Water Systems - a brief explanation
Tap water often contains parasites such as Cryptosporidium and Giardia that are chlorine resistant, they can cause flu like symptoms or more serious illnesses , especially in the very young and very old.
The only way to kill Crytosporidium and Giardia is by using an Ultra Violet light.
Mothers with newborns should NEVER make formula with water that contains flouride. (Click here to Google search the topic). Babies should have the cleanest water possible when making formula.
Virtually all tap and bottled water contain traces of unhealthy synthetic chemicals.You can either filter them out prior to drinking it, or force your body to be the filter.
Most common types of water filtration systems
1) Pitcher filtration
Pitcher filtration such as a Brita filter(TM) is a good choice if your looking to reduce the taste of chlorine in your water, plus a few other chemicals. It does not completely remove them but can help with the taste associated with the use of chlorine. Filters need to be changed regularly, carbon can harbour bacteria that can then leach back into the water if you use the filters beyond whats recommended. Based on 1000 gallons of water the total yearly cost for a brita filter is around $250 or 25 cents a gallon.
2) Activated carbon filtration
Activated Carbon is really good at removing chlorine from the water, in most instances the chlorine will be completely removed from the water. Activated carbon also reduces many other types of organic material and chemicals from the water but they dont remove any minerals from the water. Not all impurities are reduced or removed by activated carbon but it does provide a good level of filtration for your municipal tap water. Filters should be changed at least every 6 months but if the water starts to taste bad then its time to change it. Filters changes can cost around $60 a year or more if your particularly sensitive to taste in your water.
3) Reverse Osmosis filtration
There are many companies selling RO (reverse osmosis) systems how can you figure out which one to buy?
RO systems can contain 2 or more stages of filtration. Usually you will have a sediment filter to remove larger particles, then some type of carbon filtration and then the RO membrane which removes or greatly reduces a large range of chemicals and minerals that may be present in the water. This type of filtration is good for people looking for the cleanest water possible within a reasonable cost. Reverse Osmosis is considered a mechanical process, so even though it removes bacteria, cysts and virus' it cant claim that it does this. The reason being is that if something happens and water bypasses the membrane then that water has not been filtered properly and can contain impurities. If constructed properly the system will very rarely if ever fail, but if it is not maintained right it can become very unhealthy. The easiest way to decide what system to buy is to make sure the system or the parts such as the membrane and tank are NSF certified. You dont have to spend allot of money to get good systems these days.
4) Distillation
Distillation is the process of boiling the water and catching the steam to drink. Water from distillation tastes flat, but you get used to it quite quickly and if you take a sip of tap water you will probably spit it back out as it tastes very different than distilled water. Distillation is energy intesive and produces water as pure as RO but can be much more costly and slower to produce quantities of water. There are some claims that drinking distilled water can cause your body to become "acidic", in my opinion that doesnt make much sense (you stomach acid is as strong as battery acid so anything coming is is going to end up acidic anyways) but you be the judge and research it.