Drinking WaterWhat You Never Knew
The definition of drinking water is simply water that is safe to drink. It is also water that is safe to use in the preparation of meals. Two thirds of the human body is water, and water is necessary for the healthy function of every bodily system. Statistics show that on average Americans drink approximately one litre of water each day. They further show that 95% of people in the United States actually drink less than three litres of water per day.
In the past it was believed that people needed to drink eight glasses of water per day in order to help the body function normally and stay healthy. New research has changed that fact. There are many ways that the body will excrete fluids throughout the course of the day through normal bodily functions. It is a scientific fact that the brain will tell the body how much fluid to expel, depending upon which function is doing the work at the time. The brain also sends messages to the body telling it how much fluid to keep in reserve. When the reserve is getting low, the brain will release the body’s thirst system and triggers the person’s desire to drink in order to replace the water that has been used. Experts suggest that it is essential to pay attention to that warning signal by replacing the fluids that have been used. They can be replaced by drinking water or by eating foods with a high water content.
It is estimated that chronic dehydration is common in 75% of people in the United States; hence, the title “the hidden epidemic”. Someone who is even just mildly dehydrated can suffer from a loss of energy and find that their their thinking is clouded. An interesting, however alarming, fact is that a water loss of between 9% and 12% of a person’s body weight can cause death. Dehydration, even at its mildest, can interrupt the healthy functioning of the brain.
Drinking water in some locations will be classified as hard water. This is water that is high in mineral content. Water becomes hard when it permeates through substances such as limestone and chalk. Hard water does not make healthy drinking water. However, this situation can be easily rectified by installing a water softener. The tank of this type of water treatment will receive the hard water as it flows through, and will replace the minerals picked up from the limestone, such as magnesium and calcium, with sodium ions. The sodium, or common salt, then enters the water and the water becomes soft, so to speak. Through these water systems, hard water becomes soft water and is now safe for human consumption and food preparation. An average household uses approximately 350 gallons of water per day.
When the water that runs throughout a home is hard water, the homeowner usually has a whole house filtration system installed. This system connects a whole house filter to the main water line of the home so that every place in the house that dispenses water will release only treated water. When researching this type of installation, the homeowner should be aware of what contaminants are in their water. Different pollutants and impurities need different types of filtration systems. The difference between a water softening system and a water filtration system is that a water softener will remove from the water the minerals that cause it to be hard, and a filtration system will rid the water of multiple pollutants, not just the contaminants that cause hard water. The three most common pollutants that can be found in hard water are chemicals, sediment, and iron.
When choosing a filtration system for their home, the customer needs to look for specific characteristics according to their specific needs. The flow rate will need to fit the home’s average daily water usage, including kitchen and bathroom sinks, bathtubs, toilets, dishwashers, clothes washers, and any other appliances that need a strong water flow throughout the course of a day. Along with the flow rate comes filter size, filter life, and port size. Everything needs to fit in order to allow the appropriate flow of water in an uninterrupted and comfortable way.