By seeking an answer to the question “What minerals are in tap water?” a homeowner can discover the answer to a second question: “What makes water ‘hard’?” Water that contains a generous amount of calcium, magnesium, and manganese forms a precipitate in the presence of soap. Most homeowners do not want to have that precipitate forming on their skin. Most homeowners do not like to shower in hard, i.e. mineral-rich water.
By seeking an answer to the question “What minerals are in tap water?” a homemaker can learn the answer to this question: “Why does a white scum form on the bottom of a tea kettle?” If mineral-rich water is placed in a pot and boiled, then a white scale will form on the sides of that pot. Boiling causes excess minerals to come out of the water; before that boiling, the water had acted as a solvent (a liquid that can dissolve a solid).
Ground water courses through soil and rock. Those geologic entities contain calcium, magnesium, strontium, ferrous iron and manganese. Whenever any of the water molecules loose an electron, those molecules break down into positive and negative ions. Those ions then combine with different minerals in the soil.
Both ground water and surface water undergo repeated chemical reactions. Those reactions cause both ground water and surface water to become a source of bicarbonates, carbonates, sulfates and chlorides. The salts that get dissolved in the water can later show-up as a deposit, a deposit on the pipes that are used to carry that salt-laden water.
Homeowners often ask “What minerals are in tap water?” Business owners, too, have found it necessary to ask that question. In North America, certain physicians have also chosen to examine the mineral composition of tap water. Their examination has motivated them to encourage patients to drink more tap water. That tap water contains minerals, such as calcium and potassium. Those minerals help to supplement the number of minerals in each patient’s diet.
Of course, no physician would ever suggest that a patient should drink large quantities of contaminated water. For that reason, physicians often suggest that their patients consider buying some sort of filtering device. Filtered water tastes better than regular tap water, so patients tend to drink more water, when it has been filtered.
As more and more patients listen to their physicians talk about the benefits of filtered water, they begin to examine the types of filtration systems now on the market. A rising number of homeowners and business owners have chosen to invest in an activated carbon filter. When combined with micron filtration, such an activated carbon filter can reduce the number of contaminants in the tap water.
Physicians applaud the use of activated carbon filters. Unlike filters that use reverse osmosis, the activated carbon filter does not remove minerals from the tap water. By investing in an activated carbon filter, a homeowner or business owner can know that he or she has made a good investment. He or she has provided residents and workers with the opportunity to enjoy clean, safe and healthful water.
