Over the last few decades, the mainstream media has been inundated with horror stories about the water we are given through our taps. Many scientists suggest tap water is safer than bottled war, and many to the contrary. With so many conflicting accounts, it is hard to know what the best option for you and your family is truly, after all, water gives us life, and our bodies are mostly composed of it. So, if the water we are drinking is of poor quality, then that poor quality is running through our veins, arteries, and our entire bodies. No matter where you are in the world, you are always exposed to certain toxic chemicals through your water supply, just in such a small amount they can hardly be of any bother.

What Is the Best Way to Determine A Waters Quality?

Often the best way to determine whether tap water is safe to drink or not, is its color. If it is cloudy, it is generally considered to be full of potential chemicals and nasty additives. If it is cloudy, has an odor or a funny taste, it is very likely to carry pathogens and unsafe chemicals

With so many possible contaminants, it can be difficult to establish what is wrong with your water. For more information you can visit here, for a sure-fire guide to establish whether or not your water is contaminated. As, unfortunately, many people’s water is.

If after washing your hands, your hands are slimy, this is a sign of a calcium build-up, which can leave a lot of deposits on your skin, sink, or glass. The main symptom of so-called ‘hard’ calcium water is the slimy feeling after washing them, as if you had used laundry detergent or oil to wash your hands. Hard water is not a guaranteed chemical or pathogen carrier and can often be caused by an excess of magnesium, which poses no harm, but it does indicate the presence of aluminium, manganese, and lead.

The Color of your Water Matters

Water should only ever be clear, as mentioned in the paragraph above. However, water with a distinct coloration should always be avoided, water of a yellow hue can indicate the presence of chromium-6, a carcinogenic chemical that has resulted in multiple lawsuits, one namely by Erin Brockovich, which was immortalized in a film with Julia Roberts. It could also be indicative of metal deposits, such as copper, manganese, or iron. If the hue only appears when running cold water, it is indicative that your utility unit is just clearing its pipes in the water stream, unfortunately, your drinking water stream.

Other indicators of metallic deposits in drinking water are in orange or brown hues, which also are indicative of an overabundance of iron, manganese, lead, or even rust, which is a harbinger of bacteria and disease.

Water that appears to have a bluish or greenish hue is often indicative of copper, mostly caused by corroded pipes rather than your water supplier. While copper in small doses bears very little health consequences, high levels can cause kidney failure and anemia, as well as other long-lasting health issues that can become detrimental to your overall well being.

Always Smell Your Water

Many of us are familiar with the smell of bleach from tap water, however, did you know this can be harmful. This bleach smell originates from Chlorine added to the water supply to eradicate bacteria, pathogens, and germs, but when mixed with other components of the water supply, can create very harmful and detrimental extensions of itself. It can create a group of chemicals named trihalomethanes, which are linked strongly to kidney failure and have been suggested to be carcinogenic. It can also create halo acetic acids, which cause allergic reactions, skin irritation, and is thought to be another carcinogenic. Water with an evident chlorine smell should never be used in a drink.

If your water smells like rotten ages this is indicative of a heavy sulfur presence, a gas that can occur in groundwater naturally. When exposed to bacteria, it converts into sulfate, a chemical that can cause dehydration, stomach upset, and severe diarrhea and muscle cramps.

More insidious, even water that smells of fish could be indicative of a huge concentration of barium, a chemical that can seep into water supplies and can cause a huge increase in blood pressure, significant muscle weakness, and kidney, liver, and heart failure.

With so many potential detrimental side-effects from drinking tap water, it is no surprise many are opting to move toward the safer cousin, glass-bottled water. Glass-bottled water is said to be of very high quality, mineral water that is, and is recommended by the FDC of America and the NHS of England.