Do you want to know more about the minerals found in drinking water and how to remove them? Drinking water is an essential part of our lives, so it's important that we understand what's going on with it. This article will discuss two methods for removing these minerals from your water: boiling or using a filter. Boiling your water is one way to ensure that lead or other harmful substances don't get into your system, but this method takes a long time and may not be practical for everyone. The second option is distillation followed by reverse osmosis which can also help purify your drinking water.
1. Minerals Found In Drinking Water
While some minerals are necessary for our health, others can cause major health problems, damage our cutlery, stain our teeth and damage our pipes. It's important to remove these harmful substances from our drinking water before consuming it.
Manganese
Manganese is a metal found naturally in the soil, and it enters your drinking water through the erosion of rocks. There are small amounts of manganese found in most food products, but the manganese in water systems is usually manganese II or III. It's possible for manganese II and III to form deposits on your kitchenware and it can also discolor your teeth.
High concentrations of manganese in drinking water could also increase the chance of you developing manganese poisoning- this is where manganese combines with oxygen to form manganese oxide which you can't filter or boil away. If manganese levels are too high, boiling the water won't do anything to remove manganese oxide from your drinking water which can cause manganese poisoning.
The recommended limit for manganese in drinking water is 50 micrograms per liter, but concentrations as high as 3000 micrograms per liter have been reported. If you're worried about the levels of manganese in your drinking water, boiling the water could be effective at reducing manganese content.
Iron
Iron is a metallic element that can be found in water supplies. Although there are health benefits of iron if consumed in the right amount, the CDC recommends that adults should not consume more than 45 milligrams per day because it could lead to serious health problems like cancer and heart disease. Iron stains your teeth and corrodes your cutlery, and its high concentration in water is also responsible for the brown, red and yellow stains on walls and toilets. High concentrations of iron can cause digestive problems and skin rashes and it can definitely be dangerous if consumed in large quantities.
The recommended limit for iron in drinking water is 0.3 to 4 milligrams per liter, so you should filter your water if you're worried about the iron content.
Lead
Lead is a metal that was used in paint and gasoline until it was banned in the 1970s. Lead is still found in some old pipes and plumbing, and it can enter your drinking water through these systems. Lead is a toxin that can cause major health problems like infertility and kidney disease. The recommended limit for lead in drinking water is 15 micrograms per liter, but concentrations as high as 2500 micrograms per liter have been found.
2. Methods For Removing Minerals From Drinking Water
Boiling your water is one way to ensure that lead or other harmful substances don't get into your system, but this method takes a long time and may not be practical for everyone. The second option is distillation followed by reverse osmosis which can also help purify your drinking water.
Distillation
Distillation is a process where you heat water until it turns into steam. The steam rises and is collected in a container where it cools and turns back into the water. This leaves behind any contaminants like lead or arsenic that are found in the water.
Reverse Osmosis
Reverse osmosis is a process where you force pressurized water through a semipermeable membrane. This membrane only allows water molecules to pass through, and it removes any harmful substances like lead, arsenic, or chlorine from the water.
If you're worried about the levels of minerals in your drinking water, boiling the water could be effective at reducing manganese content. However, if you're worried about concentrations of iron, lead, or other harmful substances, distillation followed by reverse osmosis is your best option.
Water is essential for our survival, but that doesn't mean all of the minerals found in it are healthy for us. In fact, some of these minerals can even be toxic. One example is lead which can cause major health problems like infertility and kidney disease. However, there are a few ways to remove these minerals from your water- the first being boiling or using a filter, and the second option is distillation, followed by reverse osmosis.
