did you know your tap water may be toxic?

recently, i attended a wonderful lecture by the extremely knowledgeable mary cordaro at bausman & company. she gave us tips on water quality safety and conservation which also helps save money, minimize pollution and extend the life of plumbing.

as i prepared to write this lecture recap, i did some research which revealed startling findings on the safety of our tap water included in # 16 below from the ny times. also, some additional information came from eartheasy.

1. GREY WATER

re-use wash water for irrigation

2. RAIN WATER

supplemental irrigation from a catchment system

3. USE AS LITTLE WATER AS POSSIBLE/TURN IT OFF

while scrubbing dishes, brushing teeth, shorter showers, etc

4. EFFICIENT HOT WATER SYSTEM

hot water is the largest percentage of residential end use of total energy. consider the location of the hot water heater in relation to location of where water is dispensed and tankless water heaters. typically 20% of water in a household is wasted just waiting for the hot water to come out. consider tankless hot water heaters. flush system regularly to avoid sediment buildup.

5. MOLD PREVENTION AND WATER RETENTION

use non-toxic materials

6. PROTECT AGAINST LEAKS/FLOODS

get 1" lip sheet metal pan and leak detector with alarm and caulk cabinet

7. CHECK FOR TOILTE LEAKS

8. CHECK WATER METER FOR HIDDEN LEAKS

9. DON'T USE TOILET AS AN ASHTRAY OR WASTEBASKET

10. LOW FLOW PLUMBING

11. TANK BANK OR FLOATER BOOSTER

be sure to leave room for 3 gallons of water in the toilet tank

12. INSULATE PIPES

13. USE DISHWASHER AND WASHING MACHINE FOR FULL LOADS ONLY

14. COMPOST INSTEAD OF USING DISPOSAL

disposals require a lot of water and impact septic system

15. USE A BROOM NOT A HOSE (OR THE HIGHLY POLLUTING BLOWER) TO CLEAN SIDEWALK

16. WATER FILTRATION

mary says that for bathing, a filter is fine but for drinking, purifying is also necessary since there are already many questionable toxic elements in tap water and our water supplies are getting more and more polluted. in fact, according to a NY times article this year, violations of the 'clean water act' has risen steadily! Also in the article, Lisa P Jackson, the new EPA administrator, said "today the nation's water does not meet public health goals, and enforcment of water pollution laws is unacceptably low." It also mentions that according to some Times research, "an estimated 1 in 10 Americans have been exposed to drinking water that contains dangerous chemicals or fails to meet a federal health benchmark in other ways."

however, mary doesn't recommend switching to bottled water, since that industry's not required to be any better than tap water, and some argue it's worse than tap water. her recommendation is filtration which also protects plumbing with regular maintenance (removing pipe scale is very important). one solution is a product mary sells, the effective and efficient performax system which even meets future ecological guidelines!

17. SAFE WATER BOTTLES

replace your plastic bottles made of PET which are hazardous to our health with safe bottles.