The debate about whether drinking tap water is harmful in Lately has lost some of its relevance. Perhaps everyone understands that the composition of tap water is far from ideal, and for drinking or cooking it is better to use water that has been pre-treated.

And yet, for most of us, the water supply is the main source, so it will not be possible to completely abandon it. So you will have to learn to use this resource correctly, thereby minimizing harm to health.

Harmful factors

Analyzing safety, it should be noted that its quality is determined by a whole list of factors.

These include:

• The purity of the source from which the water is drawn (if there is a chemical plant nearby that discharges wastewater directly into the river, then no filters will help).
• Quality of centralized water treatment.
• Condition of pipelines and shut-off valves.

Accordingly, even in neighboring houses, not to mention different cities and regions, the quality of tap water will be different. So in some places it will be possible to drink raw water without risk to health, but in others you will have to use only filtered liquid for washing.

And yet, why should you not drink tap water, according to most experts? The thing is that centralized treatment, which is carried out at water supply stations, can only partially optimize the composition of water. Large and small debris is removed from it, pathogenic organisms are destroyed, and the content of most substances is brought back to normal.

But even after high-quality cleaning, quite harmful components remain in the composition:

• Chlorine is a major health hazard. When water is chlorinated, pathogenic microorganisms are destroyed, but the substance itself reacts with organic matter, forming carcinogenic compounds - trihalomethanes. In small concentrations they are harmless, but with gradual accumulation they can provoke the development of oncological diseases.
• In addition to chlorine, water contains nitrates and nitrites. The concentration of these components is tiny, but if consumed regularly, the liquid can cause intoxication, which is especially dangerous for infants.
• It is also worth mentioning metals such as copper, nickel, cadmium, zinc, manganese, etc.. Some metals enter the water during water intake and are not removed during purification, and some - during passage. At the same time, trying to drink from the tap turns into “Russian roulette”: no one knows what portion of what toxin you will get this time.
• Finally, let's not forget about microorganisms. Chlorination does not always cope with bacteria and protozoa, so in regions with an unfavorable epidemiological situation, the instructions directly prohibit the use of tap water for drinking and cooking.

Note!
If you come to another city, and even more so to another country, ask local residents, is it possible to drink tap water or should you buy bottled water?
This information can also be obtained by studying data on the Internet: usually such recommendations are included in leaflets for tourists.

How can you protect yourself

Boiling and settling

So, we found out above that tap water itself can become a source of health problems. But even if the local sanitary and epidemiological station claims that everything is in order, this is not a reason to forget about caution, especially since there are many ways to effectively treat water.

You can disinfect water with your own hands and make it at least relatively drinkable by boiling and then settling:

• Firstly, heating to 100 0 C leads to the death of most pathogens.
• Secondly, when heated, chlorine, radon, ammonia and other gases evaporate from the liquid.
• Settling also helps rid water of excess chlorine, but it can be used without heat treatment only if the epidemiological situation does not cause concern.

Note!
Tap water should be left to stand in an open, wide-necked container for at least 12 hours.

However, when boiling, the volume of liquid decreases, which means the concentration of salts increases. In addition, heating leads to the formation of microconcentrations of chloroform, which is a carcinogen. So this technique cannot be called universal.

Filtration

A more effective way to purify tap water is filtration.

In this case, of course, the percentage of toxins that will be removed largely depends on the filter itself:

• For regions with relatively high quality water, household “jug” filters are suitable. When passing through a cartridge installed in such a design, water loses almost all mechanical particles, part of organic suspensions and a fairly large percentage of salts.

Note!
Each cartridge is designed for a certain volume of tap water, and these elements need to be changed regularly.
Using an expired cartridge not only does not improve, but also worsens the quality of the liquid: salts and toxins concentrated on the filter begin to gradually wash out.

• Flow filters, which are built into the water supply directly in front of the kitchen faucet, will be appropriate where questions arise about the quality of the water. It is best to purchase a model with three columns: the first is responsible for rough cleaning, the second is for removing small contaminants, and the third is for desalting.

• Finally, you can always install a professional ion exchange filter. The price of such devices is quite high, and maintenance requires serious financial investments, but they allow you to obtain potable water in almost any situation. However, for a small family such a purchase would be irrational: for small volumes of consumption, it is easier to use bottled water.

Using offline sources

if you have a private house, and you can choose whether to connect to a centralized water supply or arrange an autonomous source of water supply, then it’s worth choosing the second option.

In this case, of course, you need to take into account a number of nuances:

• Firstly, before laying a well or borehole, you should familiarize yourself with the composition of groundwater. The easiest way is to contact your neighbors who have lived nearby for many years: they will definitely tell you whether natural water can be used for drinking.

• Then it is necessary to properly equip the source. To do this, we install a powerful gravel filter in both the well and the well, which will prevent siltation of the lower layers. Well, if there is no silt, there will be no organic suspensions in the water.
  
• However, even in this case you cannot do without cleaning. Before entering the house, it is advisable to install at least a primitive sand trap, and put a coarse filter on the tap - then the water can be drunk without settling.

Conclusion

Tap water is not always drinkable and not everywhere. Even in the most prosperous regions, the liquid should be filtered, boiled or settled. An exception is some wells and artesian wells, but their use is only possible in private homes. Issues of tap water quality are discussed in more detail in the video in this article.

Some believe that tap water is absolutely not drinkable, while others are confident that it is perfectly drinkable. How are things really going? And how can tap water harm you?

Statistics and facts

First, let's look at the statistics, and they are disappointing. Over the course of fifty years of life, a person drinks on average about 45 tons of water, and along with it he receives not the most beneficial impurities. So, during this period, about 15-16 kilograms of chlorides enter the body, which corresponds to two buckets of bleach. A person receives about two kg of nitrates. Over fifty years, the dose of iron reaches approximately 14-15 grams, which corresponds to one medium-sized nail. Also, approximately 23-24 grams of aluminum enter the body, and this amount is equivalent to a spoon.

The Water Supply and Sanitation Association conducted research and found that the water supply system was worn out by more than 50%. And if we take into account that such pipes are usually laid in close proximity to sewer pipes, we can conclude that if the walls are severely corroded and rotting, water with impurities from the sewer may flow from the tap. This problem is especially relevant for residents of old houses with worn-out communications.

Fun fact: in some countries, tap water is so pure that you can drink it right away. These countries include Switzerland, France, Norway, Italy, Sweden, and Iceland.

Why is tap water dangerous?

Why is it dangerous to drink tap water? There are several reasons:

1. To purify water, the method of chlorination is usually used, and the optimal and permissible concentration of the substance is 0.2-0.4 milligrams per liter (the maximum content according to the standards cannot exceed 0.5 mg). But, firstly, in reality everything happens differently, and secondly, if you constantly drink tap water in large quantities, then chlorine can accumulate in the body and affect it negative impact. So, it damages the mucous membranes of organs gastrointestinal tract and increases the risk of developing cancer of the digestive system. Chlorine can also negatively affect blood vessels and the heart muscle, tissues of the respiratory system, provoking the occurrence of such dangerous diseases as ischemia, atherosclerosis, and asthma. Chlorinated water also often causes allergic reactions and severely irritates the skin.
2. Tap water contains iron, which, when permissible doses are exceeded, settles in the kidneys and has an extremely negative effect on their functioning, and often leads to the formation of stones in these and other organs.
3. Nitrates, which can also be present in water flowing from the tap, provoke oxygen starvation brain and all tissues of the human body, have an extremely negative impact on the functioning of the central nervous and cardiovascular systems, and also cause delays and pathologies in the development of the embryo during pregnancy.
4. Tap water contains metal salts, most often magnesium and calcium. They form limescale on household appliances, pipes and plumbing fixtures, and also harm human health. These substances form kidney stones and gallbladder, as well as deposits in the joints, reducing their mobility and causing inflammation.
5. Aluminum can accumulate in the liver and destroy its cells, as well as penetrate into the brain, causing serious disruption of the central nervous system.
6. If the pipes are old, rusty and partially rotten, sewage water can penetrate into them, containing a lot of dangerous pathogenic and pathogenic microorganisms that cause such serious infections as dysentery, typhoid, salmonellosis and others.

How do you know if you shouldn't drink tap water?

Most effective method assessing the quality of tap water - its analysis. Therefore, if you want to find out the composition, then go to the laboratory, taking with you a bottle of recently filled water. As a result, you will receive a detailed report with the results and will be able to find out what exactly is entering your body.

But there are also clear signs of poor quality tap water and its unsuitability for drinking:

• Presence of significant turbidity. If nothing is visible through a transparent glass container filled with water, then this a clear sign Low quality.
• The presence of yellowish, red, greenish, brown or any other shade. Good water must be transparent.
• Unpleasant odor: putrid, rotten or acidic.
• Formation of significant sediment after water settles. Various impurities settle at the bottom, most often metals and their salts.
• Unpleasant aftertaste: bitter, metallic, sour, chemical.

How to improve the quality of tap water?

To make water suitable for drinking and safe for a child or adult, you can use several methods to improve the quality:

1. Filtration is the most effective method cleaning. The filter allows you to retain most of the impurities present in the water, including small ones. But for complete purification, choose a device taking into account the characteristics of the water. Thus, some models cope only with fairly large particles, while others – even with microscopic ones. The filter can be installed on the tap or built into the water supply. There are also jug models.
2. Advocacy – proven and highly effective method. If you pour water into a container and leave it for a while, solid particles will settle to the bottom, and the rest (in particular chloride) will evaporate. But the duration of settling should be at least seven to eight hours. It is also best to choose a glass container.
3. Boiling is used by many people to improve water quality and can kill pathogenic microorganisms. But there are several pitfalls. Firstly, some bacteria die only after boiling for 10-15 minutes. Secondly, during heat treatment certain part water evaporates, which means that the concentration of metal salts increases, which remain in place.
4. Freezing. The mechanism is quite simple: first the water freezes, and only then the impurities contained in it. To clean, place the filled container in the freezer and wait. When most of the water freezes, drain the rest. Melted ice will be cleaner, but still not ideal, since some harmful substances may be present in it.
5. Activated carbon attracts and absorbs harmful substances. Place a few tablets in a container of water and leave overnight. Or you can crush them and place them in a bag, which is then lowered into a jug.
6. Some people believe that silver can be used to purify water and improve it. The ions of this metal actually change the composition in better side, but do not purify the water completely.

You should not drink tap water without additional treatment. Clean it to make it drinkable.

The path is several tens of kilometers from treatment facilities to our kitchen. These pipes are several decades old, they are covered with rust and deposits of various harmful compounds. Drinking water can contain dangerous chemicals, including boron, arsenic and lead, which can cause rashes and allergies. Arsenic is a carcinogen and can cause cancer if consumed in large quantities. Do not use tap water to prepare baby food. It is better to buy special baby water.

Tap water may contain painkillers. They enter water bodies from sewers and farm wastewater, and then into the water supply. This may cause serious problems with health.

Tap water is one of the main causes of kidney stones. If you have had or still have problems with kidney stones, it is best to avoid drinking tap water.

What ? Look for a trusted water manufacturer or install a filter on your water tap and don’t forget to change it regularly. Although the filter cannot cope with all harmful substances, it will significantly improve the quality of the water. It is also not recommended to purchase low-quality water taps, because... they contain ions heavy metals which wash out and end up in the water.

In order for a person to always feel healthy and strong, he needs to drink at least 1.5 liters of fluid per day. But, as practice shows, water is not always useful. This is especially true for tap water.

Constantly drinking tap water can cause health problems. Perhaps the influence will not be felt immediately. But numerous studies have shown that tap water can slowly contaminate the human body with harmful substances.

Elements that make up water

Nitrates and chlorides can cause urolithiasis or cholelithiasis. In addition, they can lead to allergies or even stomach ulcers. If there is a lot of iron in the water, then this has a bad effect on reproductive function and has a negative effect on the liver and kidneys. Also, large amounts of iron increase the risk of heart attack.

Experts have proven that excessive amounts chemical elements, which enter the human body with water, negatively affect its health.

Toxic substances are also considered the enemy of the human body. They make immune system much weaker. In addition, they can cause toxicosis in pregnant women. Also, such substances can cause various mutations. Consequence negative influence toxic water on the human body can cause hepatitis and congenital anomalies in young children.

Pesticides, which are most often used in agriculture, can get into the water. They are used to control insects and weeds. Such substances, entering the human body with water, can increase the likelihood of cancer in the future.

Bottled water or tap water - which is better?

Tap water is not always healthy. Rather, on the contrary, you can be poisoned by it. But bottled water is not considered clean either. Tap water is tested much more often in laboratories, and is cleaned from time to time.

But as for the bottle bottle, it is checked very rarely. Especially if the water for a long time is in a plastic bottle, then it loses all its beneficial features. In addition, bottled water may contain elements that have a bad effect on the human body. The composition of such water may contain elements that are far from those indicated on the label.

Tap water also has its own positive sides. For example, it contains many minerals and vitamins that are needed to the human body. The same iron in moderate doses strengthens bones. Therefore, each type of water has its own advantages and

Just three or four generations ago, people simply did not face this question. Here is the tap, clear, odorless water pours out of it, which means we drink to our health! But the fact is that the quality of tap water cannot be determined by eye. “Easy Useful” will help you figure out why you shouldn’t drink raw water.

Dangers of tap water

The very first danger is viruses and bacteria, which can survive in poorly treated water or arise in stagnant water if there is stagnation in the pipes. Due to the danger of infection, it is not recommended to drink water from a hot tap, as well as from a cold one, even if it is clear, without any foreign smell or taste.

Another danger is a lack or excess of microelements. For example, iodine deficiency will negatively affect the function thyroid gland, and calcium deficiency affects the strength of bones and teeth. An excess of microelements is also no less, and sometimes even more destructive: an excess of iron not only causes problems with electrical appliances, but also greatly increases the risk of a heart attack, allergic reactions, destroys the liver and immune system. Excess calcium leads to disorders in cardiovascular system, kidney function, may cause the development of urolithiasis.

According to modern SanPiN standards, the quality of water treated at water utility enterprises meets all points. But in most cities the water supply networks are worn out. The water that has traveled many kilometers through such networks to reach our taps becomes contaminated again. First of all, this is evidenced by its turbidity, smell and taste. Communication pipes that are rusty and not cleaned to remove harmful compounds and dirt release substances such as boron, lead and arsenic into the transported water. They can often become triggers for allergic reactions - which is why you should not drink tap water if you have any allergies.

In addition, for disinfection, tap water goes through a chlorine purification stage. Its concentration in water healthy people cannot cause harm. But a person suffering from asthma or allergies often experiences discomfort even if he drinks just a little of this water.

Tap water may also contain antibiotics, hormones, and painkillers. They enter treatment plants from sewers and wastewater from agricultural and farmland.

It is also worth taking into account the area where you are going to drink drinking water from the tap. In most cases, drinking water is taken from surface large nearby sources, rivers and lakes. The chemical and quality composition of water depends on this.

How to purify tap water

We know that drinking raw water is not recommended, and out of habit we boil it. Boiling will indeed rid the water of bacteria, but not the chlorate content. You can get rid of this harmful chemical by letting water sit in open containers for several hours, the longer the better. And the already settled water should then be boiled. You can also get rid of harmful impurities by freezing water. Clean water freezes faster, so watch out: as soon as half of the water is total volume has become ice, you can safely pour out the rest. You can drink the water formed after the ice melts without risk to your health. It can also be used for cooking.

A completely affordable option would be to switch to bottled water. First, make sure that the storage conditions are appropriate. Water should not be exposed to direct sunlight, and the packaging must be free of defects. Secondly, pay attention to technical specifications(TU) on bottled water labels. So, for example, “TU 9185-...” means that when cleaning chemical composition water was not changed, and its natural properties were preserved. But “TU 0131-...” indicates that water purification in this case changed its composition. That is, this water may be obtained from a water supply or a well, and, accordingly, its quality will be lower. Be sure to recycle empty bottles. Read more about this at recyclemap.ru Another way to purify tap water is filtration. The most common types of filters are “jugs” and flow filters with the installation of a separate tap. They do a good job of purifying water from impurities and heavy metals.

So, is it possible to drink raw tap water? Most likely, nothing bad will happen if you take a couple of sips of this water. But drink it on a regular basis Not recommended. Choose for yourself the best way to obtain high-quality drinking water and be healthy!

Is it possible to drink tap water?

Is it possible to drink tap water?
Is boiled water healthy?
Is chlorine dangerous?

Is distilled water safe to drink?
Silver water

1. Tap water. Is it possible to drink tap water? Water that has been processed (purified) at Gorvodokanal enterprises, as a rule, meets the requirements of SanPiNa, i.e., is harmless to human health. But as soon as water enters the water distribution network, it is subject to secondary pollution: suspended solids (hence turbidity); colloidal iron compounds (color); chlorine, organochlorines, chloramines, iron oxide bacteria (odor, taste).

In addition, biooxidizable dissolved organic carbon (DOC) has been found in water pipes, and it attacks the human immune system. It is not for nothing that the distributing water supply network is called “ cancerous tumor drinking water supply systems."

2. Boil and drink? In addition, boiling or settling does not get rid of organochlorine impurities, for example.

When boiling, the bacteria contained in the water are destroyed, the content of volatile components decreases, but the concentration of non-volatile elements increases, because the same amount of harmful substances is now in a smaller amount of water, due to its partial evaporation.

3. Is chlorine dangerous? According to SanPiN standards, chlorine concentrations in tap water are not dangerous for a healthy person.

However, it has been found that for people suffering from asthmatic and allergic diseases, the presence of chlorine, even in such low concentrations, greatly worsens your health.

In addition, chlorine interacts with organic compounds, located in tap water, with the formation of organochlorine compounds, such as trichloromethane.
Trichloromethane is chloroform, which has been shown to cause cancer in laboratory animals in numerous experiments.
And finally, we must not forget that chlorine was used as a chemical warfare agent, that is, chlorine is still a poison.

A little history. The earliest proposal to chlorinate water was made by Dr. Robley Dunlingsen in 1835 - even before it was discovered that water could carry disease-causing bacteria. The first mention of the use of chlorine as a bactericidal agent dates back to 1846: Dr. Semmelweis at the main hospital in Vienna used chlorine water to wash his hands before examining patients.

On the one hand, water chlorination saved civilization from constant water-related epidemics. On the other hand, in the mid-70s. Scientists have discovered that chlorination can lead to the formation of carcinogens in water.

The presence of chlorine in water can also contribute to the formation of chloramines, which cause odor and taste problems.

There's no escape - public health standards require chlorination of all drinking water sources.

By the way, all other methods of water disinfection, including ozonation and UV irradiation, do not provide a disinfecting aftereffect and therefore require chlorination at one of the stages of water treatment.

But a person may decide to get rid of chlorine. How? Most affordable way Getting rid of chlorine at the individual consumer level means purchasing a filter for water purification. This filter is installed at the water outlet of the water tap or on the shower in the bathroom.

4.Is it possible to drink rainwater?
The atmosphere of the earth is no less polluted than anything else, so when raindrops condense in water, everything that “flies” in the air dissolves. This is how acid and radioactive rain occurs. Decide for yourself whether this water is worth drinking.

5. The most pure water- distilled. But is it safe to drink?
Suitable if there is no choice.
Firstly, the opinion that distilled water- the purest, not always justified. Distilled water is obtained by distillation, therefore, it may contain highly volatile organic impurities.

Secondly, the mineral composition of distilled water (or rather, its absence) does not correspond to the natural one (the absence of potassium ions is especially depressing).

It has been established that due to low level mineralization, the distillate has unsatisfactory organoleptic properties and has an adverse effect on water-salt metabolism And functional state pituitary-adrenal system, which regulates the main metabolic processes in organism.

Low-mineralized waters not only have poor taste, but also do not sufficiently quench thirst and are deficient in salt composition. A number of changes were also noted from electrolyte metabolism increased concentrations of chlorides, potassium and sodium in the blood and increased excretion in the urine.

In this regard, for drinking water the need to take into account additional criterion - physiological usefulness. This criterion provides for the standardization of not only maximum permissible concentrations (MPC) for chemical substances and elements, but also the necessary, optimal levels of general mineralization of water and the content of a number of biological macro- and microelements in it.

6.On the issue of “silver water”. Disinfection with silver, i.e. “silvering” has been known for a long time. Also in ancient india This metal was used to disinfect water, and the Persian king Cyrus stored water in silver vessels.
In 1942, the Englishman R. Benton managed to stop the epidemics of cholera and dysentery that raged during the construction of the Burma-Assam road. Benton established a supply of clean drinking water to workers, disinfected using electrolytic dissolution of silver, concentration - 0.01 mg/l.

There are two main methods of treating water with silver. By using first method The water is passed through activated (active) carbon treated with silver. With this method, the vital activity of microorganisms is suppressed on the surface of the sorbent, and silver cations do not enter drinking water.

By the second method Silver cations enter the container with water, suppressing the vital activity of microorganisms. Before using water for drinking purposes, silver is removed by adsorption or ion exchange.

We must not forget that silver is a metal, its saturated solutions are not useful for humans. When taking 2 g of silver salts, toxic effects occur, and with a dose of 10 g, death is likely.

Yes, silver - important trace element, necessary for the normal functioning of the endocrine glands, brain, and liver. But this fact is not a reason to get carried away with drinking silver water with a high concentration of cations.