Archive for the ‘Environmental Tips’ Category

Is Your Tap Water Filtered? Water Standards Not Up To Date

Many of us consume water from the faucet every day, but is your tap water filtered? Many will not even give it a second thought that the water is drinkable. Misinformation about the safety of your tap water is accepted because the water quality is within our current governments set standards. Water is monitored by the government and should be free from harmful chemicals and toxins. But are these initial standards that were put into place years ago still effective today?

It’s been over thirty-five years since these laws were first enacted. Looking back, it’s almost as if we had many less toxins to worry about. And some of chemicals we thought were unobtrusive in very low levels have started to reveal some disturbing long term outcomes. Since 2004 over 60 million Americans have received drinking water that does not even meet with even the current regulated standards. With no thought, many drink this water daily with no idea of what is really in it.

Since these initial standards were put in place, many more possible hazards have been uncovered but still remain unmonitored as they were never added to the list. As an example, Manganese was never considered one of those things that needed to be regulated. Our bodies do require some levels of Manganese as a natural aide in detoxing, but in excessive amounts this element can become poisonous to humans and it has even been linked to neurological damage which can not be reversed. Currently, Manganese is not considered to be a hazard and remains unregulated. Legally, you could be getting hundreds of times more the healthy amount, and not even realize it. It is already occurring in some parts of the country. It is just one of thousands of possible hazards if you’re not drinking your tap water filtered.

Addressing the pure water issue on a large scale will likely cost tax payers billions in solid research and the upgrade of municipal water facilities nation wide. The big question is, can we afford this?

Using an HtruO point of entry filtration system that can filter water for the entire home is a step in the right direction that is available to you today. It may be years before our home water supplies are up to date. You can get your tap water filtered, as well as your entire house.

Think this may be too expensive for you? Think again. Costs of a point of entry solution can match or even beat the cost of point of use. In the end, it may just be a question of how much your health is worth to you. Are you ready to get your tap water filtered?


Start 2010 In The Green With Your HtruO to Go

How does one go about making a New Year’s Eve party “green”? Aside from fragrant evergreen trimmings you may have trimming your mantle (and that mistletoe strategically hanging in the front hall) , consider some of these additional ways when preparing your eco-friendly New Year’s Eve. Not only will these ideas help you limit waste, but you may actually find some of them entertaining, as well as making your guests feel special.

1. Renting Party Supplies

Expecting more guests than champagne glasses you own?. Cups, tablecloths, flatware, and other assorted party items can be rented and returned. You won’t have to find a place to store your party things for the other 364 days of the year, and you won’t have to wash a dish! Not to mention having to store all that extra stuff in your attic.

2. If you must go with disposable items…

Try to get biodegradable  tablecloths, or get ones made from recycled materials. Today you can even find biodegradable flatware which will compost much quicker than plastic.

3. Ask your guests about their green resolutions

One of the fun things about the New Year is to make resolutions. Skip the paper lists and use a chalk board or dry erase board, and let guests come up with their energy-saving resolutions for the upcoming year. You could make it into a party game by having the guests draw or illustrate their green resolutions, and having everyone guess what they are trying to convey (think Pictionary).

4. Decorate using recyclables

Some really fun decorations can be made with ordinary items. Cut colorful magazines into strips, make each strip into a loop, and fasten them together in a chain. Use old wine or other bottles for candle holders. Square carpet samples from the local DIY store make great coasters. And with a hole punch and some leftover holiday wrapping paper, you can make some great confetti.

5. Make a budget

It is so easy (and tempting) to over-buy food and supplies when you are caught up in the fun and excitement of party planning. Still, it’s good to get an accurate head count and buy food (locally grown and/or organic if possible) accordingly. And don’t spend on things that are not going to be noticed, like fancy toothpicks, or that can be broken easily, like delicate glass tumblers. It’s also not a faux pas to ask your friends to bring their own bubbly.

6. Make it late

Save on food costs by having your party late in the day. After 8pm, hors d’oeuvres are all you need, or desserts.

7.  Serve your specialty “home brewed bottled water” in the HtruO eco-friendly stainless steel bottles.

Keeping water on hand is always a good idea, and what better way to show your support for green by handing out stainless steel reusable water containers bottled specially with your own filtered water.

One of the most important things about having a green New Year’s party – besides cutting down on waste and what that means for the future of the planet – is that it serves as a reminder that friends and family are what matter, not excessive food, decorations, and so forth. We can use these difficult economic times to get back to what really matters. Going green is a great way to do that.


Improving The Taste and Smell of Your Water!

The biggest complaint we hear about tap water (or rather municipal water) is the taste and smell.

Believe me, we’ve heard it all!

  • “My water tastes like chlorine.”
  • “My water tastes like metal.”
  • “My water smells like sulfur.”
  • “My water tastes like mildew.”
  • “My water smells like rotten eggs.”

That rotten egg or sulfur smell, in most cases, is either the end result of bacteria breaking down organic matter or high iron levels in your water.

The smell and taste of municipal water is one of the leading causes of increased plastic water bottle consumption, and of course, waste. Those plastic water bottles pile up in landfills and require way too many resources to manufacture. In fact, it requires more water to make the plastic bottles than it takes to fill those same water bottles up!

We’ve even heard cases in which people have attempted to wash their children and pets with bottled water!

Water that suffers from high iron levels or hydrogen sulfide releasing bacteria has the potential to damage clothing, hair, dishware and skin. While truly hope that those same people foolishly using bottled water to clean their children and pets are not using plastic bottled water to wash their dishes and clothes!

How do you deal with that bad water taste and smell coming out of your tap? Your shower?  How can you achieve bottled water taste without bottled water waste?

The answer is simple, have a whole house water filtration system, like HtruO, installed at your apartment, condominium or house today! Whole house water filters (or point of entry water filters as they’re sometimes called) can improve the taste, smell and overall quality of all the municipal water that comes out of your faucet, bathtub, dishwasher, washing machine and shower with only one installation!

If you want bottled quality water DO NOT wash everything in your home or apartment with plastic bottled water. Instead, install an affordable point of entry water filter. Its less expensive, treats more water and is better for the environment than plastic bottles.

A point of entry water filter is the only way to provide every fixture and appliance in your home with great tasting and smelling, bottled quality water.


Stainless Steel Water Bottles: BPA Free & Eco-Friendly

Stainless Steel Water Bottle

Stainless Steel Water Bottle

The health & beauty benefits of drinking plenty of water and the environmental benefits of reducing your carbon footprint at this point should be undeniable. Your body needs water! Lacking proper hydration leads to your body not being able to function efficiently. Being dehydrated can cause you to feel tired and if you become anymore dehydrated you begin putting your health at serious risk. Even more important than drinking water, however, is drinking clean chlorine-free water!

In order to drink the highest quality water many of us rush out to the nearest store and buy cases of plastic bottled water. Many people are opposed to drinking tap water because they’re afraid or even disgusted with tap water. Little do these plastic bottle water drinking people know but the majority of bottled water is simply tap water with better marketing. If it wasn’t enough that we’re grossly overcharged for something that we all need to live, plastic bottles are destroying both our planet and many, many lives.

As a society we’re quickly becoming aware of the long-term dangers of climate change but each year we use approximately 18 million barrels of oil to ship water across the country. In fact, the amount of oil it takes to make only one plastic water bottle would fill that same plastic bottle one third of the way the top. This makes no sense.

If the fact that bottled water requires an obscene amount of fossil fuel in order to manufacture and distribute wasn’t enough, at any given time, there are 3.5 million tons of plastic floating around in our oceans. Marine life eats this trash and the poisons travel up the food-chain ending up in humans, causing a host of life-changing illnesses. Combine the poisons and carcinogens that we’re consuming because of plastic bottles littering our oceans with the high number of toxic chemicals (arsenic, industrial solvents and even radioactive chemicals) that plastic bottles leach into our water and we have a very, very serious health issue.

Two of the biggest chemicals to watch out for are Bisphenol A (BPA) and Phthalates. These two chemicals are both found in many plastic bottles and even in some reusable plastic water bottles or metal water bottles that have plastic interiors. Phthalates and BPA are known as “endocrine disruptors” because they mimic the body’s hormones. Some studies suggest that these toxic and very widespread chemicals are a cause of breast and uterine cancer in women, decreased testosterone levels in men, and can be very harmful to young children. In laboratory tests Phthalates & Bisphenol A have both been shown to cause reproductive and neurological damage in infants.

The best solution to this multi-layered problem is to install a whole house water filter system today, make sure that everyone in your household has a reusable and safe stainless steel water bottle, like the HtruO 2 Go and to bottle your own water!

Stainless steel water bottles, like the HtruO 2 Go, are the smartest choice because they don’t leach any harmful chemicals into your water. This means that your water will taste great, smell great and will be great for you!