Bottled water and water filtration systems offer safer alternatives to tap water. However, understanding how clean they are and how to choose the best option for your home is essential. While bottled water offers an immediate, portable option, a water purification system provides a long-lasting, cleaner solution. Learning more about the potential dangers in your water and which methods remove the most contaminants can help you significantly improve your home’s water quality.
Importance of Tap Water Alternatives
Tap water typically meets local drinking water standards, but this doesn’t always mean it’s the safest option. The United States has some of the world’s safest drinking water, and the EPA has strict drinking water regulations for more than 90 contaminants, including chlorine, arsenic, lead, bacteria such as cryptosporidium and giardia, and many more. Still, millions of cases of waterborne gastrointestinal illnesses occur in the U.S. each year because of contaminated drinking water. Public and well tap water can contain the following:
- Arsenic
- Lead
- Chlorine
- Chemicals
- Dissolved metals
- Nitrates
- Polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
Filtered and bottled water can help reduce the number of contaminants in drinking water, but it’s important to understand how the two options differ so you can make the best choice for your home or business.
Bottled Water vs. Filtered Water
When comparing filtered water vs. bottled water, it’s helpful to understand their primary difference. Bottled water typically comes in plastic bottles you can purchase by the case, larger-sized packaged water you can store in the refrigerator and 5-gallon plastic jugs of water that sit atop water coolers.
Filtered water is water that passes through a filter attached to your plumbing. A filter catches impurities such as chlorine, PFAS and dissolved metals and removes them from your tap water, making it safer to drink.
Is Bottled Water Purified?
Companies purify bottled water before packaging it if they collect it from groundwater or a municipal water supply. However, companies typically package water without purifying it if they package mineral water or collect it from a natural spring. This is because some purification processes can remove beneficial minerals from spring water.
Pros and Cons of Bottled Water
Some of the advantages of bottled water include:
- Convenience and portability: Bottled water’s portability makes it very versatile and convenient. You can take it with you wherever you go, and you can plug a water cooler into any of your home or office’s power outlets.
- Cost-effective installation: Bottled water eliminates the need to install filtration components on your plumbing fixtures. This is sometimes a cost-effective option when your family or company consumes very little water.
- No filter changes: Water filters must remain clean to filter water effectively, so it’s important to change them as instructed. Quality filters typically require an annual filter change, but packaged water contains no filters to change.
Bottled water is a fairly safe alternative to tap water, but you should also be aware of the following disadvantages:
- Recurring costs: While bottled water eliminates the need to replace filters, it requires weekly, bi-weekly or monthly water replacement. Whether you purchase cases of bottled water or 5-gallon plastic water cooler jugs, buying packaged water can become expensive. Each week or every two weeks, you must make a trip to the grocery store and ensure you have enough drinking water to last until the next trip.
- Environmental impact: Purchasing bottled water significantly impacts the environment because it creates more plastic waste and uses more water during the production process. Packaged water factories use water in their operations, which means each bottle you consume actually uses a few liters of water.
- Harmful chemicals and microplastics: Plastic bottles can contain harmful chemicals and microplastics that leach into water — especially if you expose the bottle to heat or let the water sit in the bottle too long. In rare cases, bottled water can contain parasites and cause illness if a company fails to follow proper production procedures.
How Does a Quality Water Filter Work?
Different types of water filtration systems are available, and choosing a quality system is essential to accessing the cleanest, healthiest water possible. Reverse osmosis (RO) is one of the most effective types of water purification treatment.
The RO purification process uses pressure to move tap water through a set of filters and a semipermeable membrane. This reverses water flow to turn concentrated water solutions into diluted solutions. First, an RO filter removes chlorine and sediment, and its semipermeable membrane removes dissolved solids. Next, a postfilter polishes the water to remove any remaining contaminants and ensure it’s healthy to use.
An RO water purification system removes more harmful contaminants than standard filters do, delivering safer water with an excellent taste. You can depend on an RO system to remove the following harmful materials:
- Protozoa such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium
- Viruses such as Hepatitis A, Enteric, Rotavirus and Norovirus
- Bacteria such as E. coli, Salmonella and Campylobacter
- Sodium
- Chloride
- Copper
- Chromium
- Lead
- Arsenic
An RO system also significantly reduces contaminants such as:
- Fluoride
- Sulfate
- Radium
- Calcium
- Sulfate
- Nitrate
- Phosphorus
Benefits of Filtered Water
Filtered water is incredibly beneficial compared to packaged water. You can experience the following advantages when you transition from bottled water to filtered water:
- Cost-effectiveness: Filtered water eliminates the need for constant grocery store trips and replacement water bottles or jugs. once your filtration system is set up, you can access clean water while saving time and money.
- Low maintenance: Filtered water systems are easy to maintain, providing a valuable convenience factor. You only need to schedule the installation and change the filter once each year. A filtration system also eliminates the need to lift and carry heavy water cases or jugs into your home or office.
- Quality water for various needs: Filtration systems provide quality water for various needs. For example, you can use clean, healthy water for purposes such as cooking soups, making coffee, boiling tea, freezing ice cubes, preparing baby formula, tending to plants and filling aquariums.
- Low environmental impact: A water filtration system has a low environmental impact. Using filtered water reduces the amount of plastic in landfills, and it reduces the fossil fuels companies use to produce plastic bottles.
- High-quality filtration: Properly filtered water contains fewer contaminants than bottled water because water purification systems use advanced processes to deliver the cleanest water possible.
Benefits of Water Purification From Long’s EcoWater Systems
Long’s EcoWater Systems offers excellent water filtration and purification systems with the following benefits:
- Reliable filtration: You can trust Long’s EcoWater Systems to provide reliable water filtration. Our ERO-385 RO Drinking Water System meets or exceeds quality and performance standards such as American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and National Science Foundation (NSF) standards.
- Easy filter replacement: We design the ERO-385 system with filters that are easy to change. You can quickly twist an expired filter out and twist a replacement one in.
- High capacity: The ERO-385 system’s membrane can handle 50 gallons per day, providing excellent performance that is perfect for home use.
Improve Your Water Quality With a Purification System From Long’s EcoWater Systems
When it comes to filtered water vs. bottled water, it’s important to understand what contaminants each option eliminates. While pre-packaged water contains fewer metals, PFAS and chemicals than tap water, plastic bottles or gallon jugs may leach harmful microplastics into the water you drink. Installing an RO water purification system in your home is the best way to access healthy drinking water.
Long’s EcoWater Systems offers whole-home water filtration systems and water purification systems to provide your home or business with safe, contaminant-free water. Our systems filter your tap water, diluting it and removing more contaminants than standard filters can. Contact us to learn more about how we can help you improve your home’s water quality.
