Are You Drinking Healthy Water?  A Zero Water Review

After an extensive meetup with a health specialist at the end of last year, one of the biggest recommendations I had was to drink more water. Ok, let’s be honest, the recommendation was to drink water. I did not drink any water. Well, that has since changed. The benefits are great (better skin, weight loss, more energy, etc) and I knew I had to make it part of my routine. So when Zero Water approached me to review their filtration systems, I figured that was a clear sign to get drinking.

Zero Water has a patented 5-stage filter compared to most on the market that are only 2 stages. There are many different pitcher sizes and they come with a TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) reader which was an excellent way to get my husband and I into the review process. We tested out tap water, or filtered water from our fridge unit, and the tap water we drink from our country house (which comes from a well and has its own UV filter). The results were surprising. But before I share the results, let me share some facts.

Heavy and larger, the Zero Water filter has a 5-stage filter compared to others that have only 2.

What Is In Your Tap Water?

There have been some rare cases when we are notified by our city that they are doing work in the area and our water could be affected. The protocol is to see if the water comes out in a brown tone, and if it does, to not drink it until it flushes clear. Other times, we have been told to boil our water, and still other times we have been informed to not use water for a 24-hour period. Those are unique periods, but what about the rest of the time?

What exactly could be harmful in tap water? The list can a mile long, depending where you live. With anything from hormones to arsenic, lead to pesticides, our tap water can literally be toxic. Toxic chemicals that are soluble in water often have no colour or taste and end up causing damage without you knowing.

Canada and the US have had water acts in place for decades but they are not always enforced. The reality is that big companies have been polluting water supplies for years. We as consumers are doing it also, without our knowledge. How? Well, through the products we use; shampoos, medications, cleaning products, etc. are being used by us, and then they are flushed into the waters we will then drink from our taps at home. It is fair to say not everyone has the same requests when buying products. In our home, we look for all natural products, especially in our cleaning products and cosmetics. But that is only good for what we buy, not what we drink from our tap.

Click here for a full list of what can be removed from your water with the Zero Water Filtration Systems.

Worth noting to my mama readers:  Depending what is in the local water, there could be hormones in the water that could essentially change the way we develop. Therefore, women that are pregnant and young children are at a higher risk. Consider the water you may use in preparing formula for your baby, or the water you give yourself and your child to drink daily, or even the water you use to prepare food at home. So, a solution is of course, bottled water, right? Not in my opinion.

Say No To Bottled Water

It makes me a little jittery when I see so many people drinking bottled water, and worse when I see those bottles being thrown out into garbage bins that are not going to be recycled.

If you live in North America, chances are you have bought bottled water. Whether you do it subconsciously or not, it could very well be your biggest waste of money. I have bought bottled water as well. In fact, I bought one the other day. The difference is I cringed at the thought of spending money and adding to the environmental issues by buying it. Maybe you don’t think it’s a big deal, but here are some reasons why:

• Bottles used to package water take over 1,000 years to bio-degrade and if incinerated, they produce toxic fumes.
• Recycling is only feasible in limited circumstances because only PET bottles can be recycled. All other bottles are discarded.
• In order to produce, package and distribute water bottles, large numbers of barrels of oil, fossil fuel and (get this this) triple the water (i.e. 3 liters of water per 1 liter of bottled water) is needed.

(These facts were taking from TheWaterProject.org and they were sourced on their page into more detail)

Filtered Water is the Solution

After our extensive testing over a period of two and a half months, my husband, my boys and I have come to some conclusions. Given our low TDS in our area, we were unable to taste a difference in the water that was filtered with Zero Water filters. That said, as mentioned above, most TDS are not able to be detected by taste.

It is suggested that any water higher than 500 ppm (parts per million) should be filtered for your health. Our readings read under 100 so we felt it might not be necessary in our area. However, after researching for this review, I naturally tend to grab my filtered water bottle and so do my children. It gives us all a little more sense of control as to what we are digesting.

We will no longer be wasting our money with the filter on our fridge. After reading the TDS from our tap water and then comparing the fridge filter, the reading was pretty much the same. And we were unknowingly wasting money on a filter (every 3-5 months) thinking it was doing us good. Not anymore.

Things to Consider

*Because the filter is working hard and goes through many layers, the water takes time to go through and fill your pitcher. The good thing is that because of the way they designed the large 23-cup dispenser and the water bottles, you don’t have to wait for all the water to be filtered down before you drink. However, the 8-cup pitcher does not have a lock lid and is harder to pour while water is still being filtered.

*The plastics of all the pitchers are BPA free. That was important to us since I tend to purchase more glass containers than plastic. Knowing the reusable straws and refillable water bottles were BPA made me feel like it was a better choice. I would love to see Zero Water come out with a glass pitcher or reusable water bottle.

*Do not keep your reusable water bottles in the car. I’ve always said this about water in the car, but with the filter, there’s even more reason. Because the water could freeze or get very warm, depending where you are, it could potentially damage the filter. This is not a recommendation from the company, just from me. We made the mistake with one of my son’s bottles and left it overnight in the car. It took a long time to thaw it out and I took it apart to be sure the filter was dried and thawed out too.

On the left is the reading of our tap water, the on left is the same tap water filtered through Zero Water. Although it reads 001 PPM, I have since tried again and the reading has read 000.

Do I Recommend Zero Water?

Yes, absolutely. I highly recommend this filtration system in areas where the TDS level is high, but also for those who just want to filter their water for better health. My thinking is that we are not aware of all the damages that particle-filled water can do to us, only some. So, if we can prevent ingesting things we do not know the side effects of yet, then why wouldn’t we?

There are a lot of filtration systems on the market. I took some serious time to research and read about many of them. Some just don’t do what they say they will. Zero Water really did clear the water of all TDS and I have used the systems for two and a half months to see if that would change over time. Our readings are still under 006, which is the number you would change your filter. So all in all, I really like these products and will continue to use them.

I hope this information helps, and that you consider looking into the TDS levels in your area. It’s worth checking out. For more information on Zero Water, you can visit their website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Giveaway!

To get you and your family into a healthy water-drinking routine, Zero Water is offering one lucky reader a Family Starter Pack complete with a 23-cup pitcher, a 4-pack of replacement filters, and 2 reusable water bottles/tumblers (and value of $120). To enter, fill the Rafflecopter form below. This giveaway is open to Canadian residents only. The deadline to enter is February 10, 2017. Good luck to all!

a Rafflecopter giveaway