Have you considered what is really in the water you are drinking?

This is a question we have pondered over the years because it’s really important given we need water to sustain life for ourselves, and for the whole of the planet.

We ended up having a great chat with David Gemmill from Great Water Filters on this episode so we could pick his brain about what we need to look out for with water and what we can do to ensure we have the cleanest and healthiest water available to us at home.

If you haven’t heard of Great Waters Filters, they are an Aussie company that has been around for nearly 30 years installing water filtration systems into homes.

Water filtration is on the rise

Filtering water has become increasingly popular over the last few years.  People seem to be more conscious of their water quality and want to ensure they drink the best they can afford.

Both Jo and Tracey have whole-house water filtration systems, from Great Water Filters, and it has been a total game changer for them.

When Jo recently moved from Tassie back up to Queensland, she took her whole house filtration system from her house in Tassie to her new house in Queensland. This means that they are also great for renters because you can remove them with the help of a plumber and reinstall them (again with the help of a plumber) at your new house.

Jo couldn’t get hers installed in her new house straight away and she had totally forgotten how chlorine and chemical-filled the regular tap water is.

She’s so glad to have her system installed in the new house now!

What chemicals are in tap water?

The water in our damns and waterways can be contaminated with all sorts of bacteria and pollutants.  It is your local water authorities’ job to ‘disinfect’ the water supply to remove these contaminants.

We discovered that up to 50 chemicals are added to the water supply for purification and ‘health’ purposes.  The most common ones are:

❌ Chlorine – used to reduce bacteria
❌ Fluoride – used to ‘protect’ our oral health
❌ Aluminium – used to remove pathogens and other nasties

Check out our Podcast Episode 196 about how nasty aluminium is HERE.

Further problems arise when water passes through old pipes which can lead to the collection of heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, and copper which can further impact the water quality, not to mention, our health.

Whilst the water authorities flush out and clean the pipelines every so often, they do this with a larger injection of chlorine to kill anything off.

It’s for these reasons and so many more that water filtration is a must in our house!

What nasties do Great Water Filters, filter out?

The Elite water filter series is a whole-house filtration system that can go through all the taps on your property.  It is an industrial-grade filtration system that removes all traces of:

❌ Dirt
❌ Chlorine
❌ Pesticides
❌ Salmonella
❌ Hepatitis A
❌ Bacteria
❌ E.coli

It works in a staged system as follows:

Stage 1 – 10 Micron Cellulose Filter
Removes sediment, dust, dirt, sand, silt, and algae.

Stage 2 – 5 Micron Carbon Filter
Removes chlorine, bad taste, odour, colour, herbicides, and pesticides.

Stage 3 – 1 Micron Super Dynamo
Provides higher efficiency of filtration compared to standard filters. Features silver impregnation, ion-exchange, and KDF. Removes water hardness, heavy metals, lead reduction, viruses, bacteria, cysts, cryptosporidium, and giardia.

Stage 4 – Bonus Vortex Softener
The vortex arranges water molecules into smaller structured water. This helps prevent scale build-up and softens water naturally.

However, this system only removes a small percentage of fluoride because it is such a fine chemical.  Therefore, if you want to remove up to 99% of fluoride then you will need to add a reverse osmosis system under your sink.

We both have the whole house filtration systems in our house as well as the reverse osmosis systems under our sink.

Can you install water filtration systems if you rent?

Absolutely! The system is designed so that it can be used in all houses, not just owner/occupier houses.  All you need to do is get a plumber to install it and then if you move, a plumber can uninstall and reinstall it for you.

Great Water Filters offer a whole range of filtration systems to suit all budgets so check them out.  Also, if you mention our name, Additive-Free Lifestyle, you will get $50 off the promotional price across all their products 😊.

Do the filters need to be changed?

Yes. It is very simple to do yourself, which is what we do.  They’re just like screwing in a light bulb… super easy and you don’t need to get a plumber. The filters need to be changed every year.

Does filtering water help with skin problems?

Great Water Filters have had a lot of customers who have skin issues and are wanting a system to give their skin a break from the exacerbating chemicals found in regular tap water.  They have had a lot of customers report their improved skin issues after using a whole-house filtration system.  They have even had reports of better hair and scalp health from showering in water that is filtered and clean.

Water plays a part in everything we do and if that water isn’t clean, it can impact everything. We wash our clothes in water, especially our underwear which is then sitting over sensitive areas of our body and if these things have residue left on them from unfiltered water… well it’s quite scary to think the impact it can have on our health being absorbed via the largest organ in our body, being our skin.

What can you do if you can’t afford or don’t want a whole house filtration system?

Under sink systems

Great Water Filters also sell a variety of under-sink filtration systems which are a cheaper option and a good starting point.  You can always add a whole house filtration system down the track if you want to, which can run in conjunction with an existing under-sink system.  The under-sink systems even have chilled/boiling unit add-ons if you want them, which means you can have chilled or boiling water whenever you need.

Their Elite Series 3 Reverse Osmosis system is their most popular product. It goes under the sink and removes all the nasties, including 99% of fluoride. It also returns essential minerals back into the water such as magnesium, calcium, and potassium. It is fully plumbed in under the sink and comes with a separate water filter tap. The filter cartridges in this system are recommended to be changed every 12 months.  Once you purchase through Great Water Filters, they will remind you when the filters need to be changed so you don’t have to stress about remembering.

Shower/bath filters

These are an even cheaper option to start with for those on a tight budget.  They are basically filters that screw onto your shower/bath head/system and will filter out a lot of nasties.

These options would also be great for people who live in apartment/high-rise buildings where they don’t have their own water meter.

How to avoid hard water calcium/limescale build-up

You may have calcium/limescale built up in your showers or toilets.  The good news is that a whole house filtration system comes with a water softener which means this build-up will be a thing of the past.

Not only that but a water softener, such as the one found in the whole house filtration system, will preserve all your appliances that use water so that there isn’t the calcium/limescale build-up. This should mean that your appliances such as the dishwasher and washing machine will last longer.

Tracey has noticed a big difference since having her whole house filtration system installed a few years ago.  She installed it prior to renovating her bathrooms and as a result, her bathrooms are always clean. She does not get any scale build-up like she used to prior to the filtration system being installed. She finds her bathrooms are much quicker and easier to clean as a result.

What if you have water tanks that service part or all of the water on your property?

The whole house filtration system can be applied to your water tank/s as well so that the water is completely filtered out before it’s used in your house.

Jo has a water tank on her property that services the toilets and washing machine in her house.  This means that she would need to get a second filtration system installed on her water tank as the one that is installed on her water main doesn’t connect to the water tank.

What about portable water filters?

We love Waters Co Australia’s portable water filter products.  They have a whole host of water filter options.  We love their water jugs and portable filtered drink bottles.

Check them out HERE.

We also have a discount code with them as follows:

Code: ADDFREELIFE7
Amount: 7% off

Your body is the filter

Something Tracey says all the time, and it’s a really important point to think about, is that if you’re drinking unfiltered water then your body is the filter.

Your body is the vessel that needs to filter all the nasties that can be found in regular mains/tap water, such as:

❌ Dirt
❌ Chlorine
❌ Herbicides/Pesticides
❌ Salmonella
❌ Hepatitis A
❌ Bacteria
❌ E.coli
❌ Lead
❌ Fluoride
❌ Viruses
❌ Bacteria
❌ And lots more!

Is that really something you want your body to be doing? For us, it’s a hard no. We would much rather just work on rehydrating when drinking water and not having to be a filter as well.

Great Water Filters discount code

The lovely people at Great Water Filters have given us a permanent discount code for all their products as follows:

Code: Additive-Free Lifestyle
Amount: $50 off the promotional price
Referral: If you refer a friend to Great Water Filters you will get a $100 coupon to use with Great Water Filters

For more discount codes showcasing brands we know and love, head HERE.

To find out more about Great Water Filters, check them out as follows:

Website
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube

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Much love,
Jo & Tracey x