Water is one of the most essential elements for us to stay alive; after all, our body is made up of more or less 70% water. However, where we source our water spells the big difference. Bottled water is perceived to be safe and healthy; something which is a bit misleading oftentimes. Take a look at the table below and find out why people are shifting from bottled water to filtered tap water.
Odor And Taste
Chlorine is used to disinfect and gives that distinct taste in our tap water. This is removed by filtration together with other hard metals that give off that unpleasant taste and odor; and since most bottled water are actually filtered water, they are also odorless and tasteless.
Costs
Initial cost of installing a water filter is high, but there are easy-to-install and affordable yet reliable water faucet filters in the market like SJ Wave Faucet Filter for only $19. While a few purchases of water in plastic bottles may be cheaper in costs, the average American, spends about $100 on bottled water per year. The table below shows how much different types of filters cost for the first year and succeeding years. Clearly, bottled water is more expensive in the long run especially for moderate to heavy usage at home; and investing in a home water filtration system is more worthwhile.
Storage And Maintenance
In order to ensure effective filtration, water filters need to be replaced. Unchanged filters can become breeding grounds for bacteria over time and not serve its purpose. With opting to consume water in plastic bottles, there is no need to attach a water system under the sink or faucet and maintain the filter. On the other hand, with filtered water, you don’t need to stock up on cases or gallons of bottled water at home.
Availability And Convenience
Buying bottled water is the choice for people who are always on the go. With a home water filtration system though, you can have clean, safe, and healthy water anytime of the day. No need to bother yourself with going out to buy. This goes to say, you save a lot of time and avoid that heavy load on your back. While drinking water in public places, schools, restaurants and offices may not be filtered, one way to solve to this is by bringing your own water in bottles.
Safety Standards
Municipal water utilities are strictly regulated by the EPA, while water bottling companies are not required by theFDA to disclose as much crucial information. So, despite its perceived safety benefit, bottled water could be more dangerous than filtered tap due to lack of regulation.
Health Impact
Filtered water is healthy water; filtration removes the harmful elements while retaining the good minerals for our body. In the US, 24% of bottled water sold is filtered water and considered safe for drinking. However, one big risk that water in plastic bottles pose is when plastic bottles are exposed to high temperature and stored in a long period of time, causing the chemicals in the plastic bottle to leach and contaminate the water. Moreover, micro plastics have been found to be present in 93% of popular water in plastic bottle brands in the US.
Social Impact
Do you know that it takes three liters of water to produce just one liter of bottled water? This means more water is wasted than consumed and could result to water shortages over time. Sadly, there are people halfway across the globe who do not even have access to water; and water bottling companies spend what they could otherwise provide to others in need of clean water. In fact, 1/3 what the world spends on bottled water in one year could pay for projects providing water to everyone in need.
Luckily for Americans, water supplies in the US is among the safest in the world, according to the CDC. But still, millions of waterborne illnesses are reported due to contaminated water. Having a water filtration system at home solves this problem.
Environmental Impact
With filtered tap water, water that we use for our aquariums, pets, and to water our plants is free from chlorine and fluoride which can cause harm over a long period of use. The thing is, if you don’t want it in your body, you wouldn’t want it in your pets or plants, either. Use of plastic water bottles, meanwhile, poses a great risk to our environment. About 60 million plastic water bottles are thrown out each day in the US alone; unfortunately, 80% of these are not recycled and just end up in landfills while millions end up as litters and pollute our oceans; thus, killing our marine animals.
Globally, we produce about 300 million tons of plastic waste every year; using filtered water means lesser plastic ending up in landfills and oceans to pollute the planet.
Advertising and marketing efforts of plastic water bottle companies have led us to believe that their water is the healthiest option. But with increasing awareness of the environmental impact of plastic bottles, more and more people are beginning to realize the advantages of filtered tap water over bottled water. It is convenient, free or inexpensive, and has much less of an environmental impact than water in plastic bottles. The drawbacks of bottle water heavily outweigh the benefits of convenience and taste; and it’s no surprise if you shift your preference to filtered tap water after reading this. Because in the end, filtered water is still the heathy choice.