Your body is more than half water. And in a younger person, the proportion is even higher. A child’s body is 65% water, and an infant’s is 75% water. This is why infants and young children are at more serious risk from problems that lead to dehydration, such as diarrhea and vomiting. Being able to drink plenty of water is critical for keeping your body healthy.
But what if the water you drink is contaminated? If you drink water that contains germs, you might put yourself in harm’s way. You can even contract the very illnesses that lead to that dehydration, meaning your water is doing more harm than good. What contamination could be in your water? What can you do about it? Let us tell you all about UV water filters.
What Could Be in Your Water?
One of the most common contaminants of drinking water is coliform bacteria, including E. coli. This vicious pathogen frequently causes severe and potentially bloody diarrhea. But it can also cause a wide range of other serious illnesses including pneumonia, meningitis, and even sepsis.
Viruses can also be transported into your home via your drinking water, especially if you get your water from a well. These can include adenovirus, norovirus, and rotavirus.
Protozoans are single-celled organisms you might think of as things to look at under a microscope while studying pond water in middle school science class. But they, too, can contaminate drinking water. Some protozoans that can cause serious illness include cryptosporidium and giardia.
According to the CDC, groups of bacteria, fungi, and amoebas can form colonies that live together inside water pipes. This colony is called a biofilm, and it secretes a slimy, protective substance that can prevent chemicals typically used in water treatment, such as chlorine, from reaching the microorganisms within.
How Can You Keep Your Water Clean?
If even chlorine can’t get the job done, how can you possibly make sure that there aren’t microscopic living things lurking in your water and waiting to cause illness? Well, one option is to boil all the water you drink. Unfortunately, that’s not very practical, and it also won’t eliminate all your risk of illness.
Just by using the shower, you can get contaminated water into your eyes, into any open wounds, and even in your lungs by breathing the steamy mist. So your best bet is to treat all the water that comes into your house. What can you treat it with that’s even more powerful than chlorine? Try the cleansing power of light!
UV Water Filtration
At certain frequencies, ultraviolet light is lethal to single-celled living things. It breaks down the proteins that hold them together and scrambles their DNA. When you get a UV water filter in Cedar Grove, NJ, it’s installed where your water enters your home and treats all the water that flows through it.
Is it safe? Definitely! While lying under powerful UV light for a long time could be bad for you, which is how sunburns occur, this light is contained in an out-of-the-way place. You won’t have any exposure to it, and it doesn’t affect the water in any way other than killing the germs.
Contact MarGo Plumbing Heating Cooling Inc. today to learn more about your UV water filtration options!