Finding fluoride-free water
In the previous article, we looked at reasons why fluoridated water, which is very common throughout the United States, is a public health problem. In this post, we will find out how to get water that is free or nearly free of fluoride.
Information about water purification systems is everywhere, but is surrounded by a considerable amount of hype and misinformation. This makes it very difficult to determine which systems are best.
Independent research and comparisons are scarce and much of what exists is put out by the manufacturers of water filtration systems themselves. Many water purification websites offer no data about the effectiveness of their systems or how long these systems will last. You will see tables or materials that say things like “removes fluoride,” but this often means that only a fraction of the fluoride is removed.
There are only three ways to remove a substantial amount fluoride from your drinking water: reverse osmosis, special alumina fluoride removal filters, and distillation.
Reverse Osmosis uses pressure to force water through a membrane that removes pollutants. It does a good job of removing fluoride but it is expensive and not practical for a home system since it flushes water down the drain to purify the smaller amount. Reverse osmosis is used in many bottled water dispensaries at grocery stores.
Alumina fluoride removal filters are filled with treated alumina beads that filter out much of the fluoride. There is a range of effectiveness with these filters dependent upon the water pressure, age of the filter, and the level of fluoride of the water going in. The best systems implement a separate fluoride filter after the general filter.
Distillation purifies water by heating it and catching the steam. Anything that is not pure water, including fluoride, is left behind. Distillation creates the cleanest water available but systems can be expensive to buy and operate, and they generate a lot of heat. Buying distilled water by the bottle can be a fairly economical way to get clean water. Be careful when buying distilled water marketed for babies – some companies actually put the fluoride back in.
A standard Brita or Pur water filter is definitely better than nothing at all. But keep in mind that the vast majority of available water filters remove little or no fluoride. No system is perfect, but limiting your intake of toxins will help your body to handle the rest.
28 Comments Posted by John | Category: Articles
I’ve researched and learned that many people like myself are realizing the negative health effects of fluoride in their source water. It became very apparent to me that I must personally take action to protect myself and my loved ones. I’ve been using the FluorideMaster whole house fluoride water filtration system and am impressed on how well it performs to completely remove or significantly reduce the floride in my water. For those that are interested, I know that the company Vitasalus at http://www.vitasalus.com or http://www.equinox-products.com sells the FlourideMaster Whole Home Fluoride Water Filter System.
Nutty. Why would you want to remove fluoride? It strengthens teeth and prevents gum disease.
“Nutty John” from above has obviously not been paying attention.This is either because his intellectual capacity has been damaged from fluoride or because he is one of the untermensch that the fluoridation agenda is meant to remove from the gene pool.
The actual evidence that fluoride helps keep your teeth healthy is dubious at best. Just brush em and floss everyday and you’ll be fine. Meanwhile the evidence of the harmful effects of fluoride is astounding. quote below from: http://www.preferrednetwork.com/FLUORIDE_STUPIDITY.htm
“Sodium fluoride, a hazardous-waste by-product from the manufacture of aluminum, is a common ingredient in rat and cockroach poisons, anesthetics, hypnotics, psychiatric drugs, and military nerve gas. It’s historically been quite expensive to properly dispose of, until some aluminum industries with an overabundance of the stuff sold the public on the terrifically insane but highly profitable idea of buying it at a 20,000% markup, injecting it into our water supplies, and then DRINKING it.”
Personally I’d rather all my teeth fell out than to suffer the many ailments fluoride can cause. Wake up “Nutty John”!
I write about stuff like this in my blog check it out. The research to back fluoride reaking havoc on your body is insane. Nutty John is stupid. You can easily go to google and type effects of fluoride in the search and you’ll get all the information you’ll ever need. Luckily i’m living in germany right now and they don’t put fluoride in the water in most of europe…they’re smart. They also don’t spend money we don’t have for a product we don’t need.
Thanks for the article. A couple of additions: in an activated alumina filter, the alumina should come before a cartridge that contains kdf.
Distilling and reverse osmosis both remove the trace elements that help keep the body healthy. Activated alumina in sufficient quantity will remove more fluoride than reverse osmosis.
We at friendsofwater.com have filters that virtually eliminate fluoride – and water filter pitchers that take out most of it.
To your health.
Timothy
I’m guessing bottled spring water is bad?
for example: deer park or poland spring?
Yes. Bottled water may still contain fluoride and purity tests/requirements are weak or sometimes lacking for some companies.
This is very helpful as I am allergic to Fluoride. Thanks!
Thanks so much for the info. People look at me like I’m some sort of conspriacy theorist when I try to tell them about this, and then they still don’t really care much. We’ve been drinking rat poison linked to Down syndrome and memory loss! People should be outraged! But here we are, in small groups, searching for ways to get the poison out of our water….oh The Love water distillers are very reasonable from what I gather so far. Thanks-
Hello,
I was hoping to find some resources here for what brands of water to buy in the store? Does anyone have any suggestions? It is all very confusing what to buy. I buy Evian water because I have been drinking it for years and it tastes good, but now I am not sure what to buy not to mention is is expensive and not cost effective for the entire family. So how do I know the distilled I buy is safe.
I understand your frustration. The bottled water industry actually has no real standards and words like “natural” and “spring” don’t necessarily mean what they imply. There have been several test done where they have found some expensive bottled water that isn’t as clean as tap water. Distilled water is a good bet because, short of complete fraud, they can’t call it distilled if it isn’t distilled. So if you are looking for water that is as clean as possible (and free of fluoride), distilled is the most reliable way to go.
Hi Marie,
The suggestion is that you stop buying water and filter it. Distilled water – and water cleaned by reverse osmosis – has had the trace elements the body needs removed. As you note, buying water is expensive. Buying water bottles is wasteful in many ways.
Best,
Timothy
Reverse osmosis is cheaper and more environmentally friendly then the other options.
Yes it wastes water but distillation wastes energy and alumina filters waste alumina. Every method has it’s pro’s and con’s but Reverse osmosis is relatively cheap even if you consider the environmental impacts of wasting 1/3 of the water in the filtration process.
My city recently added floride to its city water. My son, 8, usually healthy, developed a fever, diahrrea, and 5 days later, now vomiting. I mentioned to my husband whether or not this could be related to the floride in the water! Bingo, this internet info is so important. I feel compeled to take up a petion to get this stuff out of our water supply.
LA,
I suggest you write a letter to the editor of your local paper, or call into your local radio talk show. There may be other children in your community suffering from the same symptoms who haven’t considered the possibility that it is related to the water supply.
My husband and I have just begun doing research on water and the information we found out about fluriode is horrible so we are looking for a water company that sells distilled water with no fluriode,well the one we came up with is distilled and has 0.1mg/L so I was just wondering is that safe to drink or should we still look for another company? Thank you
If your method of research is googling “effects of fluoride” – as one person suggested and many others here clearly have done – then all of your information is suspect. You can find ANY theory or “evidence” on the internet. Here’s just one example of useless information: the fact that fluoride is an ingredient in rat poison (or whatever) is meaningless without more specifics. How much is in rat poison versus tap water? Is it in the same chemical form? How do those chemical forms differ? When fluoride is linked to health effects (via controlled studies, not based on anecdotes!), what is the dose and/or duration of exposure? I’m not advocating for fluoride here. I’m advocating for a reasoned approach to investigating risk.
nutty john is NOT crazy people…We so called “crazy” people do their research and find the TRUTH, since our government continually lies to us and is poisioning us all kinds of ways (one of which is ASPARTAME the sweetner in diet drinks, mixes, etc, google it) wake up sheeple!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nice blog !! thanks for sharing with us.
This is to “JM”. I just have one simple question for you. Why would our government spend YOUR tax dollars to inject fluoride into YOUR drinking water. If you were concerned about cavities, you could go to the dentist. You could buy your own fluoride toothpaste and mouthwash (assuming you believe that fluoride does protect against cavities). Why does the government need to do this for you? In fact, why the #%*& does the government care about your dental health in the first place?! Don’t they have bigger fish to fry than your cavities? If I want to medicate myself with fluoride shouldn’t I have the option to do that of my own accord without someone dumping it down my throat? My point is, why would the government REALLY want to put fluoride in your water unless they had a hidden agenda. If you really think that they are worried about your teeth, then you are every bit as dumb as they want you to be. You should be FINE when they start deciding who lives and who dies. Anyone who would sacrifice liberty for security deserves neither, and is guaranteed to lose both.
John says:
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“# John on 11 Oct 2008 at 1:17 pm
Nutty. Why would you want to remove fluoride? It strengthens teeth and prevents gum disease”
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So his point seems to be that since the horse crap we call food these days is destroying our health and making us sick in innumerable ways the answer to the problem is OBVIOUSLY more chemical additives.
Why bother attacking a problem at it’s source when they have band aid remedies they can charge us for… and if that makes us sicker in another area there is always yet another chemical to treat what ever symptom pops its head up next…
Have done over 1500hours research on Fluoridation. One of the most evil con jobs ever done on human beings and pets! Ever heard of Alzheimer’s or Dimensia. What, with a head full of one the most poisonous materials known to man along with a mouth full of mercury amalgam. You’ve got to be joking if you really believe either of these will enhance your health!
You say be careful when buying distilled water. Some companies actually put the fluaride back in.
Please share information on which companies I should avoid buying from. Also comment by Erica is interesting, would like to know what company she is referring to and what was your answer in regards to the question posed by Erica. Thanks in advance.
“untermensch!”. awesome. i just wish this was all mainstream information so that a bunch of people didn’t look at me as though I was some insane conspiracy theorist when i mention that the fluoridation of our water is a crime and the fact that people believe it’s good for us is an example of the best brainwashing we’ve ever been given as a society.
I have been buying distilled water at the grocery store but am worried about the plastic leaching into the water. friendsofwater.com looks good. Might just order the filter because the pitcher is plastic.
I’m glad to see some people that are aware of the ill effects of fluoride.
thanks so much for the info, i knew it was bad, just didn’t realize how bad. feel like an idiot for not doing research earlier. going to try distilled water- is that the collective best idea so far or reverse osmosis?? going to check out the friends of water website. thanks again all <3