Clean Up that Water!

One of my fellow Beautycounter colleagues posted about water quality and TDS or total dissolvable solids. She bought a meter to test her water and it got me to thinking, what is the level of TDS in our well water and is the Kinetico system that was in place when we bought our house doing anything?So, a few weeks ago I went to trusty Amazon and ordered the meter. I was so excited when it arrived and immediately pulled it out of the box and began testing our water. TDS are the amount of charged ions, including minerals, inorganic salts (calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, bicarbonates, chlorides, and sulfates), metals, and some small amounts of organic matter that are dissolved in water. Because TDS is not a measure of any single contaminant, it is not regulated as a health issue by most government agencies. However, because a high TDS content can affect the taste and appearance of water, the EPA's max contaminant TDS level is 500ppm. I’ve read that the ideal range is less than 50ppm. When I tested our tap water it was 242, our water filtered through the Kinetico system measured 17! That was a huge difference. Let’s just say I’m more diligent about where our water glasses and bottles get filled from now.I am in the process of reading The Vaccine-Friendly Plan by Paul Thomas, M.D. and Jennifer Margulis, Ph.D. It’s an incredible book that I highly recommend. As baby girl’s due date approaches I am trying to navigate the vaccine world and decide what is best for our family. Being a western medicine trained Family Nurse Practitioner who lives a more holistic life and tries to blend the two worlds, this book has been amazing! Dr. Paul Thomas presents his proven approach to building immunity, a new protocol that limits a child's exposure to aluminum, mercury, and other neurotoxins while building overall good health. In the book he talks about limiting our environmental exposures, which includes the contaminants in our water. He recommends a reverse-osmosis and charcoal filtration system to remove heavy metals, pesticides, and herbicides.There are reverse osmosis systems available on Amazon that go under your sink, see this example. If you have someone handy, they can install it. I’ve also heard great things about the Berkey Water Filter System that goes on your counter. There are many great options out there, so if this interests you, you will want to do a little research. I would steer clear of systems like Brita as they are not that effective at getting the job done.I hope this adds to your arsenal of information to clean up your lives! I know I'm constantly chipping away at the information and always happy to share the bits and pieces I learn with all of you!