Are you drinking tap water? 
 
Then it’s likely that you’re drinking contaminants on a daily basis. 
 
Of course, what kind of contaminants they are, and what levels of them are present, really depends on where you live. 
 
But there are 4 contaminants that are the most common. Read on to find out what they are and what you can do. 

 
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PFAS (Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances) 

These are toxic man-made chemicals that are used for things like firefighting foam, non-stick frying pans and food packaging.They’re also known as “forever chemicals”, because they’re designed to last in the environment. And there has been some debate around them. They are known to be present in tap water in the UK, for example, and while they don’t exceed British safety levels, they do exceed European safety levels.

The debate has been focused on the fact that there should be more limits on their presence in water, because of the known impact that they have on our health. They’re linked to cancer, miscarriage, endocrine disruption, and a variety of other conditions. 

Lead

Lead can be surprisingly common in your drinking water, because it can leak into your water supply through old pipes.  But how is lead harmful?

Like PFAS, it’s likely to be carcinogenic, and can harm the kidneys as well as increasing blood pressure. It can also affect children in the long term. It impacts brain development and can cause behavioural and learning problems. 

Pesticides and Herbicides

Agricultural work can leak these toxic chemicals into water supplies. They can cause respiratory illnesses, allergic reactions, nausea and vomiting, as well as Parkinson’s disease and cancer.

Yes, your water supply is likely to be regularly tested for pesticides, but the trouble is that they’re not always detected or removed. That’s because there’s such a wide variety of these chemicals,  that it’s difficult to spot them all. 

Microplastics

Now we’re discovering that microplastics are everywhere. And that includes your tap water, not just bottled water. 
 
While we’re still finding out all the harmful effects that microplastics can produce, and whether there’s any safe level of exposure, they’re thought to leak toxic chemicals (since they’re made from petrochemicals, after all). 
 
These chemicals don’t just have the potential to cause cancer. But they can even damage your DNA. 
 
A buildup of microplastics in your system can cause swelling and blockages, impair your immune system and nervous system responses and contribute to inflammatory bowel disease. 

So what can you do?

Even if you try to avoid drinking tap water by consuming bottled water, you’ll still end up consuming microplastics. It might seem like there’s no escape from these harmful contaminants, but there are solutions available which can protect you. 
 
A good option is to filter your water so that any contaminants are removed. Doulton’s hand-made ceramic filters can do just that.  
 
What’s more is that Doulton's ceramic water filters don’t remove any nourishing minerals from the water. These remain so that you get the greatest benefit from drinking water. 
 
Order a filter now – for the sake of your wellbeing.