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Ever read a blog that makes your head hurt? Bad grammar, incorrect word usage, terrible spelling and strange sentence structure are just some of the many errors that pop up in blogs that make you think, “How was this ever written by a human being?” Well, maybe it wasn’t.

Some writers and website content managers rely on bots, for example, to stuff blog posts full of SEO keywords that thoroughly trash any editorial or informational value the post might otherwise have had. Such posts are often repetitive (to pump up those SEO numbers), nonsensical and sometimes downright offensive. As avid bloggers and retailers, we get our fair share of blog notices that contain many of the capital blogging sins, and I’d like to share one shining example:

http://www.lowflowshowerhead.goodarticlesite.com/the-aquasana-pure-shower-filter/

According to this blog post, The Aquasana shower filters have a wealth of hitherto unknown qualities, capabilities and commendations:

“Pure smoke removal.” (Our filters do not now, nor have they ever, removed smoke from shower water. Nor do we recommend that you smoke in the shower.) “Not to mention the filter, chlorine, which canallergic reactions.” (Our filter is not made of chlorine, it reduces chlorine, and I’m not sure what exactly a “canallergic reaction” is.)

“Aquasana filter reduces chemicals and synthetic because of a carbonized coconut shell.” (We actually use coconut shell carbon, which is slightly different than “carbonized coconut shell.”)

“It is not in vain as the Niagara ‘head.’” (Not sure what exactly is not in vain, and not sure how we compare to the Niagara “head.”)

“Even Dr. Mehmet Oz, the Oprah WinfreyHunger “prescribed” a shower filter his television audience.” (Um, what is an Oprah WinfreyHunger? And how does it describe Dr. Oz?)

“And many experts have specifically recommended the years Aquasana shower filter, including the Consumer Digest Magazine, which rated a “Best Buy” and cosmetology today, the name IT products.” (We are not, have never been and never plan to be an IT product of any size, shape, style or color.)

“If you are after a simple shower filter or if your best, you get rid of the chlorine exposure, the filter actually works.” (I am so glad the filter “actually works”. We would not sell bogus products!)

Hope we made you laugh. Happy holidays!

So you took the step of purchasing a drinking water filter in your house? Congratulations! You should take time to relish the relief you feel at providing healthy and safe drinking water for your family. I don’t know about you, but before I installed a drinking water filter, I always felt a kind of sour internal feeling that maybe drinking the tap water wasn’t really in my best interest, my heart plagued by guilt and doubt. But no more!

Bath & Shower Demons
Now let’s turn our attention to another source of nasty business in the house: the shower and bath water. If you have noticed that your hair and skin seem to be dry and that your baths or showers irritate your skin, that is likely the result of shower water contamination: chlorine, lead, VOCs, SOCs, chloramine, and other harmful vapors. The potential damage that shower water contamination could be causing goes much further than just irritated skin or dry hair. When you take a shower, your skin “drinks” water that it comes in contact with. In fact, during an average shower, your skin absorbs as much water as you would drink during an average meal. If that water is not filtered, the good work you did to protect your family from bad water in the kitchen may be undermined in the bathrooms. Here’s a quick rundown of the effects related to showering and bathing in chlorine-laden, unfiltered water:

• Contaminants absorbed more easily through skin and inhalation

• Mild or inflamed eczema and other skin disorders

• Inflamed asthma

• Dry, brittle hair

• Excessively dry and sensitive skin

• Eye irritation

• Respiratory irritation

The Upshot…
The great news is that by taking the step to filter your bathing water, you can enjoy a good number of health and beauty benefits. It’s amazing how much changing just that one little thing can do:

• Healthier skin

• Softer, more manageable hair

• Healthy steam

• Less respiratory inflammation

• Improvement in existing skin conditions

Just Don’t Inhale!
Do you love taking long, steamy hot showers as much as I do? Ever had the unpleasant feeling of a tight chest or feel the need to cough? That steam we dig so much is the vaporized water coming out of the shower faucet, which—when unfiltered—contains all that vicious chlorine. That vaporized water invades your lungs and pollutes your body with even more unhealthy toxins. As much as we may love the idea of a relaxing, hot and steamy shower, the idea of standing in a small room with toxic steam makes the idea somewhat, shall we say, less appealing.

Shopping for a Shower Filter
For the best and most effective results, you should look for a filter that employs carbon, which filters out synthetic chemicals, THMs and VOCs. Also look for a filter to have a KDF stage of filtration, to reduce the amount of chlorine and balance the water’s Ph (for that healthy glow).

You may have heard the reports of the 60,000 chemicals from our industries that sometimes make their way into our drinking water supplies; the press keeps us abreast on what contaminants affect your water. You’ve no doubt heard all the dramatic warnings concerning the dangers of heavy metals, chlorine, bacteria, viruses, pesticides, volatile organic compounds, cow pee and fairy dust. Depending on the amount of unfiltered tap water you consume and the specific contaminants, you and your family’s health may be at risk.

Contaminants everywhere
The Gulf Oil Spill. Lead and giardiasis in city water. Water boiling warnings. You’ve seen this stuff all over the news, especially when the media run stories on local water supplies showing that this or that contaminant has been found. In these circumstances, your concern is probably justified. You may begin to worry, sniff the water that comes out of your taps, run water for 30 seconds before using it to cook or drink, or even make plans to buy bottled water or a water filter. Get the facts before you act. Consider the following:

1)    Contact your municipal water supplier. You have the right to review their annual Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) for ongoing water quality issues. If there is a widespread, short-term problem, your municipal water supplier will have some sort of statement prepared, and will likely have it posted on their website along with instructions on what to do.

2)    Contact local news and media outlets. If there’s a problem, they will more than likely know what’s going on. And if you are the first to bring it to their attention, they will probably investigate it!

3)    Contact local hospitals or a trusted doctor. If there’s been a spike in recent cases of water-borne illnesses or sickness related to contamination, they will know about it and be able to tell you what the danger is to you and your family, what symptoms to look out for and how to avoid it.

4)    Check the EPA’s website for information on contaminants that are prevalent in your area. This can be a good guide, but is rarely specific enough to really tell you enough information on your home or neighborhood. (Or try the Water Quality Association’s Interactive Problem Solver.)

5)    Have your water tested. This is only applicable if the problem persists and the local water treatment supplier is unable to correct the levels of contamination. Find out what, exactly, the problem is so you can take steps to correct the problem yourself.

Now, what to do if there is a problem? And worse yet, what if the problem is persistent? You can go the bottled water route, but that leaves you vulnerable while bathing. I’d go with a water filter, for both drinking and bathing water, with a carbon filter that is certified by one of the two main independent certification organizations: Underwriters Laboratories (UL) or National Sanitation Foundation (NSF). Also, check out this guide for how to choose a water filter.

Treat the problem, not the symptoms
We all have to work together to keep the federal, state, and local government accountable for how they treat the nation’s water supply. This is not an issue that lobbyists should be deciding, but sadly it does come to that from time to time. Make your voice and your opinions known. Write your regional and state representatives, let them know you feel water contamination needs more attention, help set the agenda and get out there and vote on Election Day.

Tap water contamination isn’t a hoax, and it’s no laughing matter. There really are contaminants in your drinking water. Small amounts of those pollutants aren’t usually harmful, but exposure to large portions of impurities affects your health.

For more information, check out some of the stories out there on water quality and the issues that surround it.