This argument has existed for decades. With high-quality tap water available in Australia, many believe there isn’t a need for purified water. Australians have always prided themselves on their safe-to-drink tap water. However, even though safe, nutrients are missing, and chemical additives are present. A water purifier exists to ensure that the public can choose to have added security when it comes to water safety.
Presently, there are three main types of water – tap, filtered, and purified. Read on to understand what each is and what benefits they bring to the table.
Is Tap Water in Australia Drinkable?
The simple answer is yes. Australian tap water is certified to be safe for drinking, and many have been drinking it without presenting any adverse conditions. According to guidelines, tap water should not contain any harmful amounts of chemicals or pathogenic microorganisms.
They use methods like settling, coagulation and disinfection at the centre to make the water drinkable.
The issue with tap water is it contains impurities. These impurities are both natural and artificial and typically only affect the look and taste of the water. Some additives prevent the re-growth of microorganisms while being transported in pipes. There are ongoing discussions about the potential for harm that these additives carry.
Does Tap Water have any benefits?
Research shows that not all additives are harmful. Magnesium, Potassium and Calcium found in tap water are necessary nutrients for the body.
Filtered vs Purified Water – What are the differences?
Many make the mistake of considering filtered and purified water to be the same. On the contrary, Purified water is a step ahead of filtered and has an additional layer of security.
Filtered Water
A water filter has a minute pore size that filters out any bacteria and unwanted contaminants in the water. Most beneficial nutrients are small enough to make it through the pore. In addition to this, some water filtration systems also add on nutrients that are filtered out.
Purified Water
A water filtration system also processes water into purified water. However, after the filtration, the water has an additional purification process which can be one of three types – reverse osmosis, distillation, or deionization.
- Carbon filters bond to contaminants and remove them. This method takes away additives like chlorine, lead, and mercury, and by doing so, significantly improves the taste of water. However, they prove to be a little expensive.
- Reverse Osmosis (RO) Systems are the most effective ones. They do not allow anything larger than a water molecule to pass through. This process keeps out the most amount of contaminants.
- Ion Exchange Filters work best for hard water. Hard water has a high concentration of magnesium and calcium, and this makes the water undrinkable. However, these filters take away these ions and replace them with sodium, which is healthier for the body.
Why is there extensive debate on which is better?
The main difference is that purified water is more processed than filtered water (cleaner than tap water). The main argument revolves around whether extensive filtration results in healthier water. While this reduces contaminants, some believe it takes away nutrients in the process.
However, it is better to be safe and lose harmful contaminants. Additionally, present systems strive to replace those nutrients after filtration, making them better.
A water purifier serves as an additional layer of security for cleaner and healthier water. While one can live happily drinking tap water, it is always better to be safe than sorry. Install a water purifier now and forget all about ever ingesting contaminated water.
