Tap water is a great thirst quencher. Immediately available, inexpensive and packaging-free - there has to be a catch somewhere, right? Don't worry, in the following blog article we will address your questions and explain what the well-known myths about tap water are really about. Let's get started!
Tap water contains no minerals – or does it?
Mineral water = contains minerals. Tap water = not really?
As the name suggests, mineral water contains some minerals. However, there is no legal minimum content, which is why different products have different levels of minerals and can therefore still be low in minerals. It is a widespread myth that tap water does not contain any minerals: Potassium, magnesium, calcium and sodium are all part of the standard repertoire of water. The number of minerals dissolved in tap water varies greatly from region to region, as it depends on the geological composition of the soil. Watch out, now it gets exciting! In Germany, around two thirds of tap water is obtained from – well, who would have guessed it – groundwater. When it rains, most of the rainwater seeps into the ground and flows through several Earth and rock layers. In these layers, the water is enriched with the minerals present there before it gets into the groundwater. Aha! If you want to know exactly which minerals are in your tap water, look at your water supplier's website.
But it doesn't really matter, because consuming (mineral) water isn't enough to cover your needs anyway. So: It's better to eat a plate of vegetables or a slice of wholemeal bread than to buy expensive water ;)
but what about lead in tap water?
The story of lead pipes is much bigger than the actual problem: At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, lead pipes were mainly installed in houses. In parts of southern Germany, the Installation of lead-containing pipes was already banned in 1878 , in the rest of the Republic in the 1970s of the last century. In Germany, a limit of max. 0.010 mg/l for lead in drinking water. Lead pipes (and thus lead-containing tap water) are only present in some older buildings that were built before 1973. Since In 2013, house and apartment owners are required to replace lead pipes as soon as the above-mentioned limit can no longer be met . Good to know!
If you are unsure when the water pipes were installed, it is best to ask the property management or test it yourself: lead pipes appear silver-grey and can be easily scratched with a knife as they are softer than copper and steel pipes. To be on the safe side (especially with older buildings and pipes), you can take a water sample and send it to a laboratory. Otherwise, you can drink your tap water without any worries.
what about drug residues and hormones?
Human life has an impact on nature and therefore also on water. This is often a problem and we all have to do our part to protect our water resources. This includes the handling of medicines and hormone-like substances. But what is the difference between hormones, hormone-like substances and medicines?
Hormones are chemical messengers that are released to act on an organ in another part of the body. They regulate bodily functions such as growth, metabolism, sexual behavior, and much more. Over 50 hormones have been identified in humans.
Endocrine disruptors (colloquially environmental hormones e) are located in medicines, cosmetics and many plastic products and are mostly used by humans artificially produced They accumulate in the air, soil and water. They have a hormone-like effect and can replace a natural hormone in the function of the disrupt the hormonal system The hormone-like effect of synthetic substances is usually only recognized when disturbances become visible. However, endocrine disruptors also include natural hormones that are released into the environment by humans or animals (for example via wastewater treatment plants).
Medicines, on the other hand, are biologically highly active substances which are used to influence metabolism or shift hormonal balance. They require approval and must be tested for quality, effectiveness and safety.
Research projects show that drug residues have been detected in the environment and therefore also traces of them in groundwater and drinking water. However, quantities are extremely small and the World Health Organization (WHO) classifies this as not harmful for drinking water consumption How can that be, you ask yourself? Here is a small example calculation:
Among other things, the painkiller diclofenac has been detected in surface water. The average dose measured in Germany is 0.6 micrograms per liter, which corresponds to 0.0000006 grams. For comparison: a lower-dose tablet contains 0.025 grams of diclofenac. There is no data yet on how much of this is ultimately contained in drinking water, but the value is very likely to be much lower. If one calculates with the value of the surface water, you would have to drink almost 42,000 liters of water to absorb the dose of a single tablet This would be based on a daily drinking amount of 2 l for over 57 years and thus a super low load ! The limits for tap water are so low that people no health damage with daily consumption In many foods, the limits are set much higher because legislators assume that these are not consumed in such high quantities every day as tap water.
Nevertheless, the following applies: Do not dispose of medicines in the toilet ! Expired or no longer used medications (including birth control pills) should best be disposed of in the general waste or taken to the pharmacy, as they otherwise end up in our water cycle.
Hormone-active substances in water also affect bottled mineral water : The estrogen load in mineral water from plastic bottles alone, for example, is twice as high as that from glass bottles. Researchers suspect that this is due to chemical substances or plastic additives that can be released into the water from the plastic bottle.
and germs in tap water?
Germs and their proliferation are mainly caused by older, less heavily used pipe systems or in long-term stagnant stagnant water Stagnant water occurs when the tap water does not flow for several hours or days but stands in the pipes. This can lead to the formation of germs (depending on the temperature). In cold water pipes, where the temperature is usually below 20 °C, germs hardly multiply, except during very long periods of stagnation.
Therefore, always diligently drain stagnant water , if you want to tap fresh tap water in the morning! You can tell that tap water is fresh because the water is noticeably fresher and regularly cold. As a rule, it is sufficient if you are not going to be away for a long time 15 seconds or 1 liter of water If you want, collect the water in a watering can and use it to delight your flowers in your house and garden - they will be happy!
welcome to the tap water nerd team!
So, now you are well informed about tap water! Currently, tap water is safe, but we live in a world that is constantly changing. For example, the population is getting older and therefore the intake of medications that can enter our water cycle is increasing. On the other hand, we must better protect our water and ensure that it remains protected by regulations!
If you are still unsure about your water, you can do a test as described above to check your water quality (especially in relation to the pipes). Otherwise, you can always filter the water again if you feel safer doing so. This also applies, of course, if you simply prefer filtered tap water! For this, there is our in-bottle water filter "soulfilter" , which will accompany you not only in everyday life, but also on your next summer vacation and saves you plastic bottles.
Bottled water offers no alternative , especially in comparison to CO 2 emissions: Just by switching to tap water you reduce your annual CO₂ consumption from 148 kg CO₂ to 0.26 kg . Aside from that tap water also saves money , what more could you want?
And because drinking from a fresh bottle is much more fun, you can find our soulbottles with over 30 different designs here. New to the souliverse? You can find all products here.
cheers to the planet!
Sources and further information:
https://www.quarks.de/gesundheit/ernaehrung/3-prejudicial-against-leitungswasser/
https://www.wassertest-online.de/blog/mineralstoffe-im-leitungswasser-wird-der-koerper-durch-wasser-aus-dem-hahn-ausreichend-versorge/
https://www.hausjournal.net/die-fähren-von-stagnationswasser
https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/daten/chemikalien/arzneimittelrueckstaende-in-der-umwelt#arzneimittelwirkstoffe-in-der-umwelt
https://www.puk.uni-frankfurt.de/38673393/047
https://setac.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/etc.3339
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00506-017-0396-x
https://www.bund.net/fileadmin/user_upload_bund/publikationen/fluesse/fluesse_hormonaktive_substanzen_background.pdf
