The Importance of Knowing Your Water Quality

My name is Melissa from Bozeman, Montana, and I'm here to talk about the water that just came out of my faucet about 30 seconds ago. It's still pretty cloudy, and it always tastes like plastic. Do you have a similar problem with bad-tasting water? Maybe it's time to use a water filter. The first thing you should do is actually find out what's in your water. If you're connected to a community water system and pay your own bill, you should receive an annual water quality report called a CCR or Consumer Competence Report.

If you don't have one, call your local water supplier, and if you rent, contact your landlord. If you're on a non-community public water system or use a private well, you won't get a CCR, so we recommend having your water tested once a year. And anytime you notice a change in taste, color, or odor, you should also get your water tested. If your home was built before 1986 when lead-free pipes were mandated to test your water, the EPA recommends using a certified lab. You can find a lab on the EPA's website.

If the test finds contaminants in your water, it's probably time to choose the right filter to clean it up. You'll want to factor in your budget, your water consumption, maintenance, and most importantly, the contaminants found in your water. For multiple or high levels of contaminants, a reverse osmosis system is recommended. Although they can get pricey, waste a lot of water, and take up a lot of cabinet space, they typically operate using standard household water pressures. The water gets forced through a semi-permeable membrane, which separates the purified water from the contaminants.

Reverse osmosis filters can remove a wide range of contaminants, including dissolved solids. Faucet-mounted water filters are really easy to install and are a good choice for filtering drinking and cooking water. However, they slow down water flow and don't fit on all faucets. One of the most widely used choices out there are water filter pitchers, which are very affordable. The best models that we test do a stellar job of removing chlorine.

A pitcher, however, may not be a good choice for a family that consumes a lot of water every day since the filtering process is not instant. When choosing a pitcher, make sure your filter is certified by an independent lab to meet standards set by NSF International and the American National Standards Institute for removing the specific contaminants you're concerned about. If the filter is certified to NSF and C 42 standards, that means it'll handle all those smells and off tastes, and now you can enjoy your water without holding your nose.

As I can see from my own faucet water, having a clear understanding of our water quality is crucial for maintaining good health and comfort in our homes. By taking the necessary steps to test and filter our water, we can ensure that it's safe and clean to drink, cook with, and enjoy every day.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enmy name is melissa from bozeman montana uh this is water that just came out of my faucet about 30 seconds ago and it's still pretty cloudy it always tastes like plastic do you have that same problem bad tasting water maybe it's time to use a water filter the first thing you should do is actually find out what's in your water if you're connected to a community water system and pay your own bill you should receive an annual water quality report called a ccr or consumer competence report if you don't have one call your local water supplier and if you rent contact your landlord if you're on a non-community public water system or use a private well you won't get a ccr so we recommend having your water tested once a year and anytime you notice a change in taste color or odor you should also get your water tested if your home was built before 1986 when lead-free pipes were mandated to test your water the epa recommends using a certified lab you can find a lab on the epa's website if the test finds contaminants in your water it's probably time to choose the right filter to clean it up you'll want to factor in your budget your water consumption maintenance and most importantly the contaminants found in your water for multiple or high levels of contaminants a reverse osmosis system is recommended though they can get pricey waste a lot of water and take up a lot of cabinet space reverse osmosis filters typically operate using standard household water pressures now the water gets forced through a semi-permeable membrane which separates the purified water from the contaminants now these filters can remove our wide range of contaminants including dissolved solids faucet mounted water filters are really easy to install and are a good choice for filtering drinking and cooking water but they slow down water flow and don't fit on all faucets one of the most widely used choices out there are water filter pitchers which are very affordable and the best models that we test do a stellar job of removing chlorine a pitcher though may not be a good choice for a family that consumes a lot of water every day since the filtering process is not instant when choosing a pitcher make sure your filter is certified by an independent lab to meet standards set by nsf international and the american national standards institute for removing the specific contaminants you're concerned about if the filter is certified to nsf and c 42 standards that means it'll handle all those smells and off tastes and now you can enjoy your water without holding your nose so youmy name is melissa from bozeman montana uh this is water that just came out of my faucet about 30 seconds ago and it's still pretty cloudy it always tastes like plastic do you have that same problem bad tasting water maybe it's time to use a water filter the first thing you should do is actually find out what's in your water if you're connected to a community water system and pay your own bill you should receive an annual water quality report called a ccr or consumer competence report if you don't have one call your local water supplier and if you rent contact your landlord if you're on a non-community public water system or use a private well you won't get a ccr so we recommend having your water tested once a year and anytime you notice a change in taste color or odor you should also get your water tested if your home was built before 1986 when lead-free pipes were mandated to test your water the epa recommends using a certified lab you can find a lab on the epa's website if the test finds contaminants in your water it's probably time to choose the right filter to clean it up you'll want to factor in your budget your water consumption maintenance and most importantly the contaminants found in your water for multiple or high levels of contaminants a reverse osmosis system is recommended though they can get pricey waste a lot of water and take up a lot of cabinet space reverse osmosis filters typically operate using standard household water pressures now the water gets forced through a semi-permeable membrane which separates the purified water from the contaminants now these filters can remove our wide range of contaminants including dissolved solids faucet mounted water filters are really easy to install and are a good choice for filtering drinking and cooking water but they slow down water flow and don't fit on all faucets one of the most widely used choices out there are water filter pitchers which are very affordable and the best models that we test do a stellar job of removing chlorine a pitcher though may not be a good choice for a family that consumes a lot of water every day since the filtering process is not instant when choosing a pitcher make sure your filter is certified by an independent lab to meet standards set by nsf international and the american national standards institute for removing the specific contaminants you're concerned about if the filter is certified to nsf and c 42 standards that means it'll handle all those smells and off tastes and now you can enjoy your water without holding your nose so you\n"