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| Testing Household Water |
| This DIY Basic, brought to you Brita, will provide tips for testing household water. |
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Most homes get their water supply from a municipal water system, which treats surface and ground water to meet strict federal health standards. However, water can pick up impurities as it travels from the treatment plant to your home. - A series of simple at home tests (figure A) can measure the level certain contaminants in your water supply, such as lead or chlorine.
- If the test strips come up positive, you may be able to reduce some of the impurities by filtering the water.
- Consider filters that mount directly onto your faucet (figure B) or ones that mount under your sink which filters your cold water supply line.
- You can avoid installation all together by pouring cold drinking water from a filtered pitcher (figure C).
- The more reusable bottles you fill, the better it is for our planet.
Web Extras - Many at-home water-testing kits will test for lead, bacteria, common pesticides, nitrite, nitrate, chlorine and will also check your waters ph level to determine the waters hardness.
- The Environmental Protection Agency has set enforceable standards for the maximum level of certain contaminants in drinking water. All public water systems mush meet these standards.
Source: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/dwh/index.html - Water systems nationwide treat nearly 34 billion gallons of water every day. Local utilities select the best treatment combination for the contaminants found in the source water for that particular system.
Source: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/wot/pdfs/book_waterontap_full.pdf - When selecting a water filter, carefully review the capabilities of the unit with your water treatment needs.
RESOURCES :
Brita Information
Website: www.filterforgood.com
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