Crystal clear water is always perceived to be clean and safe; but is it really safe? Not all the time. Even if your water looks, smells and tastes perfectly fine, it is not necessarily safe for drinking. Yet, still, many of us take the quality of water and its taste or smell for granted. Those who may be accustomed to odd-tasting and smelling water think it’s safe since they don’t feel sick. Little do they know that it may take years before realizing the effects of unclean drinking water. This is why it is essential to test the purity of your drinking water regularly.
The U.S. EPA has set standards for more than 80 contaminants that may occur in drinking water and pose to human health and are classified as either acute or chronic. In drinking water, microbes such as bacteria and viruses are the contaminants with the greatest chance of reaching levels high enough to cause acute health effects. And while most people’s bodies can fight off these contaminants, high levels can make people seriously ill and can even cause death to some whose immune system is weak and compromised.
A home water kit like SJ Wave 16-in-1 Water Test Kit allows you to test as many samples and get instant reliable results in less than 1 minute. It is the perfect solution for a complete water “check-up” before consumption and can be used to test drinking water, well water, pool & spa water, aquarium and more.
Designed for quick and easy visual screening on different water sources, SJ Wave 16-in-1 test strips detects and provides comprehensive and accurate results for16 critical water parameters; and, thus, is the only test kit you will need for your peace of mind knowing that the water you use or drink is clean and safe.
Clean and pure water is not only essential for drinking. The quality of your water source can have effects on your home appliances, clothes, plants and even pets. From the table you will notice that some parameters apply to different and, sometimes, similar purpose.
Hardness is the amount of dissolved calcium and magnesium in water causing water to be hard, which leads to dry and frizzy hair and itchy skin. It also leaves deposits that stains your kitchen and bathroom fixtures.
While Chlorine is used by municipal water utilities to disinfect water before it is distributed to your tap, drinking chlorinated water can have effects on your health. Plants watered with chlorinated water suffer leaf spots, scorching and curling of leaf edges. It also causes your fish pets to have trouble in swimming, gill tissue necrosis and sometimes sudden death.
People who consume high levels of heavy metals like iron in water are at risk of acute and chronic toxicity, liver, kidney, and intestinal damage, anemia, and cancer. It also takes its toll on your laundry, dishwares, and water receptacles and leaves red or brown stains that are difficult, it not impossible, to remove. It can clog dishwashers, washing machines, sprinklers, water pumps, and other similar appliances too.
Copper is part of our dietary need; however, consumption of high levels of this element can cause nausea, headache, diarrhea, and gastric disorders; and long term exposure may cause severe liver damage and even death.
Lead, unlike other metals, is not beneficial or necessary for humans and can be harmful to your health. Infants and children are especially vulnerable as lead can impair their brain development. A dose of lead that would have little effect on an adult can have a significant effect on a child.
High levels of nitrate and nitrites in drinking water are toxic and can be dangerous to health, especially for infants and pregnant women. It limits the flow of oxygen in blood, thereby depriving the body of its oxygen requirement. Similarly, ammonia has a toxic effect on healthy humans if taken in higher quantities than the body’s capacity to detoxify.
In the U.S., fluoride, like chlorine, is added in municipal water utilities at optimum levels to help protect teeth against decay. However, high levels of fluoride may also cause fluorosis in teeth, and once concentrated in bones, can alter the bone tissue’s structure and weaken the same.
Other parameters like cyanuric acid, quaternary ammonium compounds, alkalinity and carbonate are useful in keeping your pool, spa and aquarium water safe to use.
Don’t get deceived by crystal clear water. Always test your water and avoid guessing the purity of your water. Remember! Microbes and other ill-causing organic contaminants cannot be detected by the human eye. So only trust a reliable water test kit. Learn more of this wonderful product by visiting their website.