Is tap water safe to drink? 4 ways to make tap water drinkable Throughout the course of your life, the subject of ‘is tap water safe to drink’ is going to come up and be talked about. Whether that’s with people who normally live in the UK or those just visiting. Tap water is a very subjective topic with some people telling you it is safe to drink tap water and some people telling you to avoid it at all costs. We’ve been in the business of water filtration since 2011 and have heard it all! That’s why, as water filter specialists we can help guide you towards making decisions that are right for you about your household drinking water. We are lucky in the UK, in that household tap water is potable. Potable water is a term commonly used to refer to water that is safe to drink, cook with, and wash in. It has normally been treated and tested to ensure its of high enough quality for human consumption. But just because it’s met the strict standards for drinking water set by the relevant authorities in the UK (World Health Organisation (WHO) and the English, Welsh, and Scottish governments) that doesn’t mean you have to like drinking tap water. Those same authorities will happily tell you that you don’t need a water filter or drinking water tap either. It wouldn’t make sense would it, that on one hand these authorities are telling you that tap water in the UK is safe to drink and then on the other hand telling you to filter your water. That’s why we are here! In this article, we’ll take you on your very own UK tap water journey so that you can answer that burning question ‘is UK tap water safe to drink’ and be armed with knowledge on ‘why not to drink tap water in the UK’ without putting it through a water filter first. And at the end you’ll find four ways to make your tap water more drinkable. Key Points UK mains tap water is potable, meeting some of the world’s strictest standards, so it’s safe to drink even if you don’t love the taste. Cloudy or discoloured water is almost always harmless air or naturally occurring chalk, and changes in taste or smell usually come down to chlorine, water source, season, or your own plumbing. Lead is the one genuine concern, and only in older properties with lead pipes or solder; filtering is the quickest, cheapest first step. Water quality can occasionally dip due to weather, mechanical failure, or mains disturbances, sometimes triggering a boil notice; a bacteria filter removes the need to boil. On mains water, kitchen and bathroom taps deliver the same water, but you should avoid drinking warm water from any tap, especially in older homes. Bottled and canned water are costly, less sustainable, and no safer than tap; a water filter or filter bottle is the better long-term answer. Table of contents What’s in UK tap water? The quality of your water isn’t always the same You also must take some responsibility! What’s the difference between kitchen water and bathroom water? Drinking warm tap water What are the alternatives to drinking tap water in the UK? How to make tap water taste better FAQs What’s in UK tap water? If you want to know more about your water, a good starting point is your local water company. If you’re unsure who that is, look at one of your water bills or this handy tool will tell you. The standards for water quality are there to protect you. They cover metals such as lead and copper, micro-organisms, chemicals such as pesticides and nitrates, and the way the water tastes and smells. Your local water company can give you the breakdown of the water that’s supplied to you. Let’s now go through the different kinds of things that may or may not be in UK tap water. Discolouration Have you ever poured a glass of water straight from the tap, without it having gone through a water filter first, and it appears cloudy? We get calls from people who say their water looks ‘milky’, closely followed by ‘is tap water safe to drink?’. It’s really nothing to worry about as it’s nearly always air or small deposits of naturally occurring chalk. You often get the same even if your tap water has been through a water filter, and again it’s just air and absolutely nothing to get worked up about. Try running your tap slowly for a few minutes and the water should clear. In almost all cases, discoloured water may look weird but it’s perfectly safe. Sometimes your tap water can be brown, black, or orange, and this is normally due to harmless deposits if there has been a disturbance in the water mains such as repairs to a leak or burst pipe. Taste and smell You may have travelled throughout the UK and decided that you don’t like the taste and smell of the tap water in different locations and think to yourself is UK tap water safe to drink? Before you go rushing to the supermarket to clear the shelves of bottled water, keep on reading. That tap water you are drinking is safe, but your tastebuds get very used to what you have at home and that makes you very aware of anything that tastes or smells different. Back at home, there are a few reasons why you might occasionally become aware of the changing taste and smell of your tap water. Chlorine Chlorine is used to keep your water supply safe by killing harmful bacteria. The levels of chlorine may fluctuate to ensure your tap water is meeting quality standards, and the closer you live to the treatment works the stronger the smell and taste of chlorine. Water source Where your water comes from can change. For example, some water companies are increasing their use of boreholes so in areas that used to have soft water – people are experiencing more difficulties with limescale. Time of year Seasonal weather changes can alter the way water tastes and smells. Reservoir catchment areas are mainly in rural areas, so winter animal stock movements require increasing the amount of chlorine added to the water to ensure microorganisms don’t contaminate the supply. Your plumbing The materials used in your plumbing system, or a breakdown of components used may cause your tap water to taste and smell differently. Limescale The focus of this article isn’t about the annoying effects of hard water, but we do need to highlight that no matter where you live in the country your water is going to be hard or soft, or somewhere in between. Find out how hard is the water in your area here. The general rule of thumb, working from the top of the UK down, is that tap water becomes harder the further south and east you live. The naturally occurring minerals of calcium and magnesium are the culprits here. Although tap water containing these two minerals is safe to drink, they are also the cause of all the furring and scaling on your kettle and other household appliances. Lead If you have lead lurking in your water that’s a very good reason why not to drink tap water in the UK, and you need to do something about it. Lead can be particularly harmful to young children and pregnant women. However, before you start panicking, you only need to worry about this if you have old lead pipes in your house. We know that ripping out and replacing old lead pipes can be time consuming and costly, so we would always encourage you to start with the simplest and most cost-effective solution first and that would mean filtering it out. It’s very quick and easy to check if you have lead pipes. Find the point where the external water pipe enters your house. It’s usually under your kitchen sink at the stop cock. Lead pipes that haven’t been painted will appear dark grey or black in colour and the joints may appear swollen. With a coin, scrape the metal and if it’s lead it will leave a shiny silver strip. Lead is quite a soft metal. Fluoride Aside from the naturally occurring fluoride in your tap water, if the area you live in hasn’t had the water supply artificially fluoridated then you don’t need to worry about it. We respect people’s decisions on whether they agree or disagree with artificial fluoridation as an aide to reduce tooth decay. If you disagree, then it’s easy to do something about it with our easy to install drinking water solutions. The quality of your water isn’t always the same As with anything in life, stuff happens. And that goes for water too, with incidents that may have a negative effect on the quality of your tap water and make you question is water from the tap safe to drink. The causes of these incidents vary, but may include: Poor weather – significant periods of poor weather can whip river sediment up into a frenzy thereby decreasing the raw water quality. Raw water is untreated water, i.e., the stage before the water treatment works. Mechanical failure – if pumps stop working or the power fails at the treatment works this can have an impact on the water quality. Journey through the mains – leaks and bursts in the water mains can make the water unclear due to the disturbed sediment inside the pipes. Did you know that there are approximately 348,723km of mains water pipes looked after by the various water companies and that 3,031 million litres of water were leaked each day between April 2019 and March 2022. That’s the equivalent of 1,212 Olympic swimming pools per day. Incidents may result in you receiving a ‘boil notice’ from your water company. What is a boil notice and what should I do if I get one? One of the best ways to kill bacteria or viruses in tap water is to boil it. If you get one of these notices it means that your tap water might contain harmful bacteria or viruses and you shouldn’t use your tap water for drinking, cleaning your teeth, making food or ice cubes, or giving it to your pets. You can still shower or have a bath – just don’t drink the bath water! However, think about the following. If you had one of our bacteria water filters with one of our 3-way water filter taps or a drinking water filter with your favourite from our wide selection of drinking water filter taps then you wouldn’t need to boil your water. You also must take some responsibility! It’s probably unlikely, but there is a small possibility that your internal plumbing may be causing some issues and therefore making your tap water unsafe to drink and cook with. If your plumbing hasn’t been fitted or maintained properly this can cause taste issues and water discolouration. While the poor taste and colour of the water may not mean it’s unsafe to drink, a build-up of bacteria and micro-organisms at the tap ends may. So, keep on top of your cleaning! We’ve also had a few customers who’ve had a new water filter tap installed and then had a water analysis done and they find that they have low levels of nickel in their water. That’s because nickel can be leached from the new tap for a short period of time after installation. What’s the difference between kitchen water and bathroom water? Unless you are on a private water supply there is no difference between water that comes out of the bathroom or kitchen tap on a mains supply. So, it’s perfectly safe to drink from either tap as the water quality is the same. I remember as a child hearing conversations about bathroom tap water and is bathroom tap water safe to drink. I spent a lot of years thinking that I couldn’t. Experience has taught me a lot and I now happily drink water from the bathroom tap if I’m thirsty. Drinking warm water or cooking with warm water directly from your kitchen tap is a different thing altogether. Drinking warm tap water It doesn’t sound that appealing, does it? Can you drink warm tap water? The most straightforward answer to this is MAYBE. We would suggest avoiding it depending on the following reasons. When your house was built – in a modern house you’ll probably be ok to drink warm tap water, but in older houses there may be lead pipes or lead solder to hold the pipes together. If there are lead pipes or lead solder, warm water will dissolve the lead more easily causing lead contamination. It is unsafe to drink that. What type of plumbing system you have – with old fashioned, unsealed heating systems there is usually a cold tank in the loft where water is stored. This can become contaminated with bacteria and other microorganisms. You don’t want to drink that. To be quite honest, we would recommend avoiding drinking warm water from any tap. What are the alternatives to drinking tap water in the UK? If you are toying with the idea of whether tap water is safe to drink in the UK, there are a few alternatives that should only be used on a temporary basis due to the financial cost and lack of environmental sustainability. Bottled water – an eye watering 2.51 billion litres of bottled water was consumed in the UK in 2021, worth an estimated 1.64 billion British pounds. Plastic bottles are the most common form of packaging with less than 5% of water being sold in glass bottles. Contrary to popular and misguided belief, bottled water is no safer to drink than tap water in the UK. The UK has some of the highest standards in the world when it comes to water hygiene. Canned water – the supermarket shelves are rapidly filling up with flavoured and non-flavoured canned water. It’s a slightly more sustainable option than plastic bottles, but the major brands all argue over who does it better! How to make tap water taste better Add some fruit such as lemons, strawberries, kiwi fruit, or some cucumber and mint. These will drown out any bad tastes or smells. Allow the tap water to sit for a bit before drinking it. Did you know that chlorine dissipates after 24 hours. Fill a water filter bottle so you have fresh filtered water while on the go. Install one of our stunning water filter taps for home along with one of our drinking water filters and you’ll never have to have that debate ‘is tap water safe to drink’! We’re lucky in the UK to have such good access to predominantly safe and clean water for most of the time. We have robust laws that underpin the expected high standards of the public water supply in the UK so that residents have access to potable water. So, please enjoy the fact that you can turn on the tap and the water isn’t going to harm you. We realise it’s all down to personal preference and you have a multitude of options at your fingertips to treat your water in whichever way you choose. That’s why we are here to help in any way we can, providing solutions to all water related problems. FAQs What is potable water UK? Potable water UK is water that has been treated and tested to ensure it is safe to drink, cook with, and wash in. Can you drink bathroom tap water UK? Yes, bathroom tap water in the UK is safe to drink if you are on mains water. The water is the same whether it comes from the bathroom or kitchen tap. How clean is tap water UK? Tap water is clean in the UK. You are fortunate in that UK water has been treated to some of the most stringent levels in the world, overseen by the Drinking Water Inspectorate. About the author Louise Allen is a partner at Fountain Filters, where she's helped run the business since 2011. Alongside the day-to-day order management, despatch, and quality, she's built up a practical, hands-on knowledge of water filtration, and reviews the site's articles to keep the advice accurate and genuinely useful. Outside work, she's run the London Marathon with business partner Simon.
0 when to replace water filter cartridge safe drinking water
When you need to replace your water filter cartridge regularly to ensure safe drinking water To ensure a continuous stream of excellent quality water from your household taps, it’s extremely important to keep on top of when to replace water filter cartridges. When you initially made the decision to invest in a water filter there was a reason behind it. You wanted to remove or reduce certain contaminants or treat pesky limescale. Part of that promise you made to yourself to have access to clean excellent quality water was to know when to change the water filter cartridge and carry out proper maintenance of your system. Changing water filter cartridges isn’t an onerous or necessarily expensive task. You only need to think about it once or twice a year and we even remind you when to replace water filter cartridges. It can’t get easier than that! Before we get into the simple process of when to change water filter cartridges let’s clarify the terms we’re going to use throughout this article. Water filter – refers to the whole unit including the housing, components, and fittings. Water filter cartridge/s – refers to the cartridge or media that gets inserted into the housing. This is the part that requires changing to ensure that your water filter operates efficiently and effectively. We often have some very funny conversations with people who get confused between the two. Can you imagine the cost, not to mention the waste, if you changed the water filter all the time! Now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s move on. Key Points The ‘water filter’ is the whole housing unit; the ‘cartridge’ is the replaceable media inside, and it’s only the cartridge you need to change. Tell-tale signs it’s time to change include a dropping flow rate, the taste or smell reverting, discoloured water, or scale and sediment reappearing. As a rule, change cartridges every 6–12 months, and get into the habit of doing so at least every 12 months to prevent bacteria build-up. UV lamps are the exception; they must be replaced every 12 months, with pre-filter sediment cartridges changed alongside. Larger cartridges last longer than smaller inline ones, and Doulton ceramic carbon block cartridges should be changed every 6 months. Replace o-rings every two to three years to avoid leaks, recycle spent cartridges where possible, and use our 6-monthly reminder email to stay on track. Table of contents Signs to look out for of when to change the water filter cartridge What happens if you don’t replace water filter cartridges? When to replace the water filter cartridge Where can I find the right cartridge for my water filter? How to replace a water filter cartridge Don’t forget to recycle your water filter cartridges A reminder of the service we offer at Fountain Filters FAQ Signs to look out for of when to change the water filter cartridge ‘How do I know when my water filter needs replacing?’ This is a question we get asked multiple times. And yes, we know they mean water filter cartridge! There are some very clear signs to look out for that will tell you when you need to change your water filter cartridge. Ignoring these common signs will mean that your water filter won’t be effectively filtering your water the way you want it to. Water flow rate drops Invisible microscopic particles block water filter cartridges up over time and this impacts on the flow rate that you get coming out of your taps. It is much harder for water to pass through a clogged up cartridge. It would be like you trying to swim through treacle. This is one of the tell-tale signs of when you need to replace your water filter cartridge. Your water will go from having a good flow rate to a poor flow rate and it will probably annoy you intensely. It will annoy you so much that you’ll be prompted to buy a new water filter cartridge. The taste and smell of your water changes A clear indication that your water is reverting to tasting and smelling like it did before you installed your water filter. It’s amazing what you get used to and when the taste and smell change you notice it immediately. This is a clear indication that you need to change the water filter cartridge of your system. Your water looks different Is your water discoloured, or is there sediment present? If so, you need to replace your water filter cartridge. Or perhaps you’re noticing that there is scale building up again around the ends of your household taps, in the bottom of your kettle, floating on your cup of tea, or scaly deposits on your shower screen door. Water filter system requirements You can often eek a few extra weeks out of water filter cartridges with one exception. The exception is UV water filter systems. UV lamps must be replaced every 12 months to ensure that your water is effectively disinfected and remains free from harmful contaminants. The control panel or ballast on the UV will start alarming and this is how to tell when the water filter needs replacing. You’ll normally have a pre-filter before the UV unit and the pleated sediment water filter cartridges in these will also need to be changed to ensure the UV system works at its best. What happens if you don't replace water filter cartridges? If you choose not to properly maintain your water filter, then you leave yourself and your family wide open to drinking all the contaminants that you initially wanted to remove. Over time the water filter cartridges will cease to work effectively as they’ll be too much of a build-up of impurities and contaminants. To be blunt, your water filter won’t be doing anything useful, and you’ll notice the deterioration in your household water. Being aware of when to change your water filter cartridge is key to you getting the best out of your system and enjoying clean, fresh filtered water each day. Remember, what we said earlier. Replacing a water filter cartridge is not an onerous or necessarily expensive task. You only need to think about it once or twice a year and we even remind you when to replace water filter cartridges. There, we’ve said it again! When to replace the water filter cartridge Most of the information you’ll come across will tell you that you should replace your water filter cartridge every 6-12 months. It’s important to remember that this is a guideline and that you should always bear in mind the signs we’ve talked about above when it comes to changing your water filter cartridge. We think it’s worth getting into the habit of changing water filter cartridges a minimum of every 12 months. But it all depends on the type of water filter cartridge you have. Let’s highlight a few different types of cartridge. Carbon block We recommend replacing a carbon block based cartridge, such as our 2.5 x 10'' replacement cartridge, our 4.5 x 10'' carbon block water filter cartridge, or the 4.5 x 20'' carbon block cartridge a minimum of every 12 months to minimise the risk of possible bacteria colonies forming on the cartridge. Another carbon block based cartridge is the Doulton ultracarb range of water filter cartridges. These ceramic cartridges are impregnated with silver which does reduce bacteria colonies, but as they are carbon block, the manufacturer says they should be changed every 6 months. UV lamps We’ve already touched on this above, but UV lamps must be replaced every 12 months to ensure that your water is effectively disinfected and remains free from harmful contaminants. The control panel or ballast on the UV will start alarming and this is how to tell when the water filter needs replacing. You’ll normally have a pre-filter before the UV unit and the pleated sediment water filter cartridges in these will also need to be changed to ensure the UV system works at its best. A lot of manufacturers will state that you must change your cartridges every 6 months, but we feel it’s somewhere between 6 and 12 months. You are the best judge as you’re drinking the water that you’re filtering and using the information that we’ve shared so far, you’ll know when it’s time. Just try not to go past 12 months. The size of cartridge is also a determining factor. The larger cartridges such as the 2.5 x 10” Pearl H water filter cartridge will last twice as long as a smaller inline water filter cartridge because they’ve got a larger surface area and a greater volume of media. Where can I find the right cartridge for my water filter? It can be a bit daunting, trying to find the correct cartridge to go into your water filter. We hear from many people who didn’t buy their original water filter from us and have gone back to the company they bought it from, or the plumber they bought it through and just like a puff of smoke those companies or people disappear, can’t be contacted, or won’t return calls or emails. That leaves people in a right pickle and in need of a bit of help. We also have people who have moved into a property that has an existing water filter and haven’t a clue where to start because the previous owner has left no clue as to what the water filter is supposed to be filtering out or where to buy replacement water filter cartridges. If you were fortunate enough to deal with us from the start, we make the whole ‘when to replace water filter cartridges’ scenario as simple as it can be. We send you a 6 monthly reminder email with links directly to the products that you need to ensure your water filter remains operating efficiently and effectively. This email doesn’t mean you HAVE to buy replacements, it just jogs your memory to think about when to change the water filter cartridge. Our customers find this email incredibly useful, and it takes the guess work out of them trying to remember what they have. If at any point you want to re-purpose your existing water filter you can. Because of the versatility of our water filters, you can change your mind about what you want to filter out of your water. For example, you may start off just wanting to remove chlorine and chemicals but then feel that fluoride is becoming a concern to you. Changing your mind is never a problem for us. It’s about what you want to change about your water, not what we think we can sell you. How to replace a water filter cartridge Changing a water filter cartridge should never be difficult and there is really no need to call a plumber to do it for you unless you have difficulty with mobility or strength in your hands. We covered how to easily change your water filter cartridge in a blog post so take a look at it and don’t become nervous about giving it a go. Water filters are sturdy pieces of kit and not easy to break. O-rings It’s important here to talk about o-rings. This is the little rubber seal that sits at the top of the housing. The profile of the o-ring changes over time and can become flattened because of prolonged time under compression. If they become too out of shape it may be more difficult to get a good seal between the housing bowl and the housing cap. This is when you’ll get leaks. People then become tempted to tighten the housing bowl excessively to try and get it to seal. And then when it comes to replacing the water filter cartridge they can’t unscrew the housing. So, to save the headaches for the sake of a few quid we recommend that you replace the o-rings every two to three years just to be on the safe side. Don’t forget to recycle your water filter cartridges Recycling is always at the forefront of people’s minds and when it comes to water filter cartridges, if you can recycle them, we encourage you to do this. This was a topic we recently covered in a blog post called ‘How to recycle water filter cartridges correctly’. It’s a good read with lots of valuable information on how you can contribute to reducing your carbon footprint. A reminder of the service we offer at Fountain Filters If you need help on any aspect of water filtration or when to replace your water filter cartridge in your existing water filter, then we are here to help you. We offer free UK delivery on all water filter cartridges. Your items will be sent by either a Royal Mail tracked service or Parcelforce. We have trusted and long lasting relationships with our suppliers and have done since we started in 2011. You can be assured that if anything goes wrong, we can be contacted either by calling 01352 838281or sending us a message on our helpdesk. FAQs How to replace a water filter cartridge? Replacing a water filter cartridge is easy. It's a task you can do yourself unless you have mobility or strength limitations. Turn off the water supply, open the tap to release pressure, unscrew the bowl from the cap, empty any water and remove the old cartridge, rinse and wipe the bowl, check the o-ring, unwrap the new cartridge and drop into the bowl, screw the bowl back onto the cap, turn the water back on and allow the system to refill, close the tap, check for leaks, open the tap, run the water for 5-10 minutes. Where can I recycle water filters near me? Determine where you can recycle water filters near you by finding out what your local council's recycling guidelines are. Please do not wish-cycle by throwing water filter cartridges into your kerbside recycling bin and hoping for the best. How long do water filter cartridges last? The life of a water filter cartridge is determined by how much water runs through it. This is normally 6-12 months. Fountain Filters recommends changing water filter cartridge a minimum of every 12 months to minimise the risk of bacteria building up on the cartridge. About the author Louise Allen is a partner at Fountain Filters, where she's helped run the business since 2011. Alongside the day-to-day order management, despatch, and quality, she's built up a practical, hands-on knowledge of water filtration, and reviews the site's articles to keep the advice accurate and genuinely useful. Outside work, she's run the London Marathon with business partner Simon.
0 Brita Water Filter Alternatives
Brita water filter alternatives that can save you ££ If someone mentions Brita to you what is the first thing you think of? For most people, it’s Brita water filter jugs. You can’t deny that Brita is a well-known high street brand with a varied range of consumer products for water filtration including water filter jugs, water filter bottles for travel, water filter carafes, and replacement filters, cartridges, and spare parts. For those looking for a Brita filter alternative or to simply know more about the options out there, our focus in this article is going to be on Brita water filter jugs with the bonus of exploring a range of easy to install and more affordable drinking water filters that do the same job (and more!) than the Brita filters. This is especially important if you already have a Brita filter jug and are considering a Brita filter alternative, or you’re tempted to buy a Brita filter and are just doing your research before parting with your money. We’ll also look at the cartridge replacements for both the Brita and an alternative to the Brita filter. It’s time to consider what the best Brita alternatives are, and if you are considering any form of home water filtration then you’re doing a good thing by not adding to the mountain of single use plastic bottles that are thrown away in the UK every day. Did you know that an average of 35.8 million plastic bottles are used every day in the UK, and approximately 16 million plastic bottles don’t make their way into recycling. We’re going slightly off topic, but that’s scary! Key Points Brita jug performance comes down to the cartridge inside; the Maxtra Pro All-in-1 and Maxtra Pro Limescale use carbon block and ion-exchange resin. Brita cartridges only remove a limited range of contaminants (no fluoride, for example) and must be changed every four weeks. The upfront cost of a jug looks low, but ongoing cartridge costs make it more expensive over time than the alternatives. Fountain Filters’ Pearl T, Oyster Taste and OneFlow, and Pearl Mini do a similar job but only need a cartridge change every 12 months. Those filters install under the sink with a separate or 3-way tap, giving filtered water on demand and freeing up fridge space. Over a year the alternatives work out cheaper (from £32 to £58 less than Brita), with less waste and interchangeable cartridges for flexibility. Table of contents What do Brita filter jugs remove? What’s good about Brita filter jugs? What’s not so good about Brita? Are Brita better than the other brands? What are the costs of a Brita filter jug? Ready for a Brita water filter alternative? How Fountain Filters can help! Brita v other water filters – crunching the numbers FAQ What do Brita filter jugs remove? Never mind how the jug looks, it’s all about the filter cartridges that sit inside. Brita has two branded filter cartridges that can be used in all their water filter jugs. These are the Maxtra Pro All-in-1 and the Maxtra Pro Limescale filter cartridges. They both employ very common and basic water filtration techniques, namely carbon block for taste and odour improvement, chlorine, and chemical reduction; and ion-exchange resin for water softening. Let’s look at each Brita Maxtra cartridge in turn. The Brita Maxtra Pro All-in-1 There are four layers to the Brita Maxtra Pro All-in-1 filter cartridge. Layers one and four are constructed of a super fine filter mesh that holds onto any particles preventing them from passing through to the next stage. These layers are vital if you know your water picks up particles from older household pipework. Layer two contains carbon block which is made from coconut shells. This filter medium removes/reduces trace impurities such as certain herbicides, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals if they are present in the water. Carbon block is also very effective at reducing chlorine, thereby improving the taste and smell of the tap water. Layer three is where the water conditioning takes place via the ion-exchange pearls used to soften hard water. These pearls are the same as you’d find in a traditional water softener. In the Brita filter cartridges, the carbonate hardness reduction has been tested up to 120 litres. Brita also claims that the filter cartridges reduce lead and copper. The Brita Maxtra Pro Limescale The only difference between the Brita Maxtra Pro Limescale cartridge and the Maxtra All-in-1 is that there is a greater number of ion-exchange pearls which will reduce the hardness of the water. Brita says that this cartridge gives 50% better limescale reduction than the All-in-1. So, once your tap water goes through this filter your kettle and coffee machines should see less limescale build up. What’s good about Brita filter jugs? They are convenient as all you need is the jug and filter cartridge and nothing else. You avoid supermarket drudgery by constantly buying and carrying home lots of water in single use plastic bottles. The filter cartridges can be recycled. They have a subscription service, which if you sign up to you won’t run out of the filter cartridges. They have excellent feedback on review platforms. Easy to clean with some parts being able to go in the dishwasher. What’s not so good about Brita? The filter cartridge must be changed every four weeks. Only a limited number of contaminants can be removed. For example, they don’t filter out fluoride, which for those who don’t want fluoride in their water is a big issue. The ongoing maintenance costs might not seem high, but they are compared to Brita water filter alternatives. The water filter jug takes up valuable space in your fridge. Your water isn’t on demand. You must wait for water to drip through the filter. The jug must be cleaned regularly because you can get a build-up of mould and algae. Are Brita better than the other brands? It’s difficult to determine this through internet research, but we are confident that people will believe Brita to be better than other brands simply because it’s a recognised brand and people often think that branded is best. But, in all honesty the effectiveness of any water filter jug is 100% down to the quality of the filter cartridge that goes inside the unit. You will see a lot of other products out there that claim to be a Brita Maxtra filter alternative, but we encourage you to always do your research and if you’re tempted to give a Brita inline water filter cartridge alternative a try, all we can say is go for it. What are the costs of a Brita filter jug? This is the part that interests us the most and we hope it gives you an idea of the upfront costs and the monthly ongoing costs of the whole range of Brita water filter jugs. Brita product Upfront cost (incl. 1 cartridge) * Monthly cartridge Maxtra Pro All-in-1** Monthly cartridge Maxtra Pro Limescale** Total cost in 1st 12 months*** Annual cost after 12 months Glass Jug £59.99 £5.83 £6.42 £136.98 £76.99 Style eco £42.49 £5.83 £6.42 £119.48 £76.99 Style £36.99 £5.83 £6.42 £113.98 £76.99 Marella £29.99 £5.83 £6.42 £106.98 £76.99 Flow £59.99 £5.83 £6.42 £136.98 £76.99 Aluna £25.79 £5.83 £6.42 £102.78 £76.99 *Prices taken from Brita official website. **If a 12 pack of cartridges are bought at the same time as the jug and cartridge is replaced every month. ***Using Maxtra Pro Limescale cartridge. As we mentioned before in the ‘not so good about Brita’ list, the initial cost of having a Brita filter jug may not seem high, but the ongoing costs of buying the replacement water filter cartridges are. You’re probably now screaming at your screen – ‘show me an alternative to Brita water filters’. Well, that’s exactly what we are going to do so stay tuned. Ready for a Brita water filter alternative? How Fountain Filters can help! We have a wide range of drinking water filters, but let’s stick to those that contain filter cartridges that do a similar job to the Brita filter jug, and you only need to replace the water filter cartridge once every 12 months. Introducing our Pearl T, Oyster Taste and OneFlow, and Pearl Mini inline drinking water filters. Pearl T drinking water filter We have a warm fondness towards our high-performance chlorine and taste filter, the Pearl T drinking water filter, as it was the very first drinking water filter that we put onto our website back in 2011, and it’s still going strong. This filter contains a 5-micron carbon block cartridge that removes up to 99% of chlorine, and because it’s not a huge system (H: 34cm, W: 14cm, D: 13cm) most people install the Pearl T under their kitchen sink. It’s one of the best Brita filter alternatives for those households that don’t have a hard water problem, as you only need to change the cartridge every 12 months instead of every 4 weeks like you do with the Brita water filter pitcher. Oyster Taste and OneFlow When you think about scale reduction you should always be thinking about OneFlow, our best-selling filter media for treating limescale in your water. This neat little drinking water filter (H:34cm, W:26cm, D:13cm) removes chlorine, improves taste and smell, and reduces chemicals and limescale. Pearl Mini inline water filter The Pearl Mini inline water filter is a perfect choice when you’re really struggling for space. The length of the filter is only 10” and width 2”. You have total flexibility as you can choose from four different cartridges that deal with a range of issues including chlorine, sediment, and scale reduction. What’s good is that with all three of these drinking water filters you get to choose from one of several drinking water filter taps. You install these taps separately on your kitchen sink for access to fresh filtered water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Alternatively, if you don’t want a separate tap on your kitchen sink, you can opt for one of our 3-way kitchen water filter taps. We have a large range of luxury 3 way taps to choose from in either chrome or brushed steel finishes. Brita v other water filters – crunching the numbers Fountain Filters product Upfront cost (incl. cartridge, single lever tap, all fittings) * Annual cost after 1st 12 months** Pearl T £96.99 £18.99 (£58 less than Brita) Oyster Taste and OneFlow £161.99 £55.99 (£32 less than Brita) Mini inline water filter £69.99 £25.99 (£51 less than Brita) *Choosing a different tap may increase the price. **Selecting a different cartridge may increase the price. The ongoing maintenance costs of choosing one of our filters as an alternative to Brita is so much lower. You receive a cartridge that will last you 12 months when you purchase any of our filters above. With Brita, each cartridge lasts just four weeks, which means much more waste goes into recycling than an alternative to Brita. Find out more about how to recycle water filters correctly here. There is much greater flexibility with one of our drinking water filters as filter cartridges are interchangeable depending on what you want to remove from your water. As water treatment specialists we’re on hand to answer any questions you may have about filtering your water. In conclusion, we’ve given you a lot to think about and opened your mind up to other, more sustainable options that have a definite cost saving when it comes to filtering your tap water. We strongly believe that there is more to life than Brita and we hope you’ve had an insight into a Brita filter alternative. We’re always on hand to help with any water filter query, just send us a message on our trusty helpdesk. FAQ What do Brita water filters do? Brita water filters utilise common water filtration techniques to improve the taste and smell of your tap water as well as remove contaminants and reduce limescale. Are Brita water filters any good? Brita water filters are good in the sense that they are convenient, easy to clean, reduce single use plastic, and the filter cartridges can be recycled. What is the best Brita filter alternative? The best Brita filter alternative is a drinking water filter that contains a filter cartridge that does a similar job to a Brita filter, but you only have to change the cartridge every 12 months instead of every month like you have to with a Brita filter. Fountain Filters have three drinking water filters they would recommend as a direct Brita filter alternative. The Pearl T, the Oyster Taste and OneFlow, and the Pearl Mini. About the author Louise Allen is a partner at Fountain Filters, where she's helped run the business since 2011. Alongside the day-to-day order management, despatch, and quality, she's built up a practical, hands-on knowledge of water filtration, and reviews the site's articles to keep the advice accurate and genuinely useful. Outside work, she's run the London Marathon with business partner Simon.
0 7 ways purify water naturally drinking cooking hygiene
7 ways to purify water naturally for drinking, cooking, and hygiene Are you looking at ways to purify water naturally? Purifying water means different things to different people. That makes it a more complex subject than it may otherwise appear, so let’s break it down by specifying what “water purification” and “natural filtration” are. Water purification is simply the act of removing unwanted substances from water. Natural water purification can mean that it’s a physical process where no chemicals are used. Alternatively, natural water purification may also mean that you want to use natural materials to purify water. To complicate matters further, purifying water can be defined as making it safe from microorganisms, removing sediment particles, or removing chemicals and metals, or any combination of those. So if you want drinking water filters for home here are seven methods in two groups to consider. Key Points “Purifying” water can mean removing microorganisms, sediment, or chemicals and metals, so the right method depends on what you want to remove. Simple home methods include chilling water overnight to lose chlorine, boiling for 3–6 minutes to disinfect, straining through fabric, and leaving a clear bottle in sunlight. These basic methods are limited; they won’t give you fully purified, safe water on demand. The main natural filter materials are carbon (activated charcoal from coconut shells), ceramic (naturally occurring clay), and UV light. Carbon removes chlorine and many chemicals by adsorption; ceramic traps sediment, bacteria, and cysts; UV disinfects using ultraviolet light. Reverse osmosis is excluded here because some of its cartridges and the membrane are made from non-natural materials. Table of contents How to purify tap water naturally How to purify water with natural materials Best natural water purifier Got more questions? FAQ How to purify tap water naturally As tap water is already purified of most things, it's chlorine that most people want to remove. Chlorine is added to prevent bacteria, mould, and other microorganisms from contaminating the water. Method 1 - The simplest natural way to purify water at home is to fill a jug with water and put it in the fridge for 24 hours, or at least overnight. Chlorine breaks down and dissipates naturally over time, so when you pour yourself a glass of water the following day it will have no chlorine taste or odour. Method 2 - Or if it’s disinfecting water that may contain microbial infection. If that’s the case then to purify water naturally you can boil the water for between three and six minutes. The boiling time depends on altitude – at sea level three minutes is fine, above 1000 metres (3000 ft) it’s six minutes. You can’t get more natural than those two methods of water purification! The main natural materials to purify water are carbon, fabric, paper, and ceramic. We talk about each one of these natural water purifying methods in the next section of this article. Method 3 - Removing particles from water can easily be done using clean fabric such as muslin or a paper coffee filter and pouring water through it into a jug or bottle. That will get rid of visible particles but not microscopic, chemical, or biological contaminants. Method 4 - Another natural method of disinfection is to fill a clear bottle with water and then leave it in direct sunlight for at least six hours, preferably longer. The ultraviolet radiation in the sun’s rays will kill any microorganisms contaminating the water. As you’ve seen filtering water naturally at home without a dedicated water filter is not very effective when you want to have properly purified water that’s safe and hygienic. Especially if you want that purified water on demand. How to purify water with natural materials We’re now into the realms of natural ways to purify water at home using manufactured water purifiers that use different filtration materials and technologies to treat the water. Filter housings are generally made from food grade plastic or stainless steel, and the purified water is delivered from water filter taps installed on a kitchen sink or bench. For an in-depth understanding of water filtration see the ultimate water purification guide. UV Water Filters As mentioned previously, the natural ways of purifying water employ carbon, ceramic, and sunlight. If we look at the sunlight as a water purification method; clearly, you can’t bring the sun into your house, but it’s the ultraviolet part of sunlight that does the disinfection. Method 5 - To recreate that in the home requires a UV water filter system: a stainless-steel vessel that contains a UV lamp that shines through the water as it flows through the unit. All it requires is electricity to power the lamp. Carbon Based Water Filters Carbon based filters are another method of water purification and are often described as charcoal, this is a natural material made by heating coconut husks in low oxygen ovens. What you get is black, brittle, and easily ground up into granules that can be placed into canisters, or shaped into cylindrical blocks, known as carbon block. You may also see that carbon filters are called “activated carbon”. This may sound unnatural, but it’s really a simple process of heating the carbon to make it have a very large surface area to volume ratio – it’s the same process as making popcorn. Activated carbon is made by heating up coconut shells and then breaking them down into granules that are used to either fill a canister or press into a filter cartridge shape. Of course, these different styles of carbon filter material need to be contained within a manufactured vessel, either stainless steel or plastic. That high surface area attracts chemical contaminants to “stick” to the carbon within the cartridge therefore removing them from the water. This is called adsorption and is highly effective at removing many substances such as chlorine, PAHs, THMs, pharmaceutical residues, agricultural substances, endocrine disruptors. The list goes on and on… Method 6 – obtain a filter containing either carbon block or GAC (granular activated carbon) cartridges. Ensure the size is sufficient for the flow rate you need for counter-top, cold water tap, or whole house filtration purposes. Some activated carbon block filters are made from bituminous material, so if you don’t want something that’s been extracted from a mine then it’s best to avoid these (although they are highly efficient filter cartridges). Ceramic Water Filters Ceramic filters have been around for a good couple of hundred years. This was pioneered in Staffordshire, UK, by John Doulton in the early 1800s, and developed by his son Henry. Doulton filters are still made today. Ceramic filter cartridges are made from naturally occurring clay, and some also contain carbon so that they naturally purify water of bacteria, moulds, cysts, sediment, and chemicals such as chlorine. The way they work is that the ceramic material has microscopic pores that allows water to pass through it, while trapping particles. The pores are so minute that in addition to fine sediment, ceramic filters can also remove bacteria and cysts. This makes ceramic filters a very good natural method of purifying water. Some ceramic cartridges also contain activated carbon block elements within the ceramic shell so purify water naturally of chemicals AND microorganisms at the same time. Method 7 – this method of purifying water naturally consists of installing a filter system that has ceramic candles or cartridges – Doulton still makes these in the UK! The only drawback with these ceramic filters is that they aren’t always suitable for whole house applications due to flow rate restrictions – but you will get good, clean water for drinking and cooking with. One of the practical benefits of installing a manufactured filter is that you can match it with something from our modern and stylish 3 way taps selection. Best natural water purifier If you’ve read this far you now know that there isn’t necessarily a simple answer to the question of how you purify water naturally. However, describing those seven methods gives a good indication of what you can do simply and easily using things you already have in the kitchen to filter your water. Plus, you now have the knowledge of what natural materials are used in the manufacture of water filters that do a lot more than the basic methods described in methods 1 to 4. We haven’t covered reverse osmosis water filter systems in this item even though RO could be considered a natural method of purifying water. It works by having a number of filters plus a semi-permeable membrane through which water molecules pass to be stored in a reservoir ready for use. The main reason for omitting RO is that some of the filter cartridges used, including the membrane, are made of non-natural materials. You can make an informed choice of what you want to improve about your water, and which method will work for you while also using natural materials. Got more questions? If you still need more information or want help choosing the right filter for you feel free to give us a call on 01352 838281 or send a message on our helpdesk. Image by Jarkko Mänty FAQ How to clean water naturally? Cleaning water naturally to ensure its drinkable can be done using a variety of methods ranging from standing water in the open air to remove chlorine to carbon based water filter systems to remove chlorine and other contaminants. Can water filters remove chlorine? Yes, water filters can remove chlorine. Water filters containing a carbon block water filter cartridge will remove chlorine. Which water purification system is best? The water purification system that is best for you is the system that removes the contaminants that you don't want in your water. Knowing what you want to improve about your water is the first question you need to ask yourself. Seeking help from a water filtration expert like Fountain Filters may help. About the author Simon Allen is a partner at Fountain Filters, where he's led the technical side of the business since 2011. Alongside more than 25 years in ecommerce, he's built up over 15 years of hands-on knowledge of water filtration, applying both to keep the Fountain Filters service running smoothly. Outside work, he's a competitive Masters athlete and England Athletics qualified coach, and has run marathons with business partner Louise.
0 How to Remove Chlorine from tap water
How to remove chlorine from tap water and drink safe water Ah, the heady aroma of chlorine in water. You've probably all smelled it and may not have known what it was. It sometimes makes you feel as though you're sitting in the swimming pool and not your bathtub! Keeping the hundreds of thousands of kilometres of water pipes free of harmful bacteria which could make you very ill is no mean feat and the use of chlorine or chloramine is a tried and tested way of ensuring the water is safe as it flows from the water treatment works to your household taps. In this article we're going to focus on the use of chlorine as a preventative measure in water treatment, the pros, and cons of chlorine in tap water, answering the question of 'is it safe to drink chlorinated water?', and how to remove chlorine from tap water if you don't want it in there. Key Points Chlorine is added to UK mains water to kill harmful bacteria and prevent waterborne diseases like cholera, dysentery, and typhoid. UK tap water has very low chlorine levels, typically 0.5 mg/l or less, well within WHO guidelines; private supplies have none. At these levels chlorine isn't unsafe to drink, but sensitive people may notice taste and smell, or skin, hair, and breathing effects. Chlorine can be removed by standing water in open air for up to 24 hours, boiling it, or filtering it. Standing and boiling are slow and impractical for everyday use and don't treat shower or bath water. A carbon block filter is the easiest solution: a drinking water filter for the kitchen tap, or a mains filter for the whole house. Table of contents What is chlorine? How much chlorine is there in UK tap water? What are the signs of chlorine in water? Is chlorine safe to drink? Side effects of chlorine in drinking water How to remove chlorine from drinking tap water Fountain Filters can help you remove chlorine from tap water FAQ What is chlorine? Many people know that their water is chlorinated, so the answer to the common question 'does tap water have chlorine?', is a resounding YES. But what is chlorine? We're going to skip a lot of the science here but feel free to read all about chlorine on the internet or here. Chlorine is manufactured from table salt by electrolysis. The gas produced is liquified at high pressure and then transported for use in the water treatment industry. Chlorine penetrates the surface of the pathogens ('the bugs!'), rendering them useless and no longer able to spread. They basically just die out. The use of chlorine keeps your water germ-free and hygienic, preventing the spread of cholera, dysentery, and typhoid, all of which are incredibly nasty waterborne diseases. Did you know that in 1897 Maidstone, England was the first to have its entire water supply treated with chlorine? More widespread use of chlorine as a highly efficient water disinfectant in the UK started in 1905. If chlorine wasn't used, bacteria, viruses and protozoans would quite happily grow and multiply at an alarming rate in water supply reservoirs, on the walls of water mains, and in water storage tanks. The people of the UK would be in a dire situation. Chlorine is cheap and effective. If they didn't' add chlorine in tap water, you could become very ill. If you're on mains water in the UK, there will be chlorine present. If you're on a private water supply, there is no need to worry as you won't have chlorine in your water. How much chlorine is there in UK tap water? England, Wales, and Scotland have very low levels of chlorine in tap water, typically 0.5 mg/l or less. The World Health Organisation guidelines on maximum chlorine also state 5 mg/l. This level can fluctuate for short periods if there is planned maintenance in the vast network of pipes. If the level rises, you're more likely to smell or taste chlorine in your tap water. You may also notice it more if you live closer to the water treatment works. Your local water company can provide a free water quality report which will give you information about the levels of chlorine in your drinking water. What are the signs of chlorine in water? The simplest way to describe the smell of chlorine is to liken it to bleach or other strong cleaning products. Or, if you've heard of TCP, it's a bit like that. It shouldn't be so strong as to knock you off your feet and should normally not linger for long periods of time. If you ever notice the smell of chlorine being particularly strong and your tap water becomes undrinkable then we recommend you contact your water company. You'll find their contact details on one of your recent water bills. Is chlorine safe to drink? Because of the very low levels of chlorine present in tap water, it's not unsafe to drink. As we've already mentioned, we'd be a lot worse off in the UK if they didn't treat the water to make it potable. So, in terms of public health, the use of chlorine has been a resounding win. However, just because the levels are low enough for it not to be unsafe to drink, chlorinated water can still have an impact on the human body. Depending on your level of sensitivity to it you might just be put off by the taste and smell of chlorine in your drinking water. For others, it may have more problematic effects. If you're at all unsure, the most pro-active thing to do is remove chlorine from water. Your health and well-being are your top priority. Side effects of chlorine in drinking water We've already answered the question of 'does tap water have chlorine?'. The most logical next question is 'what are the side effects of chlorine in drinking water?' It's important to remember that there are very low levels of chlorine in your water and therefore when you're questioning is chlorine safe to drink, the answer is 'it's not unsafe'. However, there are some things we'd like to highlight as some people will be more sensitive to chlorine than others. Unpleasant taste and smell - even though there are very low levels of chlorine in tap water and therefore not unsafe people are very put off by the unpleasant taste and smell of chlorinated water. Some people are much more sensitive than others and will notice the differences when travelling to different parts of the UK. This is one of the main chlorine drinking water side effects and is a major push towards finding out how to remove chlorine from tap water. Breathing problems - it's highly unlikely that you'll experience breathing difficulties because of chlorine in your water unless you have existing lung and airway problems, and suffer from asthma, hay fever, or chronic bronchitis. Heavy smokers would also be included in this vulnerable group as they may be more susceptible to the effects of chlorine. It's worth highlighting here that chorine in water isn't the only household place it can be lurking. Many household cleaning products contain chlorine in much higher levels than water and contact with it may cause breathing difficulties. This of course depends on the way you are exposed and how long for. Minor symptoms would include a burning sensation of the eyes and throat with more serious symptoms being excessive coughing and/or breathing difficulties. Skin problems - this is another factor that prompts tap water chlorine removal. If you are extremely sensitive to chlorine, chlorinated water can have a drying and irritable effect on skin, and this can make it itchy and sore. For people who already suffer from skin conditions such as eczema or psoriasis, bathing or showering in water that contains residual levels of chlorine can exacerbate those problems. So instead of rushing to the pharmacy to buy bucket loads of hydrocortisone cream, remove chlorine from water first and see how you get on. Hair problems - dry, weak hair with an annoying itchy scalp is probably more of a problem if you are swimming multiple times a week and stripping your hair of its natural oils. The concentration of chlorine in water is much higher than washing your hair in the bath or shower at home. But again, this is an important factor when making the decision to remove chlorine from water as no one likes dull, lifeless hair. Chlorine and cancer - we suggest that you are very careful with what you read on the internet about chlorine and its links to cancer. Chlorine as a chemical disinfectant in water forms chemical by-products known as trihalomethanes (THM's). It is THM's that have caused the jungle drums to start beating and there is very little good quality data on the health effects of THMs. The risks associated with inadequate disinfection of water would be much greater. And you can eradicate that risk by filtering chlorine out of water. Prevention is always better than cure. Chlorine and pregnancy - again be very wary of what you read on the internet as there is very limited data available on the risk of chlorine by-products in pregnancy. If you are at all concerned find a water filter that removes chlorine. How to remove chlorine from drinking tap water We get asked 'how to remove chlorine from tap water' frequently and always share the very easy ways this can be achieved. If your water company is using chlorine as the primary disinfectant, then here are some ways to remove it. If your water company is using chloramine to disinfect the water, then we'll look at how to remove chloramine in another article. Chlorine in water can be removed by standing, boiling, or filtering. Let's look at each one of the methods to remove Chlorine from water in turn. Standing This is very simple because all you need to do is let your tap water breathe in the open air for up to 24 hours. Chlorine is a gas, so it just evaporates. We think you'd agree that this is a little time consuming and if you're anything like us you'd forget to fill up your jug with water and leave it to stand for that length of time. This also doesn't remove chlorine from water that's streaming out your shower or filling up your bath. Boiling water to remove chlorine Does boiling water remove chlorine? This is a perfectly reasonable question, and the answer is yes. Chlorine is very volatile in water and will eventually evaporate, hence why you can let it stand for up to 24 hours. But if you raise the temperature of the water, you can speed the process of evaporation up and instead of 24 hours it should only take 15-20 minutes. But if you're boiling it to drink then you've got the problem of having to wait for it to cool down! It takes roughly four minutes to remove 1mg of chlorine from 45 litres of water. Therefore, you'd need to know how much chlorine was in your water to determine how long to boil it. This all seems rather complicated to us. Can you imagine relentlessly boiling pans of water for ever more. No, we can't either! It may also cause an unwelcome spike in your gas or electricity bill. You'd also have no idea how much chlorine you're removing without getting your water analysed, either by doing it yourself with an at-home chlorine test kit or asking someone to carry out a water analysis test which would cost you money. Filtering chlorine from water We've mentioned letting your water stand and boiling your water to remove chlorine, but do water filters remove chlorine? You'll be pleased to hear that filtering chlorine out of water is easy and there are a few quick and practical ways to do it. Read the next section to find out how to filter chlorine from water. Fountain Filters can help you remove chlorine from tap water As water filtration experts in how to remove chlorine from water we can help guide you towards a solution that's right for your home. It's important for you to consider whether you just want to treat your kitchen tap or whether you want a whole house system, which will remove chlorine in tap water from kitchens, bathrooms, and utility rooms. Drinking water filter If you're just looking for a drinking water filter system for home then our entry level chlorine and taste filter is the perfect tap water chlorine removal system for your kitchen tap. This is a high-performance drinking water filter that uses a carbon block filter cartridge that improves the taste and smell of your tap water and removes up to 95% of chlorine. Whole house filter Why stop at your kitchen tap when you can remove chlorine from water throughout your home using a mains water filter system. Our best selling cold water tap filter Moby or the Doby whole house water filter system are the perfect starting point to chlorine free water for you and your family. It's important to choose the correct water filter for the size of your home. If you are unsure, we are here to help you. Reverse Osmosis A reverse osmosis water system will remove chlorine from water as well as everything else. We highly recommend speaking to us first before considering an RO system as a means of removing chlorine in tap water. Contacting us is easy. Call 01352 838 281 or use our very popular helpdesk to ask a question. FAQ Is chlorine in UK tap water? Yes, chlorine is added to UK mains water to ensure that your tap water is free of harmful bacteria that could make you ill if you drink it. Does chlorine in water evaporate? Yes, chlorine is a gas and will evaporate. If you leave a glass of water to stand in the open air for up to 24 hours, it will be chlorine free. How to remove chlorine from tap water? There are three main ways to remove chlorine from tap water. Leave it to stand in the open air for up to 24 hours, boil the water, or install a drinking water filter or whole house water filter that contains a carbon block water filter cartridge. About the author Louise Allen is a partner at Fountain Filters, where she's helped run the business since 2011. Alongside the day-to-day order management, despatch, and quality, she's built up a practical, hands-on knowledge of water filtration, and reviews the site's articles to keep the advice accurate and genuinely useful. Outside work, she's run the London Marathon with business partner Simon.
How hard is my water? Water hardness in my area by postcode and UK map! Just to make it a little easier we've created this UK water hardness map If you've got hard water where you live, you'll probably know about it! It can be the bane of many property owners' lives trying to deal with the effects of hard water. Hard water isn't a problem but the limescale caused by hard water can cause some problems. These can be cosmetic but can also be very expensive in appliance efficiency, breakdowns and replacements. Let's get right into the hard facts. Key Points Hard water is caused by dissolved minerals, mainly calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate; it's the limescale it leaves behind that causes problems. Tell-tale signs include scale in the kettle, deposits on taps and shower screens, needing more soap and detergent, and higher heating bills from a clogged boiler. Hardness varies by region and even locally, so the accurate way to know is to test your water or check your supplier's website. You can test at home with a TDS meter or test strips, with results falling into soft, moderately hard, hard, or very hard ranges. Check hardness by postcode using the on-page checker or the UK hardness map, though private supplies and borehole use can make water harder than expected. Solutions include a salt-based softener with a separate drinking supply, or a salt-free system that treats limescale and filters chemicals too. Table of contents What is hard water? How do I know if I have hard water? How hard is the water in my area? How to test water hardness Can you find out water hardness by postcode? Hard water by postcode What can be done about hard water problems? FAQs What is Hard Water? Hard water is caused by high concentrations of dissolved minerals; calcium carbonate (CaCO3), magnesium carbonate (MgCO3), and occasionally small amounts of silicates of various kinds. But there's so much information on the internet about water quality and hard water problems that you can become overwhelmed. Let's make it easy and ask ourselves a few questions so we can then come up with some answers. How do I know if I have hard water? It's usually easy to tell if you have hard water. You'll have scale buildup in your kettle, deposits on the taps and on your shower screens. You'll also find you need to use greater amounts of soap, shower gel, and detergents than you would like. Most of all you may be spending more on energy to heat your water than you would expect because your boiler is clogged up. That may indicate you have hard water, but that leads to another question about the area you live in. How hard is the water in my area? Water hardness varies from place to place, region to region. Some areas have predominantly soft water but there are also pockets of hard water. With such variation how do you know if you have hard water? To be accurate and get a result that's local to you, the answer is to either test it yourself, or get the water tested. How to test water hardness There are two main methods of carrying out a home water hardness test. Both involve buying something to do it. The readings you get will give you something that indicates your water is within one of the following ranges: Soft water: 0 - 100 PPM (0 - 99.89 mg/L) Moderately hard water: 101 - 200 PPM (100 - 199.64 mg/L) Hard water: 201 - 275 PPM (200 - 274.50 mg/L) Very hard water: 276 and above (275.00 mg/L up) Let's explain how to measure water hardness using the following two methods: TDS meter to test hard water The first method is to get a TDS meter. TDS stands for Total Dissolved Solids, and the meter is an electronic device that measures the conductivity of the water. Totally pure, deionised water does not conduct electricity at all. So, by measuring the level of conductivity the meter can estimate the concentration of minerals and other solids dissolved in the water. There are two electrodes on the TDS meter and when they are immersed in liquid the meter measures the electrical resistance. You'll see a reading on either a digital or analogue scale on the meter that shows the results of the test. Digital devices are simpler to interpret because they give a number in parts per million, milligrams per litre (mg/l) or something similar. Analogue TDS meters may have a scale that just shows soft/medium/hard/very hard that a needle points to. Whichever you choose it will give you a good idea of the hardness of water in your area, and therefore, what solution may be best for you. Test strip to test hard water in your home Another type of test to check for hard water involves you dipping a test strip, a bit like litmus paper, into a sample of water. The colour of the strip changes according to the water hardness and you visually compare the colour with that on a lookup scale. The colour match will give you a score on a chart for the hardness range of your water. The second type of colour match testing kits provide you with a liquid or tablet that you drop into the water sample and get a hard/soft, or colour matching scale like the strip method described previously. Can you find out water hardness by postcode? In broad terms yes you can find the water hardness in your area by postcode. The best method to get a reasonably accurate idea is to go to your water supplier's website and search for it. They will use various phrases relating to water quality, but the simplest thing to do is use the site search and enter "hard water" or "water hardness". It's not always obvious how to find the information so you may need to dig around a bit. Northumbrian Water, for instance, asks people to enter an address in the "What's going on in my area?" page. Once the address is entered water disruption, reported leaks, and roadworks are listed for the area. Continuing down the page leads to the water hardness information, plus a full report to download. Unfortunately, there isn't a standard model for these websites, so you'll have to search, but if all else fails contact your water supplier and they'll be able to provide the information. Just to make it a little easier we've created the UK water hardness map above. That map will give you general idea about which parts of the country have hard water. We have classified the type of hard water by hard, moderate or soft. Hard Water by Postcode For a more accurate idea enter your postcode into this hard water checker: This table allows you to determine what the descriptive levels are in parts per million and milligrams or micrograms per litre. Water Hardness Parts Per Million (PPM) Milligrams Per Litre (mg/L) Soft 0 - 100 0 - 99.89 mg/L Moderately Hard 101 - 200 100 - 199.64 mg/L Hard 201 - 275 200 - 274.50 mg/L Very Hard 276 and above 275.00 mg/L up Now you have those results you'll have a better idea about the water hardness in your area. But remember that there are many places that may have harder or softer water than indicated. That's particularly true if you have a private water supply. In addition, we're getting reports that areas that previously had soft water are now finding it's getting harder. This is because climate change is altering the amount of water in reservoirs. Lower autumn and winter rainfall recently has meant reservoirs have not been refilling in the colder months. Many water companies have been supplementing water supplies to their customers by drawing water from boreholes leading to higher mineral content in the water that comes through your pipes. And that means harder water, even if you're in a soft water area. Having found that you live in a hard water area, or if not that you have a localised problem that's affecting your home, you'll be wondering what the solution is. What can be done about hard water problems? There is only one sure-fire way to get proper soft water and that is to move to a region that doesn't have hard water. Realistically, this isn't very practical for most people. Facing facts, hard water is quite difficult to deal with, and every solution is a compromise. There are some very efficient methods of preventing the limescale build up caused by hard water. Fortunately, we have extensive experience in helping people resolve their issues with hard water. By fitting the right hard water filter or softener in your home you can significantly improve your water quality. That might be a traditional salt-based water softener along with a separate drinking water supply. Or it could be a salt-free system that also filters out chemicals as well as treating the limescale. Read more information about whether a water filter can help with hard water here. There are so many solutions, and individual situations available that the first step is to get in touch with the experts to help guide you through to a successful outcome. At Fountain Filters we know everything about hard water and how it can affect you. Get in touch, and we will help you find the solution to your hard water needs! FAQs What's hard water? Hard water contains higher levels of calcium and magnesium carbonate which shows up in your water as limescale. It's easy to tell if you have hard water as you'll get scale buildup in your kettle, limescale deposits on taps and shower screens. You'll also need to use more soap, shower gel, and detergents. Is hard water bad for you? No, hard water is not bad for you. Calcium and magnesium are essential minerals and should be incorporated into a healthy diet. What is the water hardness in my area? It's easy to check the water hardness in your area of the UK. Just visit your water suppliers website and it should tell you about the parts per million (PPM) or milligrams per litre (mg/L) of calcium and magnesium. If you see a number that's 200 or above you have hard water. About the author Simon Allen is a partner at Fountain Filters, where he's led the technical side of the business since 2011. Alongside more than 25 years in ecommerce, he's built up over 15 years of hands-on knowledge of water filtration, applying both to keep the Fountain Filters service running smoothly. Outside work, he's a competitive Masters athlete and England Athletics qualified coach, and has run marathons with business partner Louise.
0 What's so SMART about Smart Water?
What is Smart Water and is it good for you? The bottled water market in the United Kingdom is HUGE, and approximately 95% of that water is sold in plastic bottles. In 2021 consumption of bottled water in the UK stood at 49.7 litres per person and this is expected to rise to 57 litres by 2027. If you're interested in looking at some brief statistics then head on over to Statista. Bottled water generates millions of pounds for the various brands and drives massive profits. Here at Fountain Filters, we don't understand why the consumption of bottled water needs to continue rising, when there are superior drinking water filters and other water filter systems for home available that are: more convenient cheaper per litre of water more planet friendly One of those big-name brands that's hitting your pocket hard is Smart Water by Coca Cola. In this article we're going to examine Smart Water in more depth and then compare it against some alternatives and more practical solutions that will address any concerns you have about the water you drink. Key Points Smart Water is Coca-Cola's premium brand of vapour-distilled British spring water with electrolytes (calcium, magnesium, potassium) added back in. Distilling water then re-adding the minerals it stripped out has no known benefit, and the process is energy-intensive. The electrolytes are present only in trace amounts, so Smart Water is no substitute for getting these minerals from a balanced diet. As water filtration specialists we consider Smart Water, like all bottled water, unnecessary; tap water is good for you. A carbon filter like the Pearl T removes chlorine, sediment, microplastics, and PFAS while keeping the beneficial minerals, for a fraction of the cost. Options scale up from drinking water purifiers (Oyster) to whole-house systems (Doby), tailored to what you actually want to remove. Table of contents What is Smart Water? How is Smart Water made? What are the Smart Water bottle ingredients Is Smart Water good for you? Don't jump on the band wagon by buying Smart Water Better alternatives to Smart Water Why buy from Fountain Filters FAQs What is Smart Water? The brand Smart Water first hit the scene in the United States in 1998. This premium branded and highly priced bottled water from Coca-Cola then penetrated the UK market around 2014. But what is Smart Water? In a nutshell, Smart Water is vapour-distilled British spring water with added electrolytes of calcium chloride, magnesium chloride and potassium bicarbonate. Coca Cola markets the distillation process as 'a process inspired by the clouds'! Smart Water is now sold in 100% recycled plastic bottles, apart from the label and cap which are recyclable, but are not made from recycled plastic. Depending on where you buy Smart Water from, the lowest price we've been able to find, when doing some research, for this article was around 55p for a 600ml bottle, but that's only if you buy 24 bottles at a time. How is Smart Water made? We know that Smart Water is vapour-distilled spring water. Let's look at this more closely. But before we do it's important to add that there are no known benefits of distilling potable water and then reintroducing the ingredients lost in the distillation process. In Smart Water's case, this refers to calcium, magnesium, and potassium. To manufacture Smart Water, the collected spring water goes through an industrial process called distillation that removes most inorganic impurities, such as naturally dissolved minerals, many of which are good for us. The spring water is boiled until it turns into vapour and then its condensed back into liquid. After distillation, the water undergoes a secondary water purification process and then the good nutrients of calcium, magnesium, and potassium are added back in. These electrolytes would have been removed in the first stage. The distillation process requires a lot of electricity. Approximately 78 calories of energy are used to produce 1 litre of water. What are the Smart Water bottle ingredients The Smart Water bottle ingredients are spring water and electrolytes of calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, and potassium bicarbonate. Would you know exactly what these electrolytes were and whether they were good for you? It's OK, not many people would. Smart Water contains the following in trace amounts. Calcium carbonate in Smart Water - is often added to bottled water to adjust the pH and alkalinity and improve the taste of the water. Because it's in such small quantities it has no real nutritional value. Foods such as broccoli and kale contain significant amounts of calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate is often added into food such as dried fruits, cereals, processed meat and fish, canned products. Magnesium chloride in Smart Water - the heart, nerves, bones, muscles, and cell health rely on magnesium. Magnesium rich foods include roasted almonds, pumpkin seeds, spinach, cashew nuts and peanuts. Potassium bicarbonate in Smart Water - essential inorganic compound that's good for bones, muscles, and the heart. It will be added to Smart Water to enhance the taste. A wide range of foods are good for potassium intake such as apricots, avocados, bananas, spinach, kale, tomatoes, cucumbers, aubergine, courgette, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, carrots, potatoes, beans, and peas. Remember you can consume calcium, magnesium, and potassium from a good balanced diet. Don't ever rely on Smart Water to give you enough. Coca Cola markets Smart Water bottle ingredients as 'pure genius'. They use seductive words that incite those who drink it into believing that they'll have increased levels of clear thinking, fitness, mindfulness, adventure, sport, and well-being. Smart Water is also pH balanced, sugar free, gluten free, with no artificial flavours or colours added. They will be referring to their flavoured range here as water wouldn't contain any of these things anyway. Is Smart Water good for you? A fantastic question - Smart Water - is it good for you? Water is good for you. It's vital for our body and plays a supportive role for how our body functions. Water carries nutrients to our cells, it helps get rid of waste products, it cushions and protects our joints and organs and maintains our body temperature. Water is far better for you than still or carbonated soft drinks that are packed full of refined sugar or artificial sweeteners such as aspartame. So, when we are asked as water filtration specialists to give answers to the range of questions, we get asked about Smart Water such as 'how good is Smart Water', and 'is Smart Water any good', we must be honest and say that Smart Water is UNNECESSARY. In fact, we do not believe that any bottled water is necessary when there are much better ways to filter water and all of them from the comfort of your own home. The SMARTEST thing you can do is to stop buying bottles of water. And if you don't like the taste of your household tap water then be a smart cookie and install one of our water filter systems that tailors water to suit your needs. Don't jump on the band wagon by buying Smart Water Is it really that fashionable to buy Smart Water, or any bottled water for that matter? It intrigues us as to what the public search for on the internet about Smart Water. Is Smart Water good for dehydration? Is Smart Water good for electrolytes? Is Smart Water good for your pH balance? Is Smart Water good for your stomach? Is Smart Water safe to drink? Is Smart Water safe for pregnancy? The simple answer to all these regularly searched questions is that the water coming out of your kitchen tap is good for you. It's becoming less fashionable to buy expensive water that's packaged up in fancy plastic bottles. Water that claims to make us fitter, healthier and stronger! But we're not naïve. As water filtration specialists we understand that there are certain elements of tap water that people do not like, such as the taste and smell of chlorine, and therefore do not want it in there. So, what are the alternatives to Smart Water? Better alternatives to Smart Water There is no denying that Smart Water is a premium brand with a premium price tag. All our water filters use high quality components, and we pride ourselves on tailoring solutions to meet individual needs. There are a lot of water filters for home to choose from and we would confuse you if we regurgitated our whole website into this article. But if you take some time to think about and answer our 'top 10 questions' before purchasing a water filter, you'll have taken a huge step towards getting exactly what you want. What do you dislike about your tap water? Are there any contaminants that you want to filter out of your water? Are you on mains water or do you have a private water supply? Do you want to filter your whole house or just your drinking water? How big is your house? How many people normally live in your house? Where do you want to install the water filter, and do you have the space? How much do you want to spend? Are you committed to changing your water filter cartridge every 12 months? Do you want to work with a company that has years of experience in water quality and 5-star customer reviews? These are the types of questions we'll ask you when you contact us. With our knowledge and experience in water filtration, we help guide you to finding a water filtration product that solves the problem you've got. Our business is built on what people want, not what we think we can sell them. We've already said that it would be impractical and unfair to throw every product we stock at you. But guided by the type of answers we hear to the questions above; we thought it might be useful to offer a few different water filter system suggestions. So, here goes! Entry level alternative to Smart Water If you are in the 'don't like the taste and smell' of tap water camp then our high performance drinking water filter system, the Pearl T will remove the chlorine for you. Remember, the chlorine is a cheap and effective disinfectant and must be added to mains water to destroy bacteria and viruses that may be harmful to you. But it's so easy to remove it if you don't like it. It's a small unit with a height, width, and depth of 34cm, 14cm and 13cm respectively. So, it will fit very neatly under your kitchen sink, and you only need to change the cartridge a minimum of every 12 months. That's got to be a lot easier than buying bottles of Smart Water. The Pearl T is one of our most popular entry level water filters and it also removes sediments, microplastics, PFAS (forever chemicals) and more. What's more, it leaves all the good minerals in there like calcium, magnesium, and potassium. Mid-range alternative to Smart Water If you want to take it to the next level, then one of our drinking water purification systems will get rid of any unwanted impurities and give you tap water that's worth drinking. Our Oyster water purifier is environmentally, cost, and maintenance friendly. This two-stage system beauty will remove chemicals, including chlorine, endocrine disruptors, PAHs, VOCs, bacteria, chromium IV, cysts, ferric iron, lead, microplastic, and forever chemicals. To name but a few! The Oyster water purifier is twice the width of the Pearl because it's a dual unit with two housings and two water filter cartridges. Our water purifier range OUTSMARTS Smart Water. You'll have fresh, pure water on tap 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Just think of how many reusable drinking water bottles you can fill with your plentiful supply. Specialist alternatives to Smart Water Why stop at just treating your drinking water when you can install a water filter system that will treat your whole house. We offer many configurations of whole house water filtration systems. Here's just a couple to whet your appetite: Doby taste and OneFlow whole house water filter The Doby taste and OneFlow whole house water filter could answer your prayers when it comes to treating limescale up to 427 ppm CaCO3. One of our best-selling hard water conditioning systems. These literally fly off our shelves. You need a bit more room to install these units so allow for a height of 72cm, width of 60cm and depth of 18cm. It's amazing at what space our customers have come up with to install this sought after limescale filter. Doby water purifier The Doby water purifier whole house water filter is just like the Oyster water purifier, only more so! This two stage whole house water purifier is perfect for households with up to four bedrooms. It's the same size as the Doby taste and OneFlow. Our water purifiers remove unwanted impurities for a better, healthier alternative to systems such as reverse osmosis. Why buy from Fountain Filters Remember, anything is possible when it comes to your household water. You're in control. We've just given you examples of some of our best-selling products that are worthy alternatives to Smart Water. You can choose what you want in your water and what you don't, which we think is way smarter than anything else. We have hundreds of very satisfied customers who have put their trust in us to help them find a solution to their water problems. Let us help you break that addiction to Smart Water. We are here Monday to Friday 10am to 5pm when you want to call us on 01352 838 281 with your questions. Or if you prefer a written conversation, our helpdesk is waiting for your message. FAQs What is Smart Water? Smart Water is vapour-distilled British spring water. Spring water is distilled to remove inorganic impurities. The water is then boiled until it turns into vapour and then condensed back into liquid form. Who owns Smart Water? The brand Smart Water is owned by Coca Cola. Smart Water was first launched in the USA in 1998. Smart Water then became available in the UK in 2014. Does Smart Water have electrolytes? Yes, Smart Water does contain electrolytes. After the distillation process strips everything out of the spring water, electrolytes of calcium, magnesium, and potassium are added back in. About the author Louise Allen is a partner at Fountain Filters, where she's helped run the business since 2011. Alongside the day-to-day order management, despatch, and quality, she's built up a practical, hands-on knowledge of water filtration, and reviews the site's articles to keep the advice accurate and genuinely useful. Outside work, she's run the London Marathon with business partner Simon.
0 how much water should you drink daily
How much water should you drink daily? How many litres of water a day should we all be drinking? Usually, adults need to drink between 1-1 1/2 litres of water per day. How much water a day is too much? If your urine has no colour, you're probably drinking too much water. These appear relatively straightforward questions, but the answers may require more in depth explanation. Nothing is ever that simple! The amount of water you should drink daily is dependent on several factors, your age, size, level of physical activity, medical problems, medicines you take, how much water you're taking on board through the foods you eat. This article aims to give you some general guidelines that will help you navigate how much water you are meant to drink a day. We're going to concentrate mainly on water in this article because it's readily available straight from your kitchen tap. Water is calorie free, sugar free, and the most healthy, essential and beneficial for your body. Key Points General guidance suggests adults drink around 6-8 glasses (roughly 1.2-1.5 litres) of non-alcoholic fluid a day, alongside the water in food. How much you need varies with age, size, activity, weather, pregnancy, and illness, so there's no single fixed amount. The simplest personal check is your urine colour: pale straw is good, dark means drink more, and completely colourless can mean too much. About 20% of your daily water intake comes from food, with fruit and vegetables like cucumber and tomatoes being especially water-rich. Alcohol dehydrates rather than hydrates, while options like herbal teas, milk, and fruit-infused water all count towards fluid intake. Overhydration is rare but can be harmful, so this is general information rather than medical advice; check with a professional about specific health conditions. Table of contents Why is water essential for health? How much water do you need each day? How Fountain Filters can help you drink more water? FAQs Why is water essential for health? Water is an essential and vitally important part of your life. Without it you would die. While researching, different sources threw out 'similar but different' information about how much of the human body is water. So, we're going to sit in the safe zone and say that the human body is made up of about 50-70% water. Children have more water in their body than the elderly. Every single process that goes on in your body requires water. Water… is needed by the brain to manufacture hormones and neurotransmitters helps regulate your temperature (sweating and respiration) acts as a shock absorber for your brain and spinal cord converts food to energy helps deliver oxygen throughout the body in red blood cells suspended in blood, which is on average 51% water. helps form saliva helps keep the inner linings of organs moist such as the nose, mouth, lungs, and stomach. allows body's cells to repair, grow, reproduce and survive flushes waste products, mainly through urine lubricates joints You don't just ingest water from drinking tap water, tea, coffee, and soft drinks. Food also contains water, but it's very dependent on the quality of your diet as to how much water you are taking on board. You're going to get a lot more water from fruit and vegetables than you are bagels and chocolate digestives! You'll read more about foods that contain a high percentage of water later in this article. Alcohol does not contribute to your fluid intake and dehydrates you, so that cheeky beer on a Friday evening may quench your thirst but it will do nothing for your hydration levels. How much water do you need each day? There are no hard and fast rules regarding how many pints of water a day you should be drinking, but there are general guidelines out there, freely available on the internet. Drinking 6-8 200ml glasses (1.2-1.5 litres / 2-2.6 pints) of non-alcoholic fluid daily should replace normal fluid loss, when combined with water you get from the foods that you eat. Drinking tap water is by far the cheapest and healthiest way to stay hydrated. If you don't like the taste or smell of your tap water you can improve it with one of our drinking water filter systems How many litres of water you should drink a day will be influenced by various factors including: The weather - if it's hot you'll sweat more, and this will influence how many cups a day of water you should be drinking. How much you're exercising - the more exercise you do, the more sweat you'll produce, and the more water you'll be losing. How many litres of water per day will coincide with how much exercise you're doing. More exercise = more water needed but be careful not to overdo it. Pregnancy - a women's body works incredibly hard during pregnancy to produce extra blood, build new tissue and form amniotic fluid. If you are breastfeeding, you'll also need to drink more water to assist in breast milk production, which is more than 80% water. How well you are feeling - diarrhoea and vomiting cause your body to lose water, so as much as you might not want to, taking on 'little but often' sips of water is beneficial. If you have a temperature, you'll be sweating more and will therefore need to replenish that lost water. If you're unfortunate enough to have a urine infection, drinking lots of water will help flush those toxins out of your body. To keep it simple and personal to you, we believe that the easiest way to tell if you're staying adequately hydrated is to ensure your urine remains a pale straw colour throughout the day. You should be aware of what your body is doing. So, check your pee every time you go to the loo. You are in the best position to know how many glasses of water a day you should be drinking. What are the effects of not drinking enough water? Being dehydrated manifests itself in various ways: Tiredness Poor concentration Mild memory problems Less motivation to do anything and difficulty in exercising Headaches Dry skin You'll know what it's like to feel dehydrated. We've all been there. That dry sticky feeling in the mouth because of a lack of saliva. Your lips feel as though they're sticking together. But that's not the only sign of dehydration. The best way to determine if you're taking on enough fluids is to look at your urine. What colour is it? Look at this handy guide and determine if you're hydrated enough. Pale, straw coloured is good. Dark, cloudy or strong smelling urine isn't, and you need to drink more water. Have you noticed that your first pee of the day is darker than pale straw coloured? That's because you haven't had a glass of water for the entire time you've been asleep. It's important to hydrate first thing in the morning. Taking a glass of water to bed with you at night is an easy way to remember to have a good drink first thing in the morning. Can you stay hydrated without drinking water? While water is by far the easiest and most accessible way to stay hydrated, we appreciate that some people think water is the most boring drink on the planet. You wouldn't think that if you lived in a water deprived area of the world we bet. Here are some excellent ways you can get some water into your body that avoid plain old tap water. Coconut water - made up of approximately 94% water and no added sugar if you choose the unflavoured ones. Make sure you read the ingredients of the coconut water before you buy it to make sure you're getting 100% coconut water and that it's not packed full of sugar and flavourings. Herbal teas - a definite favourite of ours at Fountain Filters. There are such a variety of herbal teas to choose from. Peppermint, lemon and ginger, chamomile, red berries, and so many more. A healthy way to stay hydrated. Fruit infused water - there are a multitude of ways to infuse plain tap water to make it that little bit more exciting. Try adding strawberries, lemon, lime, oranges, blueberries, pineapple, watermelon, basil, cherries, grapefruit, raspberries, mango, grapes, cucumber, and mint. Obviously, not all these suggestions in one go! Play around with them to see which combinations you like best. Add some sparkle - sparkling water can be a nice change from plain tap water. If you've got a SodaStream try putting the sparkle in yourself or buy sparkling water in glass bottles. Please avoid buying single use plastic bottles. Add cordial - a little splash of cordial in tap water takes the edge off the plain taste. Choose low-sugar options. Drink milk - about 87% of milk is water so this is a fantastic way to stay hydrated. Milk also contains a good balance of proteins, fat and carbohydrates as well as other nutrients including calcium, potassium and magnesium. Fruit juices and smoothies - this is one that we would probably recommend the least, just because of the sugar content. It's so easy to drink a lot in one go so you'll be downing extra calories and sugar when you shouldn't be. It's better to eat the fruit than drink it because when making smoothies the fibre is removed which helps slow down the speed fructose is absorbed into your blood stream. This is particularly important for people who have diabetes. Soup - a stomach warming bowl of homemade soup that's packed with vegetables is the perfect way to get more water into your diet. And it's so tasty. But remember homemade is better than the tinned soup from the supermarket. Cheaper too! Does food contribute to your daily water intake? It most certainly does. Not all our water intake needs to come from drinking glass after glass of water. About 20% of your daily water intake will come from food. Foods that contribute to how much fluid you should drink a day include: Cucumber (96%*) Tomatoes / Courgette / Lettuce (95%*) Spinach (93%*) Mushrooms / Watermelon (92%*) Honeydew melon (91%*) Broccoli (90%*) Brussel sprouts / Oranges / Apples / Grapes (86%*) Blueberrries (85%*) Bananas / Avocadoes / Potatoes (70-79%*) Pasta / Salmon / Chicken Breast (60-69%*) *Approximately How to know if you're drinking enough water? The easiest way to answer this is you won't be thirsty. The reason we take on more water is that we're thirsty. We have a physiological trigger which tells us we're thirsty and that's when we need to act. Obviously, it's a lot more complex than this but we'd be going way off topic if we started exploring this in more depth. But here's a scientific paper on water, hydration and health that you can browse at your leisure. And don't forget your pee. If you're not drinking enough water the signs are clearly visible in your urine. Dark, strong smelling urine is a clear sign that you need to drink more water. Can drinking too much water be harmful? Yes, drinking too much water can be harmful, but how much water is too much for a day? Overhydrating is rare, but it can be dangerous. It's not just a case of drinking too much water, some health conditions can also cause a person's body to retain more water, such as kidney problems, heart failure, and liver disease. Having too much water in your body (through either intake or retention) can cause water toxicity (water poisoning). Water toxicity means that your kidneys can't excrete (through urine) the increased levels of water in your body and therefore retain too much. The electrolytes in your body dilute and the amount of sodium (salt) becomes too diluted. This leads to the development of hyponatremia. Hyponatremia from water poisoning can lead to: Headaches - due to swelling in the brain Confusion or feeling disorientated Feeling drowsy Muscle cramps Nausea and vomiting We're going to mention urine again. Colourless urine means you're overhydrating, straw coloured is good, and dark smelly urine is not good. Remember that overhydration is uncommon in healthy people. How Fountain Filters can help you drink more water? Drinking water is our business. We've lived and breathed advising people about how they can improve their household tap water and the water filtration system costs associated with those improvements. Getting in touch with us is easy. Either call us on 01352 838 281 or send us a message through our contact us page. FAQs Is 4 pints of water a day enough? 4 pints of water may be enough. It's recommended that you drink 6-8 200ml glasses (1.2-1.5 litres / 2-2.6 pints) of non-alcoholic fluid daily to replace normal fluid loss, when combined with water you get from the foods that you eat. What happens to your body when you start drinking more water? When you drink more water everything in your body will start to function better. Water is essential for all parts of the body right from the brain down to the joints in your feet. Is 8 pints of water a day too much? Drinking 8 pints of water a day may be considered too much. Overhydration is not recommended and can lead to medical complications. The best way to determine if you're staying on top of your hydration is to check the colour of your urine and if it's pale straw coloured, you're doing a fantastic job. About the author Louise Allen is a partner at Fountain Filters, where she's helped run the business since 2011. Alongside the day-to-day order management, despatch, and quality, she's built up a practical, hands-on knowledge of water filtration, and reviews the site's articles to keep the advice accurate and genuinely useful. Outside work, she's run the London Marathon with business partner Simon.
0 is london tap water safe to drink
Is tap water safe to drink in London? Unless you've been told specifically by your local water authority not to drink tap water or have been issued with a boil notice before drinking tap water then YES, tap water in London is safe to drink. This very simple 'yes, tap water is safe to drink in London' answer is not reflective of the misinformation that is spreading like wildfire across popular social media platforms. Some water filtration companies are using aggressive marketing tactics to convince you that tap water in the UK is unsafe to drink and they've got a 'wonder product' (a.k.a 'bog standard water filter that they sell at an inflated price') that will make it drinkable and a 'white paper' (a.k.a marketing sales copy) to back up the hard sell. They then use celebrities to endorse their products in the hope that it will help them sell more. Fountain Filters has seen companies like this come and go and we're left to pick up the pieces of looking after their unhappy and let down customers. The spread of misinformation about tap water in the UK being unsafe is not only harmful to the industry, but also fundamentally untrue. However, it is fair to say that even though tap water in London is safe to drink (and across the rest of the UK) there may be specific things about it that you want to change or improve. This can be something as simple as disliking the taste or smell of London tap water to wanting to eradicate limescale. There's also the increased public awareness about PFAS (forever chemicals), microplastics and lead. This is something we've noticed a huge increase in queries about during 2024 and envisage these remaining hot topics going forward. Key Points London tap water is safe to drink, meeting strict UK quality standards, despite social media misinformation claiming otherwise. London has hard water, so limescale is a common complaint, though the calcium and magnesium behind it are safe and even beneficial. Fluoride is NOT added to London tap water, so any product sold to remove it is unnecessary for Londoners. Chlorine (for disinfection), trace PFAS, microplastics, and lead (only where lead pipes exist) are the things people most often want to filter out. Bottled water is no safer than tap; it can contain far more microplastics, costs vastly more, and adds to plastic waste. A carbon block filter handles chlorine, PFAS, and microplastics; for microplastics aim for a 1 micron or smaller rating. Table of contents Where does tap water in London come from? Why does London tap water taste different? PFAS (forever chemicals) in London tap water Is bottled water safer than tap water in the UK? Where can you access tap water in public places? How to improve the taste and quality of London tap water How Fountain Filters can help you with your London tap water FAQs about London tap water Where does tap water in London come from? 2.6 billion litres of water is used in London every day. Rivers Thames and Lee provide most of London's tap water via five large water treatment works. Any additional water that is required comes from underground aquifers and a desalination plant at Beckton that was built in 2010 to supply drinking water during peaks of high demand. Unfortunately, the desalination plant has only successfully operated 3 times between 2010 and 2023, which considering how much it cost to build is disappointing. London, Swindon and Oxford are categorised as 'water stressed'. The London areas have less rainfall than Dallas, Rome and Sydney. This is serious because water shortages, climate change and an increasing population are all factors in what could become a distressing situation in the future. Continued investment in infrastructure, fixing leaks, and education around how we could use water more wisely are key. Multiple treatment processes ensure that your water is safe to drink in London and meets the UK water quality standards. To ensure tap water is safe to drink in London, thousands of tests are carried out from samples from water pipes, water mains and household taps. Why does London tap water taste different? Tap water tastes different in London because the source water is different. Although it's safe to drink tap water in London that doesn't mean you have to like it. And that's OK because you can filter it. Tap water varies across the UK. The landscapes are different, the source water is different, the levels of minerals are different, some water authorities add fluoride, some don't, the levels of chlorine will vary. The list goes on. When people move geographical areas one of the very first things they notice is that the water tastes different, and they're not used to it. We get so many calls from people who want the water to taste the same as the area they've just moved from. That of course is impossible. If we concentrate specifically on London tap water, there are a few reasons why it is different to other parts of the UK. The London tap water issues that come up regularly are: Problems with limescale due to hard water Unpleasant taste/smell Fluoride (spoiler alert - Fluoride is not added to London tap water) Forever chemicals Microplastics Lead (only a concern if you have lead pipes) Problems with limescale in London tap water If you use our postcode checker you can check how hard your water is in London. London has hard water and the visible effects of limescale are there for all to see. From the buildup of scale in your kettle, limescale deposits on taps and shower screens, right up to coffee machines and other household appliances breaking down more quickly than they should. Then there's the continuing need to use more soap, shampoo, shower gel and detergents just to get the lather you desire. Drinking hard tap water in London is safe. The minerals calcium and magnesium are important to have in our diets. It's just the limescale that people want to remove or reduce. Unpleasant taste/smell in London tap water If you're on mains water in London, then you'll have chlorine in your water. You know that smell when you enter a swimming pool. That's the aroma of chlorine, and people don't like it. It's got a bleach or TCP kind of smell. But the addition of chlorine to tap water in London and across the UK is vital to ensure that the hundreds of thousands of kilometres of water pipes remain free from harmful bacteria that would make you ill. It is safe to drink tap water in London that contains chlorine, but if you don't want it in your tap water it's incredibly easy to remove. More on how to do that later. Fluoride in London tap water The addition of fluoride in drinking water confuses a lot of people. We receive numerous calls from people who are concerned about fluoride in their tap water, and they wish to remove it. It would be so easy, but so wrong of us to sell people a water filter system to remove fluoride when it's not even added to their tap water. Currently, England is the only country in the UK that adds fluoride to drinking water. And only 10% of England's population has fluoride added. This does NOT include LONDON. Remember what we said in our introductory paragraph above that there are some aggressive marketing campaigns going on across social media about the state of UK tap water. The public are commenting on these posts asking whether their 'wonder product' removes fluoride. The company is responding by saying 'click here to be added to our waiting list' as they're releasing a product soon that will remove fluoride. What they are not doing is asking what part of the UK that person is living in and then allaying that person's fears if they live in an area where the local authority doesn't currently add fluoride to tap water. It's blatant scaremongering and Fountain Filters are 100% against this. So currently, from a fluoride perspective it is safe to drink London tap water. PFAS (forever chemicals) in London tap water Aside from the UK having one of the best public water supplies in the world, PFAS or forever chemicals as they're more commonly referred to blights that good record. The term 'forever chemicals' gives us a clue about why people are concerned about them. They do not break down over time and so are always in the tap water. Thousands of everyday chemicals are grouped under the PFAS umbrella, such as non-stick coatings on pans, batteries, food packaging, stain resistant fabrics. It is an endless list. PFAS may be useful in their working life, but not in their afterlife and we really should be removing them from our London tap water. It's for this reason that Fountain Filters believe that it is NOT safe to drink tap water in London because of the risk of trace amounts of forever chemicals being present. However, we don't want to scare you. Our role is to give you comfort in the knowledge that you can effectively remove PFAS in London tap water. We'll cover just how easy this is to do a little later. Microplastics in London tap water Microplastics in UK drinking water is another hot topic that continues to bubble along in the press and across social media platforms. As the name suggests microplastics are small pieces of plastic that are not discernible by the human eye. Where there is plastic waste there are microplastics. We all have a responsibility for the level of microplastics found in UK tap water. If you continually buy and then dispose of single use plastic bottles and containers you are adding to the microplastics problem. Once erosion of the plastic takes place microplastics can end up anywhere. In the food we eat and the water we drink. Fountain Filters feel it's safe to say that microplastics in UK tap water will be in minute quantities because the public water supply filters a lot of it out before it reaches your tap. However, there will be microplastics in tap water and for that reason London tap water is not safe to drink if you want to avoid ingesting plastic. But tap water is safer than plastic bottles of water. If you think that you're avoiding microplastics because the only water you drink is bottled water bought off the supermarket shelf then sadly you are mistaken. Lead in London tap water Realistically, you only need to be concerned about lead in your tap water if you have discovered that there are lead pipes in your house. If you have lead in your tap water in London it is toxic and we highly recommend that you filter it out. We obviously don't know how much lead is in your water, you would need to get your water tested to determine the amount. It's a lot cheaper to install a drinking water filter to remove lead than it is to get the pipes replaced. Please note that boiling water that contains lead will not remove it. It will do the opposite. It will increase the concentration of lead in your drinking water. Tap water is NOT safe to drink in London if it contains lead. Is bottled water safer than tap water in the UK? No, Fountain Filters does not think that bottled water is safer than tap water in the UK. Please do not go down the fashionable rabbit hole of believing that bottled water is safer to drink than tap water. There are a few reasons why bottled water is not better to drink than tap water. Bottled water can contain a few hundred microplastics per litre versus tap water with between zero and 10 microplastics per litre. 93% of bottled water has some signs of microplastic contamination according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). WHO published an article on the 30th August 2022 on the Dietary and inhalation exposure to nano and microplastic particles and potential implications for human health which covers human exposure to the occurrence of microplastics in drinking water. Water bought in single use plastic bottles works against what the UK are trying to achieve in terms of reducing plastic waste. Did you know that up to 1 billion single-use plastic bottles are used in London each year. The bottled water industry is far less regulated than the public water supply in the UK. However, we have come across The Natural Mineral, Spring Water and Bottled Drinking Water (England) Regulations 2007 which goes into detail on the requirements for prescribed concentrations of micro-organisms, elements and substances contained in the water prior to bottling. Bottled water is more expensive than tap water. 2 litres of water from a tap will cost you less than 1/3p. A 2L supermarket own brand is around 45p and a premium branded 2L bottle would set you back 90p or more. Where can you access tap water in public places? Under the Refill London scheme you can fill up you re-useable water bottle with free drinking water at one of 5,000 refill stations across London. You can download the Refill App to find out where your nearest London water refill station is. The app doesn't have brilliant reviews, but as with all things like this, it's work in progress. One of the main reasons for installing drinking water stations across London is to drive down the use of single-use plastic bottles. A study in 2022 (see the Refill London website link above) found that 90% of people living in London owned a reuseable bottle, so the more refill stations there are the better. Not having access to this free drinking water stops people using their reuseable bottle and forces people into thinking they need to buy bottled water. All premises licensed to sell alcohol in the UK have to provide free drinking water when requested. This applies even if you're not a paying customer. Non-licensed premises are encouraged to provide free drinking water but can charge if they wish to do so. If you want to outsmart everyone around you, invest in a Water to Go drinking water filter bottle and you can guarantee fresh filtered water from any London tap. How to improve the taste and quality of London tap water We've highlighted some common concerns about London tap water that people call us daily about. To reiterate, these are problems with limescale due to hard water, unpleasant taste and smell of London tap water, fluoride, PFAS (forever chemicals), and the presence of microplastics in London water. For the purposes of this article, we're going to ignore fluoride as this is not currently added to London tap water. To help you improve the taste and quality of your London tap water and give you peace of mind that London tap water is safe to drink then Fountain Filters recommend looking at the following product categories / products on our website. Water filters to resolve problems with limescale in London tap water Fountain Filters have a lot of experience helping people in London combat limescale problems associated with hard water areas. We have hard water filter systems that reduce limescale in your drinking water and also throughout your entire London home. Water filters to improve the taste and smell of your London tap water Tap water in London is treated with chlorine which is a disinfectant used by the water industry to kill harmful bacteria. This ensures your household drinking water won't make you ill. Some people don't like the taste or smell of chlorinated water and would prefer to remove it from their tap water. The removal of chlorine from tap water is incredibly easy with any water filter system that contains a carbon block water filter cartridge. Our most basic drinking water filter to remove chlorine is our best-selling Pearl T. To remove chlorine from every tap in your house take a look at our Doby whole house water filter. The water filter cartridges used in both water filter systems will ensure your London tap water is free from chlorine and safe to drink for a minimum of 12 months. You only need to change the cartridge every year which is good news for London homeowners. Water filters to reduce PFAS (forever chemicals) in London tap water Despite all the noise out there on social media there is no need to complicate the removal of PFAS from your London tap water. ANY water filter containing a carbon block water filter cartridge is going to reduce the level of PFAS in your tap water, making it safe to drink for you and your family. You don't need anything fancy so please don't be swayed by anything else you might find. Please follow the same links for products that you see above for improving the taste and smell of your London tap water. Water filters to reduce microplastics in London tap water To remove microplastics from tap water in London you need to be looking for a system that uses a carbon block water filter cartridge with a micron rating of 1 or below. 5 micron will reduce microplastics, but we recommend a smaller micron rating to be on the safe side. For your drinking water only, this would be our Pearl T with what we call a chlorine guzzler cartridge. A combined water filter system such as our Oyster TC would also do the job. This system uses two water filter cartridges: a 5 micron carbon block and 0.5 micron carbon block. To treat your whole house for microplastics you need the exact same Doby whole house water filter from the 'how to improve the taste and smell of your London tap water' section above, but with a 0.5 micron carbon block instead of the 5 micron cartridge that comes as standard with that filter system. How Fountain Filters can help you with your London tap water We don't want you to buy bottled water thinking it's going to be safer than filtering your own London tap water. We don't want you to be mislead by the nonsense information out there on the internet. The cost of installing a house water filtration system will always be cheaper than buying bottled water, adding to the huge environmental problem London has with single use plastic bottles. But we understand that if you're just starting out with filtering your own London tap water to make it safe to drink that it can feel a little overwhelming deciding on what is right for you. That's where our expert knowledge comes in. We'll guide you to finding the best solution for your individual needs, no matter what those needs are. It's easy to get in touch. Either call 01352 838 281 or leave a message on our helpdesk. FAQs about London tap water: Is it safe to drink tap water in London? In essence, YES but that doesn't mean you have to like it and there are filters you can use to make it safer, such as removing PFAS and microplastics. Is London tap water recycled sewage? No, the water coming out of your tap is not recycled sewage. Your drinking water comes from rivers and aquifers where it's treated to make it safe for human consumption. It's only after you've used it and it's literally gone down the drain into the sewage system that it's transported back to the treatment works and then safely recycled back into the environment (not into the drinking water supply!). Do we end up drinking toilet water? No, you're not drinking toilet water in London. Your drinking water comes from rivers and aquifers, and it's treated to make it potable. Once you've used the tap water it goes down the drain via the sewage system where it's treated and recycled back into the environment. About the author Louise Allen is a partner at Fountain Filters, where she's helped run the business since 2011. Alongside the day-to-day order management, despatch, and quality, she's built up a practical, hands-on knowledge of water filtration, and reviews the site's articles to keep the advice accurate and genuinely useful. Outside work, she's run the London Marathon with business partner Simon.
0 water filters protect your caravan plumbing and boiler system
The Role of Water Filters in Protecting Your Caravan's Plumbing and Boiler System No matter how basic a set up you have for your static caravan, the one thing you'll always need is water; and the one thing you'll always want to avoid is caravan boiler problems. If your static caravan is situated in a hard water area you're definitely going to need specialist water filters for caravans and motorhomes. Installing a specialist water filter means you'll avoid static caravan boiler problems. In this article we'll concentrate on how static caravan and motorhome owners can remove limescale from caravan pipes and future proof a caravans internal plumbing system against costly breakdowns. Key Points Static caravans in hard water areas need a specialist water filter to prevent limescale damaging pipes, appliances, and the boiler. Hard water isn't harmful, but the limescale it forms can destroy anything water flows through over time. Two main anti-limescale methods: polyphosphate sequestration (good for slightly to moderately hard water) and Template Assisted Crystallisation or TAC (best for moderately to very hard water). Match the filter to your water hardness: Pearl or Moby polyphosphate filters for moderately hard water; Pearl OneFlow or Moby OneFlow (TAC) for hard to very hard. Sizing matters: the water needs enough contact time with the media, so don't expect a drinking water filter to treat every outlet. The systems are low-maintenance, need no electricity, and just require a cartridge change every 6-12 months. Table of contents The role of water filters in protecting caravan plumbing Protecting your boiler system with water filters Choosing the right water filter for your caravan Installation and maintenance of caravan water filters How Fountain Filters can help you get the water filter you need for your caravan or motorhome FAQs The role of water filters in protecting caravan plumbing A caravan anti limescale device will prevent limescale in caravan cold water pipes. Limescale is caused when levels of calcium and magnesium in the source water are high. Water hardness in the UK is measured in parts per million (ppm) and levels vary depending on where in the UK your static caravan is situated. Moderately hard water has a reading of 101-200 ppm. Very hard water has a reading of 276+ ppm. Understanding the differences between hard and soft water is important when it comes to answering the question 'do I need a water filter in my caravan'? Limescale appears in places that you'd rather it didn't, such as on shower screens and shower heads, around plugs and the end of taps, in your kettle, or in your caravan water heater. Over time, limescale has the potential to destroy any appliances in your caravan that water flows through. Protecting your boiler system with water filters Hard water isn't a problem, but the limescale that hard water creates can be a major problem. When it comes to preventing limescale in caravan cold water pipes, there are 2 main types of water filter media to consider. The first is food grade polyphosphate crystals that are inserted into the middle of a carbon block water filter cartridge and held in place with plastic retainer clips. The phosphate is released gradually into the water where it combines with the calcium and magnesium, forming a stable compound that inhibits limescale formation. This is called the sequestration method. The sequestration method is an effective caravan limescale device that works reasonably well in areas that have slightly hard to moderately hard water. The second is Template Assisted Crystallisation (TAC). TAC is our fastest growing method for combatting the negative effects of limescale in static caravans. Hard water flows into a cartridge that contains white sand like media. This media circulates with the water, interacting with the dissolved carbonates. The hard ions (calcium and magnesium) are attracted to the media's crystallisation sites, forming microscopic crystals that detach from the media and flow through the pipes instead of sticking to them. If you prefer a visual explanation, then this video will help. Using TAC as part of a caravan water filter set up works extremely well in moderately hard to very hard water areas. Choosing the right water filter for your caravan Now that we've covered the two types of media that can be used to remove limescale from static caravans, it's now down to choosing the right water filter that's going to solve the limescale problems you're experiencing. Let's help you narrow it down with this list of key factors to consider: How hard is the water coming into your static caravan? If your water is moderately hard (101-200 ppm / 100-199.64 mg/l) you may be OK with a caravan water filter that uses polyphosphate crystals such as our Pearl hard water filter. Or to treat all water in your static caravan (including the caravan's water heater / boiler), the Moby hard water filter. For hard to very hard water (201-276+ ppm / 200-275+ mg/l), the Pearl Oneflow hard water filter will be more capable at treating limescale. Or to treat all water in your static caravan (including the caravan's water heater / boiler), the Moby OneFlow hard water filter. The caravan water filters we've mentioned above will treat hard water only. We do supply even bigger hard water filters, but that normally requires a conversation with ourselves about what exactly your needs are. If you wish to remove any other contaminants during the filtration process, you can add other stages. We supply multiple water filter configurations, and we recommend you get in touch so we can come up with the best solution for you. Where are you going to install the caravan or motorhome water filter? The Pearl drinking water filters and Moby mains water filters we've suggested above almost always get installed in the cupboard under the sink. If this wouldn't work with your existing caravan set up, you can install the larger water filter systems in a lagged box on the outside of your caravan or motorhome. Choosing the right size of caravan water filter The vast majority of our static caravan customers find that the limescale water filters and mains hard water filters fit perfectly and effectively reduce limescale. It's important to choose the right sized filter. The water needs enough contact time with the media to ensure that the limescale is being treated effectively. If water passes through the water filter cartridge too quickly then you've wasted your money and will be disappointed with the results. For example, never expect a drinking water filter to treat the water from every outlet in your caravan. Installation and maintenance of caravan water filters Once you've worked out where in the static caravan you are going to install your water filter system the installation should be very straightforward as it's basically water in and water out. Full fitting instructions are provided with every caravan water filter. The beauty of our systems is that they are low maintenance, and you don't need electricity for them to work. You only need to change the water filter cartridge every 6-12 months depending on how much water is being used. When and why to replace water filter cartridges is important. We encourage you to keep on top of your cartridge changes to ensure you don't end up having issues with limescale in the future. It's much more costly to have pipes and appliances replaced than to simply purchase a water filter cartridge. How Fountain Filters can help you get the water filter you need for your caravan or motorhome Hard water can be problematic to deal with, but here at Fountain Filters our speciality is problem solving. We've been finding solutions to people's hard water problems for years. And we can help you find a solution to any static caravan boiler problem. We are happy to look at the set up in your caravan. You wouldn't believe the number of under sink cupboard pictures we get sent. The two main ways to get in touch with us are either through our helpdesk or by calling 01352 838 281. FAQs Do I need a water filter in my caravan The answer to this question starts with gaining insight into whether water filters work. Luckily for you Fountain Filters has the expertise to answer this. Why do I need a water filter for my caravan If you want to travel and explore the great outdoors, investing in a water filter for your caravan should certainly be in your top 10 things to invest in. Depending on where you travel to, unfiltered water may contain contaminants that you'd be best off not drinking. It's better to be on the safe side when it comes to your health and well-being. About the author Louise Allen is a partner at Fountain Filters, where she's helped run the business since 2011. Alongside the day-to-day order management, despatch, and quality, she's built up a practical, hands-on knowledge of water filtration, and reviews the site's articles to keep the advice accurate and genuinely useful. Outside work, she's run the London Marathon with business partner Simon.
Allen & Allen t/a Fountain Filters,
Strowger House, Sandy Lane Ind. Est.
Newcastle upon Tyne, NE3 5HE, UK.
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