Tap Water Cleaner Than Bottled Water Sold at Stores?

I get a lot of questions like; is tap water cleaner than bottled water sold at stores. Sometimes, they are easy to answer; sometimes, not. This one is a little complicated. Usually, I try to start out with a short answer, either yes or no. There's no short answer for this question. I know there is an on-going effort in some communities to promote the safety of drinking straight from the tap. While I feel that buying bottles of water is not the right choice. I cannot agree with the idea of drinking unfiltered tap-water. I would also have to ask the promoters this question. Why is tap water cleaner than bottled water sold at stores? There are some relevant answers they could give. There are allowable levels of bacterial contamination for bottled brands. Many companies use inadequate filtration methods, so the purity is questionable, especially when it comes to chemical contaminants. Compounds used to make the bottles leach into the waters, causing further chemical contamination. But, when it comes to taste and purity, is tap water cleaner than bottled water sold at stores? They would have to say "not really". In some cases, they are identical. You have a third option that you may not have considered: home filtration. With the right home purifier, you can get something better tasting than you'll find in a bottle. Safer than either bottled or tap-water. Less expensive than buying hundreds of bottles every month. And, you'll be protecting the environment from all of those plastic bottles that are clogging the landfills. You don't have to spend a lot of money, but those cheap purifiers sold by Brita and PUR are not very effective. For about a hundred dollars and less than a dime a gallon, you can get a multi-stage selective filtration device that sits on you kitchen countertop and provides 500 gallons of purity before you even need to change the filter. While Brita and PUR don't include enough steps, some companies include more than is necessary. Ever-Pure for example includes a reverse osmosis step. They have a number of different systems, but the only under the counter kitchen model that provides effective contaminant removal costs nearly $800. You don't need that. If you are talking about home filtered and you ask, "Is tap water cleaner than bottled water sold at stores?" The answer is a simple, "Yes, always." I'm sure the debate will continue to go on, with the industry saying that bottles are better and the facilities saying that unfiltered tap-water is fine, but now you know the truth. Either one is a bad choice. In some emergency situations, bottled waters are a necessary evil. The industry would not be able to help during emergencies, if people stopped buying bottled brands, all together. But, you can stop buying so much. That's my answer to; is tap water cleaner than bottled water sold at stores. Hope it helps. Dominic Anderton is a dedicated researcher on the health benefits of purified drinking and bath water. Visit his site now at http://www.pure-and-safe-water.com to get the facts on how to choose the best water purification system.