We may think water filtration and purification in our homes is a more recent advancement, but water treatment methods like boiling, solar heating, and sand filtration date back to 1500 BC, as documented in ancient Greek and Sanskrit writings. In the U.S., water treatment standards have developed to include the Clean Water Act (1972) and the Safe Drinking Water Act (1974). Such legislation has offered a lot of protection regarding the safety of our water. For example, it is thanks to accessible clean water and sanitation that cholera—a once-fatal bacterial disease spread through water—is rare now in the U.S., whereas it is still a concern in other parts of the world.

Our water today

Although water is well-regulated in the U.S., many people remain skeptical of impurities in residential water. They realize the municipalities and well systems that provide drinking water are not infallible, and environmental pollution is increasing. We hear media stories of lead-contaminated drinking water as in Flint, Michigan; and there is a litany of disturbing findings that motivate me to educate people around what is in their water.

Those findings include: the prevalence of so-called forever chemicals (PFOAS, a manmade class of carbon-fluorine-bonded compounds developed to make products and coatings that repel grease, water, oil and heat); the increased widespread use of pesticides and herbicides like glyphosate and atrazine; discoveries of 1,4-dioxane industrial chemicals in ground water; and water runoff or snow melt contaminating wells with microorganisms and blue–green algae blooms—all of which makes it difficult for Americans to trust the quality of their water supply.

Given human cells require water to function, and considering skin is our largest organ and capable of absorbing chemicals from water in 26 seconds or less, pure water should be prioritized as integral to a healthy home.

This…