My Tap Water

Reverse osmosis is a water filtration system that works using pressure. With the force of this pressure, water is conducted through a semi-permeable membrane, from an unfiltered side (in this case your tap water) to a filtered side. In this way, pure water (relatively speaking) is separated from any pollutant molecules that are too large…Read More

We require clean water for a host of activities — to bathe, to drink, to clean our homes and more. The quality of water we use can be determined in any number of ways, but the best is testing. Testing can be done at the public water facility level, but it can (and should) also…Read More

Distillation is a method of purifying water. To understand whether distilled water is safe or good to drink, we must know how it is produced and from where the water originated. Distilled water is any water that has been purified by distillation. For distillation, we can use different processes, but all of them consist of…Read More

Pure water is colorless, odorless and tasteless, but pure water is rarely found in nature. In fact pure water is difficult enough to find anyway (depending on your definition of purity that is). Contaminants — that is, impurities — are very common in water. Some of them are unhealthy while some of them, like minerals,…Read More

NSF International is an independent global organization that develops standards, analyzes and certifies products for the water, food, health, sciences, and consumer product industries, generally with the goal of to minimizing adverse health effects and protect the environment. Founded in 1944, its mission is to protect and improve human health the world over. As an independent…Read More

Wondering if your tap water is safe to drink? It’s an important question, no matter where you live, but it’s one that is not always easy to answer. Water collects contaminants in stages and it’s filtered in stages as well. So, logically, the first step to clean water is a clean source — the reservoir,…Read More

If you are looking to improve the taste of your tap water, there are a number of easy solutions available to you. Almost all of these involve filtering the water, in order to remove whatever is making it taste bad, but the good news is that this sort of filtering is simple, affordable, has almost…Read More

Choosing a water filter isn’t as simple as you might think. That’s because there is a surprising amount of chemistry and physics (plus hydrology and biology) that goes into these devices. Most of the tough stuff can be left up to the engineers and PhDs who are designing and defining water filters, but choosing a…Read More

A rotten egg smell coming from water is a popular problem. The good news is that it’s often not a health issue, but it can still be off-putting, especially if you aren’t used to it. This article will walk through the smell, the water’s taste, the causes, and what can be done about that rotten…Read More

A common concern among people shopping for water filters is whether there is lead in the water they are drinking. Particularly after the scandal in Flint, Michigan, there is heightened scrutiny around drinking water, and rightfully so. Lead is a toxic metal that occurs naturally in the earth and has been used most notable in…Read More

Much has been made lately of the health benefits of alkaline water. But what is it, and is it really beneficial? Like other substances, water’s acidity or alkalinity is measured by its pH level. pH is a number that measures acidity or alkalinity on a scale of 1 to 14, with 1 being the most…Read More

“Tap water” is any water that comes out of a tap, a valve that controls the release of a liquid or gas. A water tap can be a faucet, spigot, or hydrant and expels water used not just for drinking, but also for washing, cooking, and toilet-flushing. It is distinct from other types of fresh…Read More

Contrary to what some people may think, tap water is actually healthy for you. Many people are still unaware of this — just survey the disposal bins of any major city to see the preference many people have for bottled water. We are lucky to have a quality supply of water from the tap, then…Read More

Are you getting cloudy, milky-looking water coming out of your tap? This is a common problem. Let’s troubleshoot it. There could be a number of things happening with your water, but with some patience it should be easy enough to figure out what’s happening, or at least rule out some things before calling in outside…Read More

Here is a list of the regulated and unregulated contaminants in United States drinking water, as per the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The top table is of priority pollutants while the bottom has unregulated contaminants, as defined by the UCMR4 list. Priority Drinking Water Contaminants Any pollutant with a (P) next to it is a…Read More

There are many substances that show up in our tap water that are regulated by the government, but also many that are not. Laws cover substances that have mandatory regulations (lead, copper, etc.) but other material that we don’t want in our water is not deemed as unsafe and thus isn’t as tightly regulated (sometimes…Read More