I’ve always said that the BEST place to start with your healthy house improvements is to start with your drinking water. And it’s been a HUGE topic of conversation lately — especially with the news of PFAs in water and other extremely toxic chemicals and toxins that go undetected by city water municipalities.
Water in your home is one of those things that so many of us don’t know enough about and it feels overwhelming to try and START learning about it. I get it! It’s a huge topic with a zillion rabbit holes that will likely scare you and leave you wondering if any water is safe to drink.
But I know you’re doing your best with the resources you have to make your home as healthy as possible. And so I’m SUPER excited to give only the information you truly need and one of my favorite solutions when it comes to filtering out water the nasty toxins in my own water (including PFAs in water).
WHAT REVERSE OSMOSIS DOES
Reverse Osmosis is one of the most common types of point of use water filters. This means they don’t filter out ALL the water in your home, but they filter out all the toxins at one specific location. Most people choose to have an RO system in their kitchen for cooking and drinking.
Many RO systems have multiple filters, which is how it’s able to reduce SO many different toxins. Not all toxins can be removed the same way, and so a multi-filter system is KEY to making sure you are getting everything out of the water.
A prefilter is in place to remove dirt, debris and large particles. The next filter is often a carbon filter, which is one of the BEST filters you can use to remove things like PFAs in water, VOCs, and chemical disinfectants and byproducts.
Finally, the last filter, the RO membrane, will remove heavy metals and additional toxins.
And if you have a GOOD RO filter, there is a remineralizer, which will adjust the pH and add healthy minerals back into the water that get filtered out in the reverse osmosis process.
PFAS IN WATER AND OTHER TOXINS FILTERED OUT BY CLOUD WATER FILTERS
PFAs: PFAs ahs been detected in water across the country as a byproduct from landfills, wastewater treatment plants, industrial sites and fire training sites. The toxic chemicals can impact liver enzymes, disrupt hormones and increase risk of thyroid diseases. It can also impact the reproductive system and increase cholesterol levels in the body. And once these toxins are in the body, it takes the body an extremely long time to naturally detox them out. (SOURCE)
Lead, Mercury & Heavy Metals: Many heavy metals have been linked to neurological problems and can leach into the water from either old supply pipes or from naturally occurring rocks and soil that groundwater flows through.
Mercury is most closely associated with neurological and behavioral disorders. It has also been linked to tremors, insomnia, memory loss, headaches and issues with the immune system, lungs and kidneys. It’s a serious toxin that is very poisonous to the body and should be filtered out immediately. (WHO)
Lead exposure can result in some really awful health complications in children, including slowed growth, lower IQ, behavior problems, learning problems hyperactivity, anemia and hearing problems. If you’re pregnant, lead can cause premature birth and can reduce the growth of the fetus. And even in adults, lead exposure can lead to decreased kidney function, reproductive problems and increased blood pressure. (EPA INFORMATION)
Fluoride: Fluoride can be either added to water or it can actually be naturally occurring, so even if you have a well, this is an important toxin to be aware of. Fluoride can have negative impacts on the skeletal system and bone density. It can lead to more fractured bones and prevent minerals from reaching the skeletal system. (SOURCE)
It also has negative impacts on the neurological system, especially in children, leading to cognitive delays and other memory deficits. (SOURCE)
And more recently, it’s been linked to issues with the thyroid gland.
Chlorine : While chlorine is used to disinfect our water from bacteria, the byproducts of chlorine are toxic to our bodies. Chlorine can mimic estrogen and impact our normal hormone production. Chlorine can also impact our natural gut bacteria, which can have secondary impacts on multiple systems within the body. (SOURCE). Not to mention that the chlorine in water weakens teeth and increases tooth decay due to the corrosion of the chemical and the inflammation it causes. (SOURCE)
Uranium & Radium: Homes built on certain types of soil can have very high levels of radon or radioactive substances in the water. And while normally, we test for radon in the air, the same concern for lung damage applies when there is radon in our drinking water. Radon in drinking water can also lead to an increased risk of stomach cancer as the toxin is ingested as well as inhaled. (EPA) It has also been linked to bladder cancer when ingested.
Nitrates: Nitrates can be found in groundwater, especially in areas with a lot of agricultural activity. Nitrates in water can be deadly for infants under six months old as it binds to the hemoglobin in their blood, restricting the amount of oxygen in their blood. It has also been linked to birth defects when ingested by pregnant mothers.
Nitrates have been linked to different types of cancers that affect the stomach and gastrointestinal tract. (ENVIRON RES PUBLIC HEALTH 2018)
Bacteria, Viruses and Parasites: Bacteria can live in your pipes and if you have well water, you can have bacteria and viruses in your water coming into your home as you don’t have any sort of disinfection happening. An RO system will remove bacteria, viruses and even parasites from the water.
LOW WASTE-WATER RATIO
While we don’t want PFAs in water, a lot of times, RO systems come at a price — and that is wasting water. Reverse osmosis systems can send up to almost double the water you actually use down the drain.
But what I really love about Cloud is that they have a 1:1 waste ratio. And this is due to the awesome holding tank that it uses. It only discards small amounts of water as it cleans and removes toxins from your home’s water supply.
REMINERALIZING
We know that the whole point of a reverse osmosis water filter is to remove PFAS in water and other toxins like heavy metals, pesticides and chemicals. But because it does such an amazing job at removing these toxins, it also removes healthy minerals that are naturally in our water to begin with.
Minerals like zinc, calcium, magnesium and potassium are important to our bodies, and it’s important to get them in our water as this is one of the easiest ways for our bodies to absorb those important nutrients (as opposed to supplements).
Cloud water filters has a special remineralizing filter that adds Calcium, Sodium, Magnesium, Potassium, Zinc and other trace minerals back into the water, creating an Alkaline water right from your faucet.
TESTING & CERTIFICATIONS
One of the best things you can find when you’re looking for an RO system, or any water filtration system for that matter are certifications. It’s one of my shopping rules when you’re hunting for the perfect water filtration system for your home.
Cloud water filters are tested by a third party and they’ve been tested against:
- NSF 42
- NSF 53
- NSF 58
- NSF 401
Another thing I’ve had a hard time finding in the past is a truly lead free faucet. But the Cloud water faucet that comes with the RO water filtration system is 100% lead free and completely stainless steel. This means no lead or other heavy metals are potentially leaching into your water AFTER you have it filtered.
After using the Cloud Water Filter System in my own home for cooking and drinking, I’ve been SO happy with not only how my water tastes, but just knowing that the water is free from harmful toxins and chemicals. I was also SUPER impressed with how easy it was to install and just how user friendly the entire system is for any homeowner.
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