What is in Your Drinking Water?

The water that you drink everyday contains a little bit of bacteria. This consists of the common types of bacteria and not the harmful ones. A chemical named chlorine is usually added into your drinking water. Chlorine is the substance that prevents bacterial growth in pipelines. This is why you’ll find a slight percentage of chlorine in your water too. Water also contains minerals that help the human body function properly. Some of these come naturally as some are added into your water. If you are curious about what your water is composed of, contact our plumbers at Mr. Rooter Plumbing.

Where Does The Water You Drink Come From?

Your drinking water goes through a couple stages depending on where it is coming from. Surface water, which consists of rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. There is also groundwater, which is considered pure and safe to drink. Groundwater is an area under rivers which are not connected to other water sources. They are generally used faster than they are replenished which results in shortages. Groundwater doesn’t require that many purification steps, whereas surface water is harder to deal with. Countries most of the time lean towards surface water as groundwater is a limited resource.

Testing Your Water Quality

It is reasonable to have concerns over how safe your drinking water is, and to overcome this worry, you can test the quality of the water on your own. You can purchase a test strip to start this procedure. Grab a container and fill it up with the water of your choice. Using your test strips, dip it into the water and swirl it in the container so the strip can absorb the liquid. After you take out the strip, a color change will happen and on the kit that you purchased, it should explain to you what that color means and if it is healthy or not. If you want to double check your situation, scheduling a plumbing inspection can be key to keeping your water clean. Plumbing services may be needed if the quality of your drinking water turns out to be poor.

Purification of Drinking Water

Your drinking water generally goes through multiple steps before it reaches your home. This process starts with neutralizing the dirt in the water collected. After that, solids are removed from the water and then filtration begins. In the filtration step, usually there are different pore sizes made which the water passes from. These pores remove particles such as bacteria, chemicals, and viruses. The last step is disinfection. Chlorine is a popularly used chemical which kills any remaining bacteria or viruses that may have slipped past the filtration phase. The chlorine is also used to eliminate bacteria from the water treatment plant all the way to your tap through the pipes. These steps are used mostly for surface water as groundwater doesn’t contain as much bacteria and viruses as surface water does.

Is Bottled Water Safer or Tap Water?

As tap water contains chemicals, there have been concerns over bottled water too. Over the years more and more studies have been made about microplastics in bottled water. As there is little to no risk of these plastics, there have been cases of bottled water containing toxic levels of this material that endangers a person’s health. On top of that, another concern is the lack of information given to consumers about the contents inside the water. Overall, both options are a good way to hydrate, but tap water is generally healthier than bottled water. It’s a safe source of water which costs less and doesn’t impact the environment in a bad way.

Concerns Over Your Drinking Water?

Tap water is considered a safe source of drinking water, but this depends on the area you live in. If you have doubts about your drinking water being clean, then contact Mr. Rooter Plumbing to have a licensed plumber sent to your home.