15 Jul Knowing If Your Water Is Safe To Drink

In Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, water is a key physiological need. Our bodies depend on clean drinking water to survive and can only survive three days without water. However, access to clean drinking water isn’t guaranteed. In fact, according to World Vision, 785 million people don’t have access to clean drinking water, which is 1 in 10 people.

Lacking access to clean drinking water also isn’t exclusive to developing countries. Areas around the United States also lack access to clean drinking water. Flint, Michigan found itself with a major water crisis for not one, not two, not three, but seven years. In our own home in Hawaii, there are water concerns. Hawai’i Community Foundation states that due to several factors, Hawai’i may be facing a potential freshwater crisis.

For the most part, water that comes out of your faucet is safe to drink. That being said, it’s critical to you and your family’s health to keep an eye on your home’s water quality and to avoid drinking contaminated water. Keep reading below for ways to tell if your water is safe to drink and the best methods for filtering your water.

Is Your Water Safe To Drink?

Without testing the water for chemicals or contaminants, you can look at the color, taste, smell, and feeling of the water as a baseline to see if your water is safe.

Color of Your Water

Clean drinking water will be clear. You should be able to hold it up and look at a white wall or piece of paper with zero discoloration. From time to time, your water may be cloudy or discolored. While this isn’t always dangerous, it could also mean there’s an issue of buildup in your pipes (potentially problematic) or unsafe chemicals in the water.

Water Taste and Odor

Water shouldn’t have any sort of flavor, taste, or smell to it. These things can indicate dangerous chemicals, contaminants, and bad minerals in your water. For example, a metallic taste could mean that the water supply is tainted with lead, iron, mercury, and even arsenic. Hydrogen sulfide can make the water smell like rotten eggs. And if your water smells like a swimming pool, it’s likely an issue with the municipal water’s process for treating water.

Feeling

Do your hands feel funny or as if there’s a film on them? Does your hair seem abnormally greasy even after you washed it? There’s a chance that you have a hard water problem, which is caused by an abundance of chemicals and minerals like calcium or magnesium. While those two aren’t necessarily dangerous for your health, hard water may also include aluminum and lead in your water system.

How Can I Be Sure My Water Is Clean?

While no solution will work 100% of the time forever, there are some ways to keep your water clean for years to come. The two best ways to make sure your water is clean are to install a water treatment system and to install a water filter in your water fixtures.

Install A Filter

One of the easiest ways to ensure clean water is to filter your water. You can make this process easy by installing a filter into your fixtures, such as the faucets and showerheads.

Install A Water Treatment System

A water treatment system can ensure that all water that flows through your home is clean and free of contaminants.

535 Plumbing

Do you live on Oahu, Hawaii and want to make sure your water is safe to drink? Protect your family’s water by installing a water treatment system or a filter. Our team of professional oahu plumbers is highly skilled in water treatment installation and can have your system working in no time. We also can install water filters in your plumbing fixtures so you’ll have clean drinking water straight from the tap. Learn more and schedule an appointment by calling 808-300-0535