Tap water can, sometimes, be free of harmful impurities but other times, not so much. If you’re apprehensive about drinking water with fluoride in it and want to consider using a water filtration system to remove it, here is what to know before you decide on anything.
Fluoride In Drinking Water
Fluoride is a negative ion of the element fluorine. It is not as bad for you. In fact, it aids in tooth strength and it is a key ingredient found in toothpaste and other dental care products.
About 99% of the body’s fluoride is stored in teeth and bones, so fluoride is necessary for your body if you don’t want to suffer from bad teeth and achy bones.
Fluoride, as much as it is good for the teeth, is also added to water. It is an essential mineral that helps to keep your body fit. However, too much of anything can lead to detrimental results and fluoride is no different either.
Fluoride has been a key component in tap water for years now. It was believed that since water is consumed by the mouth, adding fluoride to it will ensure that people’s teeth will be healthy and cavity-free. Well, that claim was thrown out the window pretty quickly. It’s effective when fluoride is applied directly on the teeth, rather than being passed by it, so fluoride has always been a target of controversy for a lot of people.
Fluoride, as the years have passed, has been known to have a lot of health risks. It can cause fluorosis, which is the darkening of teeth and weakening of them too. Fluoride has also been known to cause cancer risks and abnormal cell growth if it is consumed in too much quantity.
Fluoride can also lead to the lack of brain development, especially in younger children and infants. What started as a cost-effective way of controlling cavities on a mass level, turned into a potential health risk. Even though fluoride is not lethal, by any means, consuming it in too much quantities, that is in tap water, can lead to some problems.
How Does Fluoride Get Into Tap Water?
Fluoride is found in abundant quantities on the Earth. This is why it’s not as hard for fluoride to mix in with subsoil water in large quantities.
Fluoride is found in the soil, in fertilizers, in water, and even in seawater. It is also found in a variety of plants, it can be leeched off rocks and it is also present in a ton of foods. From tea leaves to certain vegetables and fruits, fluoride is in everything.
If that is not enough, fluoride is also found in a lot of nutritional supplements. A lot of the time, people take these supplements on a daily basis and even administer them to kids, so they can tend to have fluoride in their bodies.
If you drink a lot of tap water, and you haven’t tested it already, then there might be fluoride in a lot of quantities in it.
In some countries, the groundwater has a lot of fluoride in it naturally. In some countries, the groundwater has an abundance of fluoride in it, which is why its removal is necessary, so it doesn’t cause fluorosis.
In a lot of European countries, the addition of fluoride in drinking water has been prohibited because of the health risks it poses.
In the American states, fluoride is not only present in water but it is also found in milk and even seasonings like salt. Even though the quantities aren’t that much, it still can pose health risks, if people consume fluoride in a large quantity.
So, fluoride is something that can be found anywhere and in anything. So, you need to know exactly what you’re consuming before things take a turn for the worse for your health.
Levels Of Fluoride In Water
One thing that you can do if you’re worried about the levels of fluoride in drinking water, is to educate yourself on the levels that are considered safe and the ones that are not.
Less Than 1.5 mg/L
For water containing less than 1.5 mg/L of fluoride, it’s completely safe for drinking and you don’t need to take any action. You can safely resume drinking this water and there’s no need for any treatment or lowering of the levels. This level is pretty normal.
From 1.5 mg/L To 2.5 mg/L
If the fluoride levels in water exceed 1.5 mg/L and are lower than 2.4 mg/L, then it is also safe for drinking, but you have to know that this is the end line. If you have any fluoride-related diseases already, then you need to be careful and either treat consider water treatment Sharpsburg to reduce the levels of fluoride or consider a different water source for your house.
More Than 2.4 mg/L
Lastly, if the levels of fluoride exceed 2.4 mg/L, then this is where you need to take serious action. You need to treat the water to remove the fluoride from it so that it is safe for drinking. Otherwise, the next best option is to go for a different water source.
These are the only options you have for now, so it’s something that you need to keep in mind. While changing your water service may sound easy, it’s not always the case and people have to rely on treatment methods to get rid of the excess fluoride.
How To Test?
Also, if you’re wondering how you’re going to find out these levels, then a laboratory water test is perfect for you. You can either request your water supply company to provide you with the levels and composition of water, or you can visit your nearest water lab and get the water tested by yourself for extra peace of mind.
How To Remove Fluoride From Your Tap Water?
Speaking of treatment methods, here are two of the most effective methods you can go for, if you want to get rid of fluoride in water.
Reverse Osmosis
Reverse osmosis is a process in which tap water passes through a membrane that lets water out, but leaves the impurities behind getting rid of most drinking water problems.
Reverse osmosis uses a semi-permeable membrane that allows the water to pass by and leave impurities, including fluoride, so you know that the water you’re drinking is clean and safe. So, if you can, try to get an RO assembly for your house. You won’t regret it.
Distillation
Distillation is the process of boiling water into vapors and then condensing said vapors so that the water achieved in this way is almost 100% pure.
It is a time-consuming process and it gives very little water at the end of the process, but if you want 100% pure water and want to put your mind at ease, then this is something that you can consider. Distillation is a process used in a lot of industries and laboratories, so you know that it is safe and effective.
Conclusion
Fluoride is fine to drink in trace quantities, but it’s better that you know what your water has in it so that you can be mindful of what you’re consuming. If the fluoride levels are high or there are any other contaminants in your drinking water, install a whole house water filtration system Mt Airy.
