Glacier appeals to your sense and sensibility

Drinking water is vital to our health, so it is essential that its quality is stellar.

Although in some regions of the world, the populace is relieved to get water in any form, the developed world has come to demand the finer marks of purity – water that is crystal clear and free of odour or unpleasant aftertaste.

While most water companies provide basic filtration and chemical treatment to kill the worst microbes, sometimes the water that comes out of the tap offends the senses. It has an off colour, smells of chlorine and tastes even worse. It may meet the local government standards, but is unpleasant for those whose palates are sensitive.

A Treat, Not a Trial

Undersink filtration is a good remedy for this dilemma, making the water coming from your tap something you crave and not something you have to drink holding your nose. Not only does a glass of tap water taste better, but tea and coffee can be brewed with finesse.

“A cup of tea is about 98 percent water, so using good quality water is imperative for making a great cup,” explains a spokesman from Peet’s, an artisan coffee roastery and tea vendor in Berkeley, Calif., founded by Alfred Peet, a former tea apprentice for Lipton’s in London. “Bottled or filtered water is recommended when old plumbing imparts an unpleasant flavor, or in areas with noticeably chlorinated…the freshness of the water is important as well as its dissolved oxygen content, which seems to enhance the quality of the extraction.”

Cold beverages taste better with filtered water too. Chemical-free ice cubes make the last few sips of a drink a pleasure instead of leaving you with a chemical-flavored slurry that you wish not to swallow. Filtrated undercounter chillers also can provide a large quantity of cold water – ideal for large families, public venues and commercial settings.

Taking a Closer Look

It just makes sense to invest in a system that features activated charcoal filters (with silver and KDF 55 Media) such as the ones marketed by Glacier Water Systems. They not only remove chlorine, rust and other residual sediments, but they also rid your drinking water of trace chemical contaminants like trihalomethanes and volatile organic chemicals.

This feature is of considerable importance since current research findings are linking chlorinated water and its byproducts with increased incidences of cancer. According to ETI Biotech Ltd., a British non-profit health advocacy company, “Suspected carcinogens make the human body more vulnerable through repeated ingestion, and research indicates the incidents of cancer are 44 percent higher among those using chlorinated water.”

The U.S. President's Council on Environmental Quality further states that "there is increased evidence for an association between rectal, colon and bladder cancer and the consumption of chlorinated drinking water."

In the 1992 Morris meta-analysis study, a pooling of information from 10 different research projects on chlorinated water and cancer, scientists at Harvard University in the United States and the Medical College of Wisconsin concluded that chlorine byproducts were linked to 15 percent of rectal cancers in the United States and 9 percent of bladder cancers. Because of its controversial nature, many medical journals shied away from publishing this report, fearing public alarm. The study was eventually featured in The American Journal of Public Health after its former editor left the journal’s employment.

Why Use Your Body as a Chlorine Filter?

Although chlorine is an effective killer of deadly bacteria, it also has known health risks. Its opponents question why so many people are willing to ingest it. “Why use your body as a chemical filter?” they ask. Chlorination advocates say risking cholera, typhoid and exposure to other bio-hazards is out of the question. Perhaps the solution lies in between these two camps of thought. Chlorinate the water, but then run it through a good filtration system right before drinking it or using it for food preparation. Sounds like a win-win solution.

Installing a filtration system in your home has economic and environmental merit in addition to its health benefits. If you have been using bottled water for drinking, cooking and the pet’s water bowl, the burden of cost can be outrageous, and the impact of all those plastic bottles on the environment is irresponsible in this day and age.

Go Green, Get Healthy

Of course, there is an initial investment when buying a filtration system and maintenance costs for periodic replacements, but the dividends are many. By taking this simple step, you will ensure a healthier existence, an eventual saving of your hard-earned money, less waste in the landfill, and a reduced carbon footprint.

According to Eko Noiz, an environmental awareness group, Britons use 275,000 tons of plastic bottles annually. If everyone in the UK made the switch to water filtration and reusable drinking containers, more money would stay in their pockets and an estimated 15 million fewer water bottles would land in the rubbish bins each day!

Good Health Too

Dermal absorption of chlorine and inhalation of microscopic molecules of organochlorines that become airborne during a steaming shower or bath are causing concern among researchers, too. “Filtering both drinking water and bathing water is an important part of reducing the total load of contaminants entering the body,” reports Healthy House, an online allergy resource. “Ingesting chemicals such as chlorine from drinking water can cause symptoms in any sensitive people.”

Wholehouse filtration systems address these specific concerns, says a representative from Glacier Water Systems, eliminating exposure to allergens in the water that cause dry itchy skin and asthma symptoms. Filtering water and removing other trigger substances from the home will relieve stress on the immune system for individuals with multiple chemical sensitivity, says literature from Allergy UK, an online arm of the British Allergy Foundation.

“Filtering both drinking water and bathing water is an important part of reducing the total load of contaminants entering the body,” reports Healthy House, an online supplier of allergy treatment information and products. “Ingesting chemicals such as chlorine from drinking water can cause symptoms in any sensitive people.”

To learn more about installing water filtration in your home, go to: www.glacierwatersystems.com