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WHAT ABOUT TAP WATER?
As many sources cite, tap water is safe to drink, and we think it is one of the best deals available for consumer goods. In fact, according to the EPA , if you drink 8 glasses of water per day from the tap, it will only cost you about 50 cents per year. But if you choose to purchase bottled water, be prepared to shell out up to $1,400 dollars per year for the privilege. From an environmental standpoint, we think tap water is a far better alternative than bottled, owing to the reduced solid waste and ease of getting it into our homes. What do else you need to know about tap water?
- Many people tell us they don't drink tap water because they don't like the taste of it. Our solution to make it more enjoyable? Try infusing your water with fruit, herbs or even vegetables for added flavor and health benefits. Infused water bottles make it easy to infuse your fruit right into the bottle.
- Concerned about the safety of your tap water, like what's in it? Our advice is to get informed. We recommend reading the EPA document, WATER ON TAP, What You Need to Know. It details information about your public water, how it's treated, why it's treated and how to keep the public water supply safe.
- Use a well for your drinking water? Since it is not always possible to see or taste potential contaminants, it's a good idea to get your well tested periodically.
Whether your water is from a well or municipal source, you may have concerns regarding what could be in it. Using a filter, either whole house or tap, can assist with removing anything lurking in your water including trace amounts of chemicals such as chlorine. Many claim a filter can also help improve the taste of water. Not certain what to look for in a water filter? The same EPA article referenced above has some great information. A few additional tips on using water filters:
- Some individuals may require filtered water for health reasons.
- Make sure you understand what you want your filter to do before you purchase it. For example, are you simply looking to improve the taste of your water, or are you looking to remove potential contaminants?
- Be prepared to replace your filters on schedule to get the full benefit of using them.
Wow. It seems like everyone likes to take a whack at purchased bottled water these days. But are there some good reasons for buying bottled water? We think so. A few examples include:
- EMERGENCIES - we keep an emergency supply of commercially bottled water for disasters and emergencies, as recommended by FEMA. You only have to watch the news to understand this one. Speaking personally, we have had several situations where we had no power for several days. No power for us meant no water. And we were amazed at how quickly the stores sold out of it!
- TRAVEL - as much as possible, we take our reusable water bottles with us when we travel. Our experience is that unless you travel a known route, it can be extremely difficult to coordinate a planned reload of a reusable water bottle safely.
- SAFETY - no access to safe tap water.
