Water For Health

Posts Tagged ‘Wate’

When you go hiking, one of the most important things that you will bring is fresh drinking water. Next time you go hiking, consider brining a portable water filter instead. You could be saving backpack weight and enjoying the cleanest water available.

Make Your BackPack Lighter

To truly enjoy hiking you need to pack as light as possible. You don’t want a heavy backpack weighing you down and forcing you to take extra breaks. With a light backpack, you can cover more distance with less strain on your muscles.

Most hikers know that the heaviest thing that they will pack is usually their drinking water supply. As water weighs a gram per milliliter, a one liter water bottle can add a whole kilogram to the weight of your backpack. Depending on the length of your hike, one liter might not even be enough drinking water.

A portable water filter can weigh a mere 250 grams. That’s just one quarter the weight of a one liter water bottle. Imagine losing that extra weight from your pack. It will feel like you are ten years younger with your additional stamina.

Enjoy Clean Drinking Water

If you have ever tasted fresh mountain stream water, you know it’s some of the cleanest water you can get. Then pour that pure water into a portable water filter and it really is the cleanest water. There is minimal pollution and no extra additives – just clean, fresh drinking water.

Even pure mountain water can contain dangerous bacteria and pathogens such as typhoid, dysentery, cholera, colibacillosis, amoebic dysentery protozoa, cryptospordium, cysts, fungi, parasites, spores and giardia. Chances are that you have never heard of most of those pathogens. Normally your city’s water treatment plant takes care of these dangers for you. Lightweight, portable water filters are able to effectively remove these pathogens. Plus they remove other pollutants, as well as unpleasant tastes and odors. Dissolved chemicals such as iodine and chlorine are also removed by using a water filter.

Bring Unlimited Water in One Bottle

One of the best advantages to using a portable water filter is that you almost always have enough water. As long as you are near a stream, river or lake, you have access to clean drinking water. Usually it only takes a couple of minutes to properly filter this water to become clean drinking water.

If you were to pack your own water instead, you could be out of luck once your water runs out. You would have little choice but to risk drinking water from a stream of lake. Bacteria in this water could end up making you sick, ruining your hiking trip.

Conclusion

While hiking, your drinking water is extremely important. As long as you will be near a good water source, save some pack weight with a portable water filter. Using a backpacking water filter will make your hike easier and your water cleaner. Don’t let the hassle of carrying water ruin your hike.

The type of well water filters that you need depends on what’s in your water. There are a number of well water whole house filters on the market. Some are reasonably priced. Other literally cost tens of thousands of dollars. Depending on what’s in your water, you may not need the most expensive type.

Here’s an interesting fact, forty-eight million Americans get there water from private wells. That could account for all of the advertising and the hundreds of well water filters on the market. They want your business, but if you don’t do your homework before you buy, you could end up with an ineffective, inefficient or unnecessary product.

People buy well water filters for a variety of reasons, but some are more common than others.

Acidity (pH balance)

If you notice corrosion on any of your fixtures or bluish-green stains in your sinks or tubs, then your pH level may be too acidic. In the shower, you may feel like the water is not very “wet”. When you drink your tap water, you may notice a metallic taste. If you notice these things, then you probably need well water whole house filters, but you can always buy some litmus paper to test. Blue litmus paper turns red in the presence of acid. A numbered pH tester is also available, but is more expensive. Any level under 7 is equal to an acidic pH. In order to correct acidity, you need well water filters that enhance the water by balancing the pH. Multi-stage systems use ion exchange and other filters to correct the level.

Iron

High iron content sends many people looking for reverse osmosis well water whole house filters. But, those systems start at $10,000. Besides, reverse osmosis removes all of the minerals, some of which are beneficial to your health. Water softeners, ion exchange, or chlorination followed by activated carbon well water filters will take care of the problem, for a lot less money.

Bacteria

Bacteria, viruses, protozoa, parasites and microscopic cysts are often found in unprotected drinking water supplies, but are not typically present in underground wells. The soil acts as a filter. But, since you cannot see these microscopic creatures and ingesting them can cause disease, you should have your water tested on a regular basis. Testing is done at most public health departments, but you may have to send a sample to a private lab.

If you are concerned about bacteria or the test comes back positive for bacteria, you have several options. Chlorine kills all but the most resistant, which can be removed by a micron filter. Always follow chlorination with activated carbon filters. Those of us who have city water know that drinking chlorinated water is not a healthy option, plus the taste and smell is terrible.

Activated carbon filters on your kitchen and shower taps are probably sufficient. But, there are well water whole house filters that contain activated carbon, as well. The cost is more, but may balance out against the cost of replacing multiple filters around the house. UV filters, distillers and reverse osmosis can be used against bacterial contamination, just be sure to have the water tested again, to make sure they are doing the job. Even though reverse osmosis well water filters are very expensive, the membranes are prone to defects and tear easily after installation, so they may not provide the protection that you need.

Other Considerations

Reverse osmosis well water whole house filters waste more water than they clean. Only 1% of the earth’s water is drinkable. Water is one of our most precious resources. We cannot afford to waste it. Think about the next generation and buy the most efficient well water filters that will meet your needs.