Did you know that you can ingest over 300 different contaminants if you drink tap water? That number includes heavy metals, pesticides, and even hormone disruptors.

To make things more complicated, a small amount of minerals are grouped in with those 300+ contaminants. Tap water is rich in minerals, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Minerals are essential for our health and proper bodily functions. 

Tap water contains mineral particles (calcium, magnesium, zinc, etc), which our bodies need for:

• strong bones and teeth

• regulate blood pressure and body temperature 

• support the heart and lower the risk of cardiovascular disease

• maintain the right balance of fluids

• influence growth, repair, and maintenance of cells

• improve digestion

• flush out waste and toxins

• boosts energy levels

For your health and safety, you’ll need a robust water filtration system. It’s a delicate balance – you want a system that can remove most of the contaminants, but advanced enough to retain the essential minerals in your water.

When it comes to any form of water filtration or purification, a common misconception is that filters are not effective if they do not reduce a Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) score, but here's the thing: TDS measurements alone don't determine if your water is clean or not. 

TDS refers to all dissolved solids in water – including minerals – but does not differentiate between the good and bad solids. 

You might think a low TDS score means clean water, but it's not that simple. TDS meters measure water conductivity, not specific contaminants. In fact, some beneficial dissolved solids register higher than their toxic counterparts and raise the TDS score.

When it comes to water filtration systems and water purification systems, the difference is the amount of contaminants that are removed. 

Most filters target a set number of contaminants, whether that’s due to limited filtration media or by design, while purification systems like reverse osmosis (RO) and distillation strip virtually everything in water – that includes total dissolved solids, essential minerals, and nutrients. The lack of minerals and nutrients can sometimes make pure water taste “dead” or “flat.” 

Here’s why purified water isn’t as great as it seems: a study from the World Health Organization (WHO) found several research-based concerns that make references to the idea that drinking purified water may be damaging to our health. Health risks of purified water include loss of calcium and magnesium (the two most beneficial minerals found in drinking water), possible increased toxic metals intake, and effects on metabolism and homeostasis.

While we cannot definitively determine whether that is true, it’s worth noting that RO water can leach heavy metals from your pipes; if you're using a purification system, make sure your pipes aren't lead-based!

Remineralization is only needed in the case of water purification systems (reverse osmosis and distillation) because they remove virtually all dissolved solids in water.

Here are a few ways to do it:

1. Mineral drops: The most affordable option, but quality of the drops can vary.

2. Remineralizing water filters: A simple, albeit costly, addition to your system. These filters attach to your existing systems and add minerals back into your purified water as it flows through.

3. Alkaline water bottles: These bottles have filters that increase pH levels and add calcium and magnesium for better taste.

While there are many ways to add minerals to your water, it is an extra step and additional cost that doesn’t make up for the wasteful and inefficient nature of water purifiers. 

RO systems are known for generating more wastewater than typical filtration systems – these systems tend to produce three times as much wastewater as treated water. Similarly, water distillers are more energy-intensive and just as wasteful. It could take several hours – and four gallons of wastewater! – to produce one gallon of distilled water.

If you use any Clearly Filtered system, you won't need to worry about remineralization. 

Simply put, every Clearly Filtered system is powered by our advanced Affinity® Filtration Technology that can identify beneficial minerals and nutrients and allows them to pass through, while targeting harmful dissolved solids and other dangerous contaminants. 

Since our systems filter out the chemicals, disinfectants, and heavy metals, but do not target the healthy mineral content of water, remineralization is unnecessary.