method to make it safe for drinking.
