Frequently Asked Questions

The EPAs Safe Drinking Water act defines water contaminants is anything that isn’t a water molecule.

So if its not water its a contaminate.

Most dissolved minerals found in water cause no major health concerns but they do cause issues on the homes plumbing system

Some of the bigger issues in our water:

• Lead
• Chloramine
• Fluoride
• Arsenic
• Barium
• Copper
• Chromium
• Cadmium
• PFAS
• Pharmaceuticals

Chloramine

• It is a group of chemical compounds that contain chlorine and ammonia used to disinfect the drinking water.
• The city of Chicago switched to Chloramines to save money.
• There is a benefit to chloramines…. it protects the water from the plant to your home. But once it comes to your home its time to remove it.

Fluoride 

• Known neurotoxin
  Cognitive delays
  IQ defects

PFAS

Per and Poly Fluorinate Substances
Forever Chemicals
Teflon, Fire Retardants
Found In polar bears blood on the ice caps
Liver damage
Thyroid disease
Decreased fertility
And the list goes on

Pharmaceuticals

• City water can not remove pharmaceuticals thrown down the drain or from waste from the human body. 
• In Chicago – anti depressant, estrogen, cocaine can be found in your water
• Studies on fish In major cities found many contaminants and pharmaceuticals in their tissues

Chloramines

THMS Trihalomethans (chemical residue left from manufacturing)

HAAs Haloacetic Acids 

• Disinfection by products
• Caused when chlorine reacts with other disinfectants in the water
• The more chlorine the more Haloacetic acids in the water
• Caused by water main breaks, bacteria spikes

Pharmaceuticals

Recycled waste water

• Sounds disgusting
• Chicago is one of the best in the world for reuse of waste water

Chicago has a quarter of the nations lead drinking water service lines. Thats over 1.2 million lead drinking lines that they know of in the city of Chicago. And any home built before 1986 will most likely have copper plumbing soldered with lead solder.

• Got rid of lead solder
• Starting to remove lead water service lines, leave a few feet off the main line – save money
• Flint Michican happened because of water quality
• Removed lining and exposed soft lead
• Better practices: solder less fittings and plastic lines (filtered)

• It is said we consume a credit cards worth of plastic every week.
• PBA and PBO leaching
• We don’t know how long its been from the warehouse to you
• Most manufactures are just filtered tap water (some tapped into springs)
• They don’t filter out the major contaminants
• Super sized Brita filter
• Best water bottle companies Fiji, Evain, Core water
• Bottled water is still in plastic containers so they still have BPA

• City water chloramine, leaves a “pool like smell”
• Metals such as copper and galvanized
• Well water can contain sulfur, manganese, calcium, bacterias, iron sulfides

• For city water visit EWG.org, a 3rd party agency to learn about water in your area
• Use a certified water treatment dealer
• Some townships health dept do it for free
• Lab testing

• Fridge filters only meet NSF 42 (only removes chlorine and helps with taste and smell)
• Will not remove chloramines (catalytic carbon is the only way)

• Start with what you can afford.
• Something is better then nothing
• Apartment or renting Aqua Tru RO (NSF 53 certified) : toughest standards: certified to remove or reduce harmful contaminants
• Whole home filtration POE
• POU filtration
• Reverse Osmosis (RO) for drinking and cooking

• The Reverse Osmosis membrane removes 99% or contaminants
• Leaves pure drinking water
• Rebuilds water with the minerals that you need
• Trace minerals