A lot of attention has been given to the many issues surrounding bottled water. Two of the biggest concerns that have come forward are the environmental impact of disposing of so many plastic water bottles and also the quality of your drinking water. Studies have shown that a very low percentage of plastic water bottles are actually recycled resulting in a great deal of waste. In addition, many companies do not perform any extra steps to treat and purify your drinking water and are simply filling plastic bottles from a municipal water source.
If those reasons are not enough to convince you to look for other sources for safe, great tasting drinking water, here is one more: cost. A comparison of the cost of tap water and bottled water from a report on foodandwaterwatch.org estimates that a gallon of water from your faucet would cost approximately $0.002 per gallon. A gallon of the exact same tap water that is treated with a water filtration system (refrigerator filter, pitcher filter, undersink system, etc) averages between $0.10 and $0.20 depending on the system. Bottled water presents the highest cost per gallon at $0.89 to $8.26. Even if we only consider the low end cost of $0.89 per gallon it is still four to eight times more expensive to drink bottled water. It just makes sense to move away from drinking bottled water and get back to using water from the tap in our own home.
Tap water is not always safe to drink and you should consult your local utility's Consumer Confidence Report (often found in your monthly bill) for information about what exactly is in your water. Knowing what is in your tap water will tell you what type of filter you will need to get the best drinking water from your tap. The good news is that once you know what contaminants you want to remove you can control the quality of the water you receive from your tap with the use of the appropriate water filtration system.
There are numerous styles and levels of filtration available for residential use and you can pick the one that is the best fit for you. Our Water Filter Guide includes all of the information you will need to select the right system for your home including a detailed breakdown of which contaminants are removed by each filter.
