Category Archives: Water Filter

The little creatures living in your water

Microbes are single-celled organisms so tiny that a million could fit onto the tip of a needle. Not all microbes are bad, but some of them can really cause havoc in your body and health when they get into the drinking water. Here are several of the most prominent:

Fecal Coliform and E. coli

Bacteria whose presence indicate that the water may be contaminated with human or animal wastes. Microbes in these wastes can cause short-term effects, such as diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches, or other symptoms.

Cryptosporidium

Parasite that enters lakes and rivers through sewage and animal waste. This microbe has an outer shell that allows it to survive outside the body for long periods of time which makes it tolerant to many chlorine disinfectants. It causes cryptosporidiosis, a mild gastrointestinal disease. However, the disease can be severe or fatal for people with severely weakened immune systems. EPA and CDC have prepared advice for those with severely compromised immune systems who are concerned about Cryptosporidium.

Giardia lamblia

Parasite that enters lakes and rivers through sewage and animal waste. It causes gastrointestinal illness (e.g. diarrhea, vomiting, cramps). Giardia, like cryptosporidium, can survive long periods of time outside the body and is also difficult to treat with just basic chlorine disinfectants.

Coliform

Bacteria are common in the environment and are generally not harmful. However, the presence of these bacteria in drinking water is usually a result of a problem with the treatment system or the pipes which distribute water. This indicates that the water may be contaminated with germs that can cause disease.

Turbidity

Has no health effects. However, turbidity can interfere with disinfection because the particles can act as shields for viruses and bacteria and provide a medium for microbial growth. Turbidity may indicate the presence of disease causing organisms. These organisms include bacteria, viruses, and parasites that can cause symptoms such as nausea, cramps, diarrhea, and associated headaches.

Our Aura Alkaline Water Filter can successfully remove these dangerous little creatures from your water and provide you with the healthiest water possible, allowing you to live your life to the fullest.

Live near a farm? You might want to read this

Do you live close to a farm? If so, you will want to see the results of a recent University of Minnesota study that found the rate of groundwater contamination rising at an alarming rate.

Researchers indicated that nitrate levels in drinking water are skyrocketing. Nitrates are very dangerous and can cause severe illness and death when consumed above contaminant levels.

The University of Minnesota study explained that not only are nitrate levels already high, but they will increase 45% in the coming years. This is because farm subsidies from the government are allowing farmers to finance the expensive process of wetland conversion.

In simpler terms, the government is using our tax dollars to pay for farmers to begin spreading nitrate-packed fertilizer over groundwater sources. Not only is this costing you money, but it will also begin to cost you your health if you don’t take measures to protect yourself and your family from the coming onslaught of nitrates.

Congress has the ability to pass an appropriations bill that would protect over 1 million acres of land from further nitrate-pollution. Since they’ve proved themselves less than trustworthy, your best option is taking matters into your hands.

Even if you don’t live directly next to a farm, your water could come from an area with significant agriculture pollution. Research your local water utility and see where your tap water comes from. This is especially important in major farming states such as California, where farmers have free reign to fertilize as they wish due to high demand for their crops during this historic drought.

Since it’s highly unlikely that the government will cut back on farm subsidies or move forward with conservation measures, it’s imperative that you take matters into your own hands and personally filter your tap water. Evolution Healthworks offers a comprehensive line of filtration systems that will remove nitrates and 99.9% of other toxic pollutants from your water.

More on this topic from the Environmental Working Group (EWG)

Chemicals in Bottled Water: Where Do They Come From And What Are The Effects?

The more we learn about bottled water, the more it has become clear that is is not a safe alternative to tap water, as many of the companies lead us to believe. One of the biggest issues with bottled water is the amount of chemicals it contains.

How do chemicals get into bottled water?

Chemicals get into bottled water in two different ways. First, certain chemicals (like chlorine and chloramine) are present in the water that gets bottled in the first place. Many bottled waters are simply bottled tap water, so many of the common chemicals that you see in tap water are also present in bottled water.

The second way that chemicals get into bottled water is from the plastic that the bottles are made of. Plastic contains many different types of chemicals – such as BPA – that can leach off of the bottles and get into the water they contain.

How many chemicals are there in bottled water?

According to a recent study, a single bottle of water contains nearly 25,000 different chemicals. Many of these chemicals mimic the effects of pharmaceuticals in our bodies, and they can interfere with our hormone receptors.

For children, women of child-bearing age and pregnant women, the chemicals in bottled water have been shown to increase the risk of:

Stunted growth
Early puberty
Premature birth
Infertility
Early menopause

For the rest of people, the chemicals in bottled water have been linked to an increase risk of:

Diabetes
Heart disease

Why is a Evolution Healthworks home filtration system a better alternative to bottled water?

Our Water Filtration System provides you with the certified healthiest water, far superior to bottled water, and you dont have to worry about any of the other possible ways bottled water can contaminate you.

We offer Water Filters that can provide you with the purest and healthiest drinking water.

4 Factors Affecting The Taste Of Your Tap Water

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Most people think of water as being a pretty tasteless liquid, however, your tap water can vary greatly state by state, and even in some cases, city by city. Many home owners have chosen to install WATER FILTRATION SYSTEMS to improve both the taste of their water and remove the contaminants.

4 common factors that affect tap water taste

Disinfectant chemicals. One of the most common complaints homeowners have about their tap water is that it tastes like chemicals. The reason for this taste, is that water treatment facilities use chlorine or chloramine (a mixture of chlorine and ammonia) among other chemicals, to disinfect water before it’s sent to our homes and flows through our pipes.
Mineral leaching from pipes. Another common complaint about tap water is that it tastes metallic. This is often due to minerals like iron and copper that leach into our water as it travels through public pipes and/or the pipes in our homes. The severity and type of metallic taste in your water will depend on the age and condition of the pipes it travels through as well as the material that those pipes are made of. The infrastructure of the water piping is in serious needs of updates around the country, and in some cases water is flowing through pipes that pre date World War II.
Algae blooms. Algae blooms in source water like lakes and rivers are typically seasonal. When they occur, homeowners are often taken off-guard by the sudden change in tap water taste. The taste imparted in tap water by algae blooms is often described as earthy or musty. This was seen in May of 2014, as the water in North San Diego county was affected by the algal blooms in Poway.
Source of water. The taste of your tap water can change depending on where the water originally comes from. This taste difference is most recognizable between well water and city water, because well water often contains many more minerals that can affect its taste.

How Does Cooking With Unfiltered Tap Water Affect Your Food?

Many people don’t realize the amount of tap water they are using in the kitchen for cooking on a daily basis. If we’re concerned with the tap water we’re drinking, shouldn’t we also be concerned about the quality of the water with which we’re cooking?

Cooking with unfiltered tap water can negatively affect your health

Tap water is used in a wide variety of the most common dishes. Whether we’re rinsing vegetables or boiling a pot of pasta, the food we cook almost always comes in contact with our tap water, and in turn all of the pollutants that come with it. This means that although you’re not drinking that tap water out of a glass, you’re still at risk for the same health problems.

Cooking with unfiltered tap water can affect the way your food tastes

In addition to affecting your health, cooking with unfiltered tap water can affect the taste of everything that you make and consume at home. Just consider these common household foods and drinks that use water as a primary ingredient or require water for cooking:

Coffee, tea, hot chocolate and other hot beverages
Ice cubes
Sauces
Soups and stocks
Pasta (boiled with water)
Fruits and vegetables (washed with water)

If your tap water is contaminated with anything that alters its taste, it will also alter the taste of the food that you cook with that water. For example, if your water has high levels of iron, do you really want you coffee dark with a splash of iron?

Install the right filtration system for cooking with tap water

Improving the tap water you use for cooking will require a filtration system that provides more than just pure drinking water. We at Evolution Healthworks recommend our WHOLE HOME SYSTEM that provides clean water out of every faucet and shower head in your home. We also recommend our Aura H2O Water Filter, which provides you with the cleanest water for cooking possible, ensuring benefits for your health.

Pharmaceuticals In Our Drinking Water: Where Do They Come From and What Are The Effects?

According to a study released by the Mayo Clinic earlier this year, nearly 70 percent of Americans take some sort of prescription drug. This is up from 48 percent just a few years ago in 2007-2008. As it turns out, the increased popularity of prescription drugs is having an effect on our nation’s water quality.

How do pharmaceutical drugs get in our drinking water?

Pharmaceutical drugs get into our drinking water in three main ways. Many people flush their old and unused pharmaceuticals down their toilets and sinks, which allows the drugs to end up in our water supplies. In addition, trace amounts of pharmaceuticals end up in our urine, which adds the drugs to wastewater and eventually back to our water supplies. Another way in which we can get these pharmaceuticals back into our systems, is fish and other sea creatures absorbing them, and then humans eating them.

Are pharmaceutical drugs monitored in our drinking water?

There are currently no regulations that require water treatment plants to test for or monitor the levels of pharmaceuticals in our drinking water. We do know, however, that these drugs are making it past our treatment plants and into the water in our homes.

According to a study published by the EPA, more than half of the nation’s water supplies that were sampled tested positive for oxycodone, high-blood pressure medications, over-the-counter drugs (Tylenol, Ibuprofen, etc.) and more.

What are the health effects of consuming pharmaceuticals in drinking water?

It is currently unclear how pharmaceuticals in drinking water affect our health. However, it is a growing concern among scientists and health officials. What we do know is that hormones work at very low concentrations in the human body, which suggests that the drugs can affect our bodies even though they show up in low concentrations in our water. In addition, the increase of pharmaceuticals in water has been affecting the hormones and reproductive process of the fish in our water supplies.

If you’re concerned about the health effects of pharmaceuticals in your water, your best defense is to install a EVOLUTION WHOLE HOME SYSTEM or a A URA ALKALINE WATER FILTER. Both of these residential water treatment systems will remove the traces of pharmaceuticals from the water you consume in your home.

Dangers of Fluoride in Drinking Water to Bottle-Fed Babies

On March 22nd 2014, organizers at Clean Water California held a march and rally in downtown San Francisco urging local water companies and health officials to issue public warnings about the dangers of using fluoridated tap water for baby formula. Their concern stems from the fact that most Bay Area water districts encourage the consumption of tap water, yet do not inform parents that tap water fluoride levels could be harmful to newborns and infants which are more sensitive to this harsh chemical.

Water fluoridation is the practice of adding fluoride chemicals to municipal city tap water for the purpose of preventing tooth decay. This is a very controversial practice since fluoride can be toxic and any dental health benefits that come from ingesting it through drinking water have been largely inconclusive. In fact, some recent studies have associated fluoridated water with reduced IQ in children making it a possible neurotoxin that can damage young developing brains similar to lead and mercury. Parents that use tap water to make formula are often not aware that basic activated carbon water filters, faucet mount filters or boiling water methods do not remove fluoride or that babies are much more susceptible to harm.

According to the Fluoride Action Network, infants receive up to 400% more fluoride per pound of body weight, than adults consuming the same level of fluoride in water. Their underdeveloped kidneys can only excrete 15-20% of the chemical whereas adults can excrete more than 50%. In fact, any chemical, microbial or heavy metal contaminants in the water will be much more harmful to the growth and developmental health of not only babies, but also toddlers and young children, and should be removed. Fortunately there are water filtration systems that can do just that.

We at Evolution Healthworks make the AURA ALKALINE WATER FILTER which is designed to remove the contaminants including Fluoride, and unlike other systems, the water is then remineralized to make the healthiest drinking water. The filter, is application specific, meaning it is tailored to fit your home’s exact contaminant levels and remove them.
Fluoride is a dangerous compound, and whether it is ingested or absorbed through the skin, the compound accumulates in the body and regardless of whether you’re a toddler, child, adult, or senior can cause numerous health problems such as dental fluorosis, arthritis, and reduced thyroid function. We recommend everyone to learn more about the benefits of removing fluoride from the water, especially those who have an infant or young child in the home.

Arsenic 101: Basic Facts About The Metal In Your Water

Arsenic is a chemical element found in many minerals and mixed in with metals as a strengthening agent. The chemical is notoriously poisonous to multi-cellular life, and arsenic contamination of ground water is a problem that affects millions of people around the world. Kevin Westerling of Water.com answered 5 primary questions that arise from it:

What are the health effects of arsenic exposure?
How do most municipalities plagued with high arsenic levels deal with the 10-ppb mandate?
- Strategies for utilities typically include blending, acquiring new or less/uncontaminated sources, and treatment. Smaller water supply systems often have a hard time controlling arsenic levels due to lack of funds and other resources, so they look to the non treatment options.
Do you consider 10 ppb to be a safe level, and do you anticipate the maximum contaminant level (MCL) to drop in the future?
- The U.S. EPA and the World Health Organization have arrived at 10 ppb based on science provided to them by organizations such as the National Institutes of Health, but, in my opinion, the level should be set at less than 5 ppb. The MCL is often a compromise between science and the cost/benefit associated with the implementation of the standard. We are now more than nine years into the domestic implementation of the 10-ppb standard, and while there are still many communities struggling with the current law, there is evolving science that suggests the standard should be reconsidered. However, I don’t see any real momentum for lowering the level, either by the EPA or the individual states, any time soon. A major contributing factor to implementation and compliance of the arsenic rule is, again, the lack of funds. In other words, it’s pretty much an unfunded mandate. Implementing a lower treatment objective, without adequate funding, would further exacerbate compliance.
Are there important distinctions to be made between organic and inorganic arsenic?
- Yes. Atoms of arsenic bond with other elements to form molecules. If carbon is one of these elements, then the arsenic compound is an organic compound. Organic arsenic is rarely found in natural groundwater. It’s the inorganic arsenic that is typically found in groundwater and is the more toxic form linked to detrimental health effects. If there is no carbon present, then the arsenic compound is inorganic.
What technologies do utilities use to effectively combat arsenic, and how do they differ?
- The most common technologies used for arsenic removal are adsorption and coagulation filtration. Adsorption is a more passive process, but can have higher operating costs for challenging waters when compared to coagulation filtration. The latter entails more operator interface and routine sludge handling. Ion exchange is sometimes used, but requires regeneration and produces a hazardous liquid waste.

For more information about how to remove arsenic from your drinking water, call us today at 619-356-3766 to find out how our EVO Filtration System can remove this deadly contaminant and countless others that are lurking in your family’s drinking water. The system not only removes the contaminants from your water, but remineralizes it for you, producing the healthiest water for you and your family.

Algae Invade Southern California Drinking Water

myFOXla.com: Residents in a number of inland areas are dealing with some seriously stinky water, the result of a summer algae bloom in a state reservoir.

Silverwood Lake, the highest elevation reservoir in the state water project is suffering from an abundance of blue-green algae caused by warmer temperatures, possibly the result of global climate change.

The algae makes the water from the reservoir smell and taste musty during the heat of summer, according to the Metropolitan Water District.

Affected areas include Claremont, La Verne, Walnut, Diamond Bar, Rowland Heights, Upland, Chino, Chino Hills, Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana, Riverside, Corona, Norco, Eastvale, Jurupa Valley, Lake Elsinore, Hemet, Perris, Murrieta and Temecula.

The MWD says there is no health risk from drinking the water, although it may be somewhat unpleasant.

The Department of Water Resources is planning to spot treat the reservoir this Thursday and Friday with a form of hydrogen peroxide which will neutralize the overgrowth.

While the water is safe to drink, some water agencies are recommending refrigerating the water to get rid of some of the nasty smell and taste.

What Are the Effects of Algae In Your Water?

Blue-green algae, otherwise known as cyanobacteria or “pond scum,” are microscopic organisms that thrive in pools of standing water when exposed to sunlight during the warmer months of the year. Although they are not typically seen in homes, they are common in ponds and other standing bodies of water. Unfortunately in this case, they have thrived in the reservoir from which we get our drinking water.

Visible Effects

Algae can cause drinking water to change color, but in most cases it is undetectable. Only in extreme situations will the blue-green or yellowish-brown tint of an algae infestation become visible in faucet water. Algae-infested water may also produce scum.

Algae in drinking water don’t give off an odor until the problem is quite severe. In such situations, according to the government of New Brunswick, it will smell like freshly cut grass; in extreme cases, it will cause drinking water to smell like sewage or garbage.

While not all algae produce toxins, it is not easy to tell the nontoxic type from the more dangerous algae. Toxic chemicals released by algae can lead to a number of health problems. If too much is ingested, it can kill animals. According to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, humans who drink water poisoned by algae toxins can experience a litany of health issues. This includes long-term problems with the liver, digestive and nervous systems, including liver cancer. Other issues that can come up include headaches, sore throat, fever, vomiting and diarrhea. Contact with the algae toxins on the skin can lead to hives and rashes.

Checkout our Aura H2O Water Filter which can remove these harmful microorganisms from your drinking water. Our filter uses a 14-step, 3 phase filtration technology that removes the contaminants and remineralizes your water, producing the certified healthiest water possible.

Source: Ehow

How Do Nitrates Get In My Drinking Water? What Are The Effects?

Nitrates are one of the most well known, but dangerous contaminants commonly found in drinking water. It is particularly problematic for vulnerable individuals such as infants and pregnant women.

How do nitrates get in my drinking water?

Nitrates are chemical compounds made up of nitrogen and oxygen. Nitrogen and Oxygen are naturally found in soil, and are absorbed by plants as a source of nutrients. However, nitrates can also be created from various human and agricultural activities such as mining and commercial farming.

Excess nitrates are formed when microorganisms break down things like fertilizers, manure, sewage and the residue from septic tank leaks. When there are too many nitrates in the soil for plants to absorb, water runoff can move those nitrates into groundwater and surface water supplies (and eventually into our drinking water). For example, nitrates placed on corn field runoff into nearby stream, which then either are moved into rivers or sink farther down into the groundwater.

What are the health effects of nitrates in drinking water?

Infants: Infants are the most prone to experiencing health problems from nitrates in drinking water. Nitrate consumption can lead to the possibly life-threatening disease, methemoglobinemia, better known as blue baby syndrome.
Pregnant women and people with reduced stomach acidity: In addition to infants, pregnant women and people with reduced stomach acidity are also prone to methemoglobinemia from nitrate exposure.
Healthy adults: Although healthy adults are less susceptible to health problems from short-term exposure to nitrates in drinking water, prolonged exposure to high levels of nitrates has been linked to gastric problems due to the formations of nitrosamines.

Our Aura H2O Filter can effectively remove nitrates and other contaminants such as fluoride and chlorine from your drinking water.

Source: Colorado State University Extension

Is Your Shower Water Making You Sick?

The condition of the water we drink, bathe in, and with which we cook is crucial to our health.

Many people know about the dangers of pathogens or major contaminants in our drinking water, but the voluntary addition of chemicals such as chlorine by local governments can also affect our well being.

Chlorine is used in public water supplies around the country to eliminate pathogens such as viruses and bacteria from our water. Despite the benefits, chemical disinfectants like chlorine can have damaging effects on our bodies.

When local governments use chlorine as a water treatment, the chemical combines with natural organic matter to form compounds called trihalomethanes (THMs), also known as disinfectant byproducts. These compounds are toxic when consumed, inhaled, or applied to the skin and can have lasting negative affects.

Research conducted on the health effects of chlorinated drinking water demonstrate a variety of toxicity issues.

Several studies have found that communities using chlorinated or chloraminated drinking water have an increased risk of bladder, kidney, and rectal cancers. (Via NIH )
THMs from chemically treated water have been associated with a variety of poor birth outcomes, such as spontaneous abortion, birth defects, and low birth weight. (Via NIH)
Chlorine and chloramine vapors are associated with greater risk of asthma and may damage the mucosal lining of the respiratory tract. (Via Occupational and Environmental Medicine)
Freeradicals in chlorinated water have been linked to liver malfunction, weakening of the immune system and pre-arteriosclerotic changes in arteries. (Via Orthomolecular)

The compounds in disinfected water may be able to reach the gut not only through our drinking water, but also through daily showers and baths. A recent post at the Food Renegade blog emphasized this idea, not only highlighting the harmful effects of chlorinated drinking water, but emphasizing the possibly greater effect that showers and baths could have on our intestinal flora. As we know, there’s a strong connection between asthma, acne, autoimmune conditions and the health of our gut flora. With all of this, its fair to think that a microbial imbalance within the body is made worse by all of the chlorine exposure.

Showering and bathing in chlorinated water may expose us to even more chlorine and its byproducts than drinking disinfected water.

While our bodies can filter out some of the chlorine from our drinking water, the THMs and other disinfectant byproducts we inhale during showers and baths may be much more harmful, since the chlorine gas we inhale enters directly into our blood stream. It’s especially easy for our skin to absorb the chemical as hot showers open up the pores (Via Global Healing Center).

Even if you filter your drinking water, the amount of toxins you are exposed to from your daily shower or bath, through inhalation or skin absorption, may be cause for greater concern.

3 WAYS WATER CAN GIVE YOU RADIANT, YOUTHFUL SKIN

Research has demonstrated that the cancer risk associated with chlorinated water may actually be due to showering and bathing, rather than drinking the disinfected water (Via Oxford Journals). This implies that many of the risks to our health from chlorine and other disinfectants and there byproducts may be related to exposure via inhalation or on the skin, and not limited to solely drinking. A single chloroform dose from a 10-minute shower is equal to, and possibly greater than, that from the average two liters of water ingestion on a daily basis.

Improving the filtration of your shower and bath is just as important as the water you drink for these reasons.

Chlorine isn’t the only disinfectant of concern for people. Its derivative, chloramine can also cause a lot of harm. Chloramine exposure may be even more damaging to the linings of the lung than chlorine, and may release ammonia as another toxic byproduct as well.

The filters that remove chlorine don’t necessarily remove chloramine.

Chloramine can be removed for drinking water purposes by our Aura Alkaline Water Filter. This filter can give you the certified healthiest drinking water, free from pollutants such as pathogens, heavy metals, and chlorine.

There are no shower filters on the market that completely remove chloramine. The disadvantage to using them is they’re not as durable or effective as a whole house filtration system, and you would need a separate filter for each shower outlet in the house.

There are, however, whole house water filters that remove chlorine, chloramine, and other contaminants. Our Whole Home Water Conditioner ensures that every drop of your water in your home, is the purest healthiest water on the planet. Works to removes cancer-causing chlorine and other volatile organic compounds from the water in your home.