#1 For Water Filtration in Westerville, OH, with Over 300 Local Reviews!

Not much can beat the refreshment of a cold glass of water unless you stop to think about what might be in that water. Drinking water is becoming increasingly toxic worldwide. One major problem is aging water pipes. A 2013 report by the American Society for Civil Engineers warned that most of the water drinking infrastructures of the nation are “nearing the end of its useful life cycle.” Repairing these infrastructures is no easy task either, The American Water Works Association estimates it would cost more than $1 Trillion to update and replace all water pipes in the United States. On top of that water, pollution is another major concern, as water treatment plants are unable to filter out all toxins entering the water.

The Safe Drinking Water Act is undeniably outdated, as not a single contaminant has been added to its list of regulated chemicals since the year 2000. Standards for judging whether or not a chemical is harmful at certain levels have not been updated since 1974. A lot of water treatment plants use chlorine or chloramines to treat and purify water disinfection byproducts (DPBs) form when these disinfectants react with organic matter such as decaying vegetation in the water. These byproducts are 1,000 times more toxic than chlorine and all the other toxins and contaminants present in your tap water. One major DPB is Trihalomethanes (THM) a cancer group B carcinogens, this means this has been shown to cause cancer in laboratory animals. These carcinogens have also been linked to reproductivity issues in humans and animals, weaken your immune system, disrupt the central nervous system, damage cardiovascular systems, and disrupt renal systems, and more. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does regulate water in the United States, there are legal limits on many contaminants permitted in municipal water supplies, more than half of the 300-plus chemicals detected in the United States drinking water are unregulated and some legal limits may be too lenient for safety.

Now we know what you might be thinking if our tap water is so dangerous then why not use bottled water? Want to hear a fun fact? About 40% of bottled water is actually just bottled tap water. On top of that, the plastic bottles that water is being held in are created with a harmful chemical known as bisphenol A (BPA) which has been linked to multiple health problems, learning, and behavioral problems, altered immune system function, higher risk of prostate and breast cancer, early puberty in both genders. A lot of companies have recognized this and create their products BPA free but there is still a lot of products out there that are not and you are paying that increased price for that product to be BPA free, wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to? Unfortunately, a lot of plastic bottles are ending up in landfills throughout the world, and the current state of our landfills has caused these bottles to be unable to break down a process that is the best of conditions takes a minimum of 300 years.

“Filtering your tap water is the first step to protecting your family from toxins on a daily basis, whether it’s for drinking, showering or cooking,” said Amy Myers, MD, an Austin-based physician specializing in functional medicine. “Government regulations focus on protecting us from the big health risks like waterborne bacterial diseases. The long-term health effects of chronic exposures to trace elements of contaminants in our drinking water are something we all need to take personal responsibility for.”

• Chlorine: Increased risk of heart attack, increased risk of rectal and bladder cancer, increased risk for birth defects for children in utero.
• Fluoride: Impaired joint mobility, thyroid issues, lower IQ and cognitive function in children, high blood pressure, acne, reproductive issues, and early puberty in girls.
• Lead: Cardiovascular issues, decreased kidney function, reproductive issues in both adult men and women, reduced growth of fetuses in utero, behavioral and learning problems, lower IQ, slowed growth, and anemia in children.
• Arsenic: Increased cancer risk in skin, lungs, bladder, and kidney. Skin changes such as thickening and pigmentation.
• Chromium 6: Increased cancer risk, reproductive issues in both men and women, lead to eye and respiratory issues, asthma attacks, damage or failure of kidneys and liver.

Hard water is water that has high mineral content. Columbus has a water hardness level ranging from moderately hard to very hard depending on your area. Hard water is formed when water percolates through deposits of limestone and chalk. Drinking hard water does have some moderate health benefits because of its mineral content but it can spell devastation for your home’s internal plumbing and plumbing fixtures causing major scale build-up everywhere. Working in the industry in Ohio TropiCool has encountered an increased occurrence of hot water tanks prematurely, and a lot of their failure is linked to the poor quality level of our water. Which means more money out of your pocket for an unnecessary expense.