If you want to achieve the purest possible drinking water in your home, you need to familiarize yourself with what the most common contaminants are. Unfortunately, the drinking water in most homes could be susceptible to the seven following contaminants unless it is treated and conditioned:

Mineral deposits

Hard water is caused by the presence of mineral deposits. These mineral deposits can prematurely age home appliances like hot water heaters and boilers. Water softener systems remove mineral deposits—typically of calcium and magnesium compounds—from drinking water. 

Hydrogen sulfide

Hydrogen sulfide contaminates a home's drinking water when sulfur bacteria break down plants, soil, and other largely organic materials found in water. 

Although hydrogen sulfide in drinking water is not necessarily bad for the health of those who drink the water, it can negatively impact the taste of drinking water. 

Nitrates

Nitrates are used as fertilizers, and they can get into ground water supplies. Small amounts of nitrates in drinking water are generally harmless. However, excessive exposure to nitrates through drinking water can lead to health issues including gastric problems and methemoglobinemia. 

Total chlorine

Chlorine is a necessary evil when it comes to ensuring that home drinking water is healthy. Chlorine kills microbes in drinking water that could cause illness, but too much chlorine can be harmful to those who drink the water.

Total chlorine refers to chlorine content in water in excess of what is necessary to kill microbes. To ensure that the chlorine content in your water is optimal, you need to have your water tested and take any filtering precautions if too much chlorine is present.

Lead

Lead gets into drinking water because it is found in natural deposits and in old pipes. Lead in drinking water can cause developmental problems in growing children and kidney problems in adults. Filtering lead out of drinking water is imperative to ensure the health of household members.

Coliform

Coliform is one of the most common bacterial contaminants in drinking water in American homes. No coliform whatsoever should be present in your home's drinking water, so you absolutely need to have your water treated if a test indicates coliform presence. 

Pesticides

Pesticides run off of farmland on which they are applied and leak down into ground water. While municipal water treatment facilities remove some potentially harmful pesticide residue, sometimes it's not enough. Home water conditioning can help to purify water that has been contaminated by pesticide runoff. For more information, visit a site like http://johnsonwater.com/.

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