Even though drinking water is a fundamental human right, there are many places where there is a shortage of water or the tap water available is unsafe for drinking. Drinking contaminated water is detrimental to our health and sometimes fatal in the long run.
Water purifiers are the best alternatives out there to ensure safe drinking water. There is a multitude of ways our drinking water can be polluted or contaminated; the major contaminants are:
Chemicals: there are many natural and artificial chemicals dissolved or dispersed in water. If these chemicals reach a critical level, they can cause considerable harm to us. The most common chemicals that get into our water are pesticides, petroleum-based chemicals, dioxides, lead from factories, and mercury. These contaminants can cause reproductive problems, increase chances of cancer, impair eye, liver, kidney and other bodily functions. With prolonged intake, these chemicals almost definitely cause cancer.
Living organisms/pathogens: unnoticed by us, there are a lot of microscopic organisms living in the water we drink. Viruses, bacteria, algae and many more thrive in water. Diseases like typhoid fever, cholera, giardia, dysentery, Escherichia Coli, hepatitis B, and salmonella are all spread by water.
Water Pollution in Australia
The things we do in our everyday life also affects the water quality. Most of our regular waste often get dumped into rivers and the oceans without any treatment; there are many macro pollutants we see in daily life like plastic covers cigarette butts and pet waste which contribute to water pollution, many micropollutants like toxins from vehicles and much more make rivers unlivable for plants and animals living in the waterbodies we pollute. The King River in Tassie is considered the most polluted river in Australia; it had long been used as a dumping ground for mining waste; now, the river is said to be so acidic that no plants or animals can survive in the river, and the water is now far from drinking condition.
Importance of water purifiers
Machines that purify water and bring them to a drinkable state are called water purifiers.
In industrial countries like India and the US, water purifiers have become necessary due to all the pollution and falling out from their industries. Technologies like UV purification and more have been implemented in water treatment plants to add extra protection. Still, it is better safe than sorry in matters like drinking water because prolonged exposure to unsafe water has fatal implications on health. Good water purifiers now utilise technology like reverse osmosis or RO and UV purifications, making them highly effective; some of the main reasons to have them are:
An extra layer of safety: in most suburban areas, we can place a definite amount of trust in the public water treatment systems, but things like leaking pipes are out of our control and compromise the water’s safety.
Remove Unwanted Contaminants: the primary function of these machines is to remove unwanted microbes and unhealthy minerals and salts in the water we drink.
Help decrease the Use of Plastic: buying bottled water daily adds a lot of plastic to the environment; these again contribute to the pollution cycle of a place.
Improve odour and taste of water: the modern machines in the market have features which help better the smell and taste of the water we drink, making it a bonus for good health.