The Truth of Water – Answers

Mark from California Writes:

For many years I’ve used a sediment/carbon/ro/DI filter, to take my 390 PPM city water to zero PPM for drinking. Been drinking it for a decade, water indoor plants with it, feed it to pets, cook and drink with it, and have no problems. Now i read all over the net, the dangers of drinking ultra-pure RO/DI water.  We like the taste, and have had no health problems we know of.  Is ultra pure water safe – if one has a multivitamin daily?

Hi Mark, thank you for the question.

I’m not a health professional so I cannot tell you specifically how it’s affecting you, based on the amount you drink, your multivitamins or your current diet.  I am a water professional, and I can tell you the properties of DI/R.O. water and why it is considered dangerous to your health.

For many years, DI/R.O. was considered the best water for you.  The rational was that if nothing was in the water except water itself, then this must be the best for you.  Nothing but water and nothing could hurt you.

Today we know this is not true for two reasons:

1. Natural water is a perfect source for vitamin and mineral absorption by the body
2. Ultra pure water is actually a very aggressive chemical.

I’d like to deal with the first point, of course, first.  One of my areas of expertise is the precise addition of chemicals to water.  If a dosage is called for, I get it there down to the tenth of a mg/L.  In order to precisely dose a chemical, to have it best integrate, mix, and dissolve in the water, it must be in a liquid format.  This is true to the point where if I have to deal with a powder or other solid chemical or a gaseous chemical, I dissolved it into a liquid solution with make up water before dosing it into the process.

In the same way, the minerals already dissolved in natural water supplies integrate far better into the body than do your multivitamins in pill form, and that is because of point two.

Water is called a universal solvent for very good reason.  It will dissolve just about anything over time. That’s why it has needed minerals dissolved in it like calcium, magnesium and Iron.  By removing those minerals and bringing it to an ultra pure state, you are creating a corrosive chemical.

Think of ultrapure water like a sponge. This water needs and craves minerals, and will get them from wherever it can.  Water likes to be in whats known as an “ion balance”.  The ions in the water that is in your body will move to fill the void by the new water without ions in it.  The result will be a lower amount of ions in the water in your body as a whole.  This works just like heat, which will move from higher heat to lower heat, leaving the whole reduced in temperature as a whole.

This also works in reverse. If your body has a lower concentration of dissolved ions, water with a higher concentration will impart some of it’s ions by this ion balancing process.

What all this means is that DI/R.O. water can be a problem, but it is not an acute problem, like high doses of arsenic in your water or certain pathogens would be. It is a chronic problem and can affect you when taken regularly over longer periods of time.  This is especially true for women who are at risk for or are suffering from osteoperosis.

I hope I’ve helped you understand why DI/R.O. water is considered a chronic risk.  I understand your liking of the taste, that is a personal preference that you share with many people. I encourage you to seek a medical professional to discuss this with them, and to see if your multivitamins and diet can help you keep the proper amount of minerals in your body.

If you need further clarification or want to ask another question, please don’t hesitate to write in again.

The word pH is a common one in water treatment.  So to it is common among households, healthcare professionals and the like.  You may be more familiar with acids and bases, as is referred to on either side of the pH scale.

Water treatment plants are careful to not only monitor the pH of the water but sometimes even adjust it.  Differing pH’s affect disinfection, filtration, coagulation, and even corrosion and the formation of scale. But what exactly is pH?

It simply refers the the amount of hydrogen ions (H+) or hydroxyl ions (OH-) ions in a particular substance. That’s it, that is all.

pH is measured in a scale from 0 to 14, with anything below 7 being acidic and anything above 7 being basic.    Acids are in the lower range of the scale and are caused by an excess of the H+ ion, and bases are in the upper range of the scale and are caused by an excess of the OH- ion.

The pH scale is not linear, it is logarithmic, measured in multiples of ten.  From a change of a pH 7 to a pH 6, there are ten times more H+ ions in the water.  From a change of pH 7 to pH 5, there are one hundred times more ions in the water, and so on.

Water purveyors aim for a pH the closest to 7 they can manage.  This is because a pH of 7 is what we call ‘pH balanced’, with neither an excess of the H+ or OH- ion in the water.  Water plants tend to be less concerned with water that is basic than acidic, because acidic water can cause corrosion and damage on distribution systems.  The ideal pH range of water is 7, with most municipalities allowing an acceptable range of 6.5 to 8.5 before they implement pH control.

pH of your body is very important to your health, so it is worth bringing up.  I am not an expert on health, so I would encourage you to view this post here at this site.

Lead in water, especially in Ontario, has been a hot ticket item for a long time. Since a high concentration of lead was found in the drinking water of a London Ontario home a few years ago, the Ontario government has instituted an aggressive new lead regulation aimed at municipalities, requiring them to take a sampling of lead in the older homes in their cities.

But where does lead come from? Simply, lead comes from lead. Lead water lines, plumbing solder with lead in it, lead fittings, gaskets, and even from old brass fixtures that have lead in them.

Large amounts of lead exposure over a long period of time can be toxic to human health, but it is especially detrimental to the old, the very young, and pregnant woman.  The elimination of lead in gasoline, paint, etc. has vastly reduced the amount of lead exposure to people in recent years.  However, if you are in an older home you could still be exposed to lead in your drinking water due to the old plumbing and fixtures. So how do you reduce or eliminate lead from your drinking water if this is the case?

Change your plumbing.

It’s as simple as that.  By ripping out all the plumbing in your house and replacing it with new materials, you eliminate all possibilities of lead contamination. This is the most expensive way, and there are other ways of dealing with lead.

Filter it out.

Both reverse osmosis and certain carbon filters will reduce or eliminate any lead in your drinking water, and can be easily obtained from water supply or hardware stores.

Run your water.

In order to contaminate water, your water needs to be in contact with lead for a prolonged period of time.  Exactly how long and how much lead you get in your water depends on the corrosiveness of your water, among other factors. However, the time is measured in hours, not minutes and seconds. The easiest, cheapest and fastest way to ensure there is no lead is to simply flush your tap for a few minutes when water hasn’t been used in a long time.

There is another way to deal with lead. There has been some discussion on epoxy coating the interior of your pipes. Personally, I think this is probably not a good option considering the filtration and flushing options.

Lead in your drinking water is a contaminant of concern.  If you do suspect lead in your pipes, it is easily and cheaply dealt with, as we have seen.