The purpose of having a blog is to educate, inform and share solutions to water quality problems in your household. There are many different ways that your water quality can be affected and we’ve touched upon a few of those issues, like water shocking and hard water in past articles.
Today we will be discussing “what is PFAS,” how it gets into the water and how it can not only affect your water quality, but can lead to questionable health outcomes. We don’t write to insight fear, but we write to inform and educate, because PFAS issues have become a recent trend among the media and social media platforms.
What Is PFAS?
PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of man-made chemicals that have been around since the 1940s. The use of PFAS spreads across many industries and can commonly be found in products like non-stick cookware, water-repellent clothing (think umbrellas, rain jackets and tents), personal care products (shampoos, nail polish, dental floss), cleaning products and more.
PFAS are nicknamed “forever chemicals” because of how extremely durable they are. These chemicals don’t break down easily, and can accumulate over time in water supplies, making their way into the drinking water. This also means they enter into our bodies from drinking the water.
Problems With PFAS
Long-term exposure to the ingestion of PFAS have been linked to:
- Immune system weakening
- Reproductive & developmental issues
- Higher cholesterol levels
- Hormonal disruption
- Thyroid problems
- Liver damage
- Cancer – particularly kidney & testicular cancers
Given these potential health impacts, reducing exposure to PFAS in water and other sources is a priority for many health and environmental organizations.
Reducing PFAS in Water Through Reverse Osmosis
Reverse Osmosis is a type of filtration that uses a special membrane that is specifically useful in removing PFAS from the water.
Reverse Osmosis (RO) works with a core component called a semipermeable membrane. The membrane has extremely tiny pores, that only allows water molecules to pass but block larger molecules, and most contaminants, including PFAS.
To pass through the membrane, high pressure is applied that assists in separating the water molecules from the contaminants.
Now separated, a majority of the PFAS, other contaminants and larger molecules are left behind and clean water is available with significantly less PFAS.
To ensure the PFAS and contaminants do not make it any further, they are flushed away in a separate waste stream.
Investing In A Whole Home System To Remove PFAS
Reverse Osmosis filtration can be installed with a whole home water system that purifies the water throughout your household. A whole home system gives you high quality drinking water, softens the hard Texas city water, helps to reduce skin and hair issues due to hard water, and much more. Our last blog, 5 Ways To Know You Need A Water Softener In Texas, explains in more detail about how hard water affects your home and body.
Clean Your Water With EcoWater Texas
If you’re interested in learning more about whole home water systems, reverse osmosis filtration and which system will work best in your home, contact our team at EcoWater Texas today!
We are National Sanitation Foundation, NSF certified, which means we meet and exceed public health and safety standards set by the foundation. We are also ANSI certified which is the American National Standard Institute. This is another set of standards that our team meets and exceeds in terms of how we run the business, install the products and work with our customers.
Our team is ready to discuss and install your new water systems. Our service areas include and expand to, Dallas, Fort Worth, Plano, Valley View, Springtown, Cleburne, Prosper and more. Give us a call to see if your home falls within our service area!
