Do Water Purifiers Remove Fluoride?
Fluoride is found naturally in water, soil and in different foods. It can, however, be produced for drinking water, mouthwash, toothpaste, as well as other products. One reason why it is added to drinking water is that studies show that it can reduce the risk of tooth decay, especially in the local communities.
As tooth decay is a common problem, with a small number of people being able to afford the cost of dental care, fluoride is added to benefit such people. But over the years, a few have been concerned about its effect on the health on more than just the teeth and seek water purifiers to remove fluoride from their drinking water.
When buying a water purifier, it is common to want to know if they can not just purify the water from harmful pathogens and high levels of chlorine but also if they can remove fluorides. Firstly, it is important to know that only 3 common methods of removing fluoride from water and they include:
- Reverse Osmosis.
- Activated Alumina.
- Reverse Osmosis
This is a very effective way of significantly reducing the amount of fluoride present in drinking water. The system used in the extraction of this fluoride depends just on how much is removed as some could remove as much as 98% fluoride.
Reverse osmosis is a very effective method and can purify as much water that is considered a waste. So if you are wondering if your filter can offer the reverse osmosis option, asking is a good way to find out.
- Activated Alumina
This is perhaps the most recommended way of fluoride removal by the Environmental Protection Agency and it isn’t just effective but is a good way to remove a lot of contaminants from water such as thallium. Thallium is harmful and can get into drinking water through mining sites.
Activated Alumina is the most used process in the US for fluoride removal. It is important to know the right media when it comes to this method and also note the appropriate flow to ensure the effective removal of up to 98% of fluoride from water, therefore preventing waste.
- Distillation
Distillation is also an extremely effective way of removing fluoride as well as other contaminants from water. With the use of distillation, it is safe to say achieving pure non-electric conducting H2O isn’t impossible.
It is best to have this procedure done properly by professionals to ensure all traces of fluoride is non-existent in drinking water.
Does Water Purifiers Remove Fluorides?.
Fluoride is a chemical which is added to a lot of water supplies for reasons such as reducing tooth decay and removing it can be quite a challenge. It cannot be removed through catalytic carbons and the most effective ways of removing them from your water are through the use of bone char filter or the 3 mentioned removal processes above. Reverse osmosis systems and BCF are cost-efficient as well.
Bone Char is a form of activated carbon which is specially made to remove and clean animal bones. This is because most animal bones contain a lot of hydroxylapatites. This compound is greatly attractive to fluoride and when BC is used in water containing fluoride, there is an exchange of fluoride ions for hydroxide ions. This leads to the removal of fluoride from the water. This is a good procedure in removing at least 90% of fluoride from drinking water.
However, some well-modeled filters have the ability to remove Fluoride such as the Berkey Water System Range. They have a Fluoride and Arsenic filter options.
Other Means Of Removing Fluoride
Contrary to some beliefs and misconception, boiling water cannot remove fluoride. UV water filters are very efficient in removing a lot of contaminants and killing bacteria and fluoride, but they do not remove fluoride.
Conclusion
Fluoride is used for a lot of things and is usually added to drinking water due to the fertilizer industry. It is a microscopic salt which can be very difficult to remove from any water supply it is present in. Some of the most common forms of fluoride in water supplies include Sodium Silicofluoride, hydrofluosilicate acid, and sodium fluoride. These fluorides are usually sourced from fertilizer manufacturers.
That being said, water purifiers do not remove fluoride except they have specially designed filters for that purpose such as the Berkey Water Filter System which can be gotten at www.usaberkeyfilters.com
It is best to check with the manufacturer before making a purchase.
