Why isn’t my faucet water clean enough for home hemodialysis?
There are many opportunities for water to pick up environmental substances starting when rain drops fall down to earth. Gases such as carbon dioxide can be picked up by the rain, dissolve and make acid rain. Once water seeps down into the earth, it can pick up numerous minerals including calcium from limestone, metals such as lead and copper and even poisons such as arsenic. There are man-made impurities that can contaminate the water such as pesticides and fertilizers. Well water often contains a large amount of salt, while water from reservoirs usually harbors bacteria, viruses and algae. And finally, city water suppliers add chemicals to water to destroy bacteria, fluorides to prevent tooth decay and aluminum to make the water clear. While all this sounds a little alarming, tap water is safe to drink because it goes through a treatment process. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets standards for levels of impurities so that water stays safe to drink. Every public water syst
