In an ideal world, the only heavy metal we would be cognizant of is the mus genre that originated and took off back in the early 1970’s. In the context of drinking water, heavy metals are something far more malicious, offering the potential to cause serious health damage to anybody ingesting them. But what exactly is heavy metal contamination, and how do you go about filtering them from your water supply? Today, we’ll touch on three of the best filtration processes to go about this, some of which are a little more “out there” than others. Let’s dive straight in.
WHAT IS Heavy Metal Contamination?
In spite of the world making serious technological advancements, the concentration of heavy metals in drinking water is still higher than it should be. These range from excess levels of mercury, nickel, chromium, zinc, lead and more. In many countries, it even falls outside of regulatory standards. It also doesn’t help that different governments have a different view on which levels should be considered too high. Naturally, heavy metals have become a major concern for health professionals, especially as they have noted the adverse effects they have on people in the long run.
Reverse Osmosis Filtration
Many water filtration systems will remove some of the potential heavy metals in the water. Often, these are the ones that are easiest to get out, including the likes of copper, lead and tin. Reverse Osmosis filtration takes things up a notch, focusing on getting rid of all heavy metals in the water throughout the process. It’s a technical process involving many steps, each of which you can learn more about on the Aquazania website. We use this filtration method as part of a larger, multi-step filtration process for our bottled and bottleless water supply.
The Distillation Method
Another way to get rid of heavy metals in the purification process is distillation. It works by separating contaminants through turning them into steam, and then condensing them in a separate container. It’s a delicate dance between maintaining boiling point only as far as getting rid of the contaminants, and not vaporising the core supply. The process mainly happens in labs, but DIY options can be created using online tutorials. It’s a laborious process, which is why it may be easier just to explore one of Aquazania’s bottleless water supply solutions (available to buy or rent) instead.
Cilantro Treatment
Although it may seem a little odd on face value, common garden-variety cilantro may be the key to removing heavy metals from water. This is the case, at least, according to a 2001 study using mice that had lead added to their water for a fixed period of time. Feeding them cilantro every day dramatically lowered the metal levels in their body over time, without them experiencing food poisoning. As recently as 2013, it has been tested on humans in Mexico too to some degree of success. Could a natural filtration treatment be the answer we’ve been waiting for? Only time will tell.
