(StatePoint) For years, bottled water has been a go-to for clean drinking. Many believe it tastes better than tap water and assume it’s safer to drink. But at-home filtered water is another alternative, and while it gets less attention, there are many reasons why it could be the best option available.
1. You’ll Drink More Water: If you’ve ever filled a glass with tap water, you’re well aware of the strange taste and even smell that unfiltered water can have. When filtered to remove contaminants like chlorine, hydrogen sulfide, iron and more, the result is better tasting and more healthful water, encouraging you to drink more of it. And since it’s commonly advised that the average person should drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water daily, you’ll be making it easier to stay hydrated and healthy.
2. It’s Easy to Filter at Home: Filtering water at home is easy thanks to a variety of filtration options available. Look for products like the Pfister Clarify Filter Faucet, a water filtration system integrated directly into your kitchen sink that filters one gallon of water per minute, meaning it’s two times faster than most conventional drinking water systems. With its Xtract Filter Mode, you’re able to select between tap and filtered water by simply pushing the handle back, allowing you to get great tasting water from the tap with little effort.
3. Filtered Water is Cleaner and Safer: While tap water may appear clean and safe, it can actually be dirtier than it looks. Tap water travels through pipelines and may pick up contaminants along the way. Although it’s disinfected and fortified before getting to you, you still can’t be guaranteed that it’s 100 percent safe. Filtration can remove chlorine, chlorine byproducts and dangerous volatile organic compounds while preserving healthy minerals.
Bottled water is often seen as a safe, clean alternative to tap water, but as much as 25 percent of it is actually bottled tap water, according to government estimates. Additionally, bottled water may absorb chemicals from the bottle into the water, ending up in your body when you drink it.
4. You’ll Save Money: When compared to the cost of bottled water, filtration products like Pfister’s Clarify Filter Faucet can save an average family of four up to $460 in the first year. That means that in as little as three months, the filtration product will pay for itself.
5. You’ll Reduce Your Carbon Footprint. Seventeen million barrels of oil annually are required to produce bottles for water for U.S. demands alone, according to The Pacific Institute estimates, and experts stress that it takes a fleet of 40,000 18-wheelers to deliver that bottled water weekly. In the end, less than 40 percent of plastic water bottles are recycled, according to the National Association for PET Container Recycling.
Filtering your drinking water can have a significant impact extending beyond your family’s health. By ditching plastic water bottles, you can help create a more sustainable environment, while enjoying fresher, cleaner-tasting water.