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Why
is Chlorine Added to Our Water?
I
have been asked this question a million
time---or at least it feels like it.
Anyway, chlorine is added to the public
water supplies because it is a highly efficient
disinfectant that kills most disease-causing
bacteria, which can come in contact with the
water or the pipes that transport the water to
our homes.
However,
when chlorine is introduced into the water
supply it reacts with other naturally occurring
elements to form trihalomethanes (THMs), which
are toxic.
THMs have been linked to several health
problems including asthma, eczema, bladder
cancer, and heart disease to name a few.
There
are alternatives to chlorine such as
eliminating water pollution and cleaning up our
watersheds.
Nevertheless, we must be realistic and
realize that this will not happen overnight.
Another alternative to adding chlorine
to our drinking water is the use of ozone,
which several European and Canadian cities use
to disinfect their water supplies.
In addition, the cities of Las Vegas,
Nevada and Santa Clara, California in the
United States also use ozone to disinfect their
water supplies.
There
are still other options, including installing
home filtration systems.
Carbon-based filters are considered the
most effective at removing THMs and other
toxins. To
have a better understanding of which filter is
best for you, please visit the following
website: http://www.WaterFilterRankings.com.
This is a consumer website, which
compares various water filters on the bases of
price and effectiveness.
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