Spring Water vs. Purified Water: Which is the Higher Alternative?

Up to date January third, 2023

Bear in mind the times when your native grocery store solely had a handful of bottled water decisions? Choosing one off the shelf was really easy and easy! However because of new water remedy strategies (and shady advertising and marketing techniques), looking for bottled water lately can current a dilemma for a lot of shoppers.

As we speak’s buyers are spoiled for alternative in terms of bottled water. There are such a lot of choices accessible that you just may really feel confused attempting to choose the proper one. One such occasion is selecting between spring water and purified water. You need the purest and healthiest one doable, however don’t know which is the higher possibility. Spring water feels like a treasured product of Mom Nature: pure, pure, mineral-rich water. However there’s one thing about purified water that claims “refined and wholesome.” So, which one do you select?

Deciding between spring water and purified water begins with understanding the variations between each sorts, together with their execs and cons. That method, you may know what you’re consuming and make a extra knowledgeable resolution the following time you go looking for bottled water. With that mentioned, let’s examine each sorts to see which is best on your total well being.

What’s Spring Water?

Once you see “Spring Water” printed on a bottled water label, it’s onerous to not assume the water got here instantly from a crystal-clear spring flowing graciously down the untouched mountains of some distant countryside. Though some spring water is bottled on the supply, most commercially offered ones are extracted from underground aquifers that feed the spring, then transported to a facility the place they’re processed and bottled.

Typically, spring water (typically referred to as “artesian water”) is a sort of water that flows naturally and rises to the floor of enormous underground water reservoirs. These pure sources can type in valleys, alongside the edges of hills and mountains, and wherever there’s bedrock (primarily limestone). But when spring water comes from underground, how is it so pure?

How is Spring Water Made?

Since spring water comes from massive underground aquifers, you in all probability assume the water should be a bit soiled. However that’s definitely not the case. Spring water normally undergoes a pure filtration course of because it strikes by thick limestone bedrock to get to the floor. Because the water rises, the rock filters out some impurities, which is why springs at all times seem so pure and clear.

However as a result of business spring water must be transported in massive portions to bottling services by tanker vans, the water should be chlorinated or ozonated to guard towards contamination. As soon as the water reaches the ability, it goes by a carbon filtration course of that removes the chlorine, sediment, and different parts whereas retaining the wholesome minerals that contribute to the water’s flavorful style.

Execs and Cons of Spring Water

Spring water affords a myriad of wonderful advantages, but it surely has its share of disadvantages. Let’s focus on them briefly.

Now that you just’ve gotten the lowdown on spring water, it’s time to discover purified water to see if it’s the higher alternative.

What’s Purified Water?

Purified water has many names. It’s additionally referred to as “deionized water, demineralized water, distilled water, or reverse osmosis water.” It’s basically any water totally handled to take away dissolved solids, chemical pollution, pathogens, minerals, and different undesirable brokers generally present in a public water provide. The usual requirement is that purified water should not include greater than ten components per million (ppm) of dissolved solids.

The most effective purification strategies to realize such a low TDS degree are reverse osmosis, deionization, distillation, or different appropriate processes. However whereas these strategies normally do a wonderful job of fully eradicating micro organism, chemical substances, sediment, metals, minerals, and different water pollution, your water could style flat since among the lacking minerals are what give the water its taste.

How is Water Purified?

Purified water means the water has handed by a number of purification processes to take away dissolved impurities like chemical substances and different contaminants, making it protected for human consumption and use.

The 2 most typical and accessible purification strategies are reverse osmosis (RO) and distillation. Reverse osmosis will be carried out by an RO system put in underneath the sink or gives purified water to a devoted faucet. Each forms of techniques normally have totally different filters and RO membranes that strip the water of all impurities. Some models additionally embrace a particular filter on the final filtration stage that makes use of remineralization to reinstate important minerals eliminated throughout the RO filtration course of.

If you wish to be taught extra in regards to the reverse osmosis filtration course of, we clarify it in larger element in our article Reverse Osmosis Water Filtration Defined.

Distillation works a lot otherwise than reverse osmosis. The distillation course of includes boiling the water and capturing the steam launched. As soon as the vapor condenses, it turns again to liquid type, abandoning any mineral residue and contaminants. The water is then handed by a carbon filter for the ultimate filtration stage, after which it’s collected and saved as pure, distilled water. It may take as much as six hours to provide a single gallon of distilled water, and even longer if it’s double distilled.

We dive deeper into your entire distillation course of in our article on distilled water, so test it out to be taught extra.

Execs and Cons of Purified Water

Like spring water, purified water has a bunch of advantages and likewise some disadvantages. Let’s dive proper in.

So, which is best for you? Spring Water or Purified Water?

Whereas spring water and purified water are protected to drink, they each have particular tradeoffs that may make yet one more engaging than the opposite. A few of us desire spring water as a result of it retains all of the important minerals needed for well being whereas giving the water its nice style. Nonetheless, it has a big draw back: contaminants, comparable to metals, PFAS, nitrates, chlorine, and different chemical substances should be current, which might adversely have an effect on your well being. A few of these impurities could have entered the water throughout transportation and processing, AFFF firefighting foams, and others which will have been current within the supply spring. What’s even worse is that not each water processing plant has the gear wanted to take away such pollution.

Folks argue that purified water is the higher alternative as a result of it doesn’t include chemical substances (chlorine and chlorine byproducts, PFAS, and so forth.), pathogens, and different contaminants. That might imply no micro organism or chemical substances to trigger illness and no sediment to offer you that grainy really feel in your mouth. Nonetheless, the issue with purified water is that it doesn’t protect important minerals, in contrast to spring water. Sure, you must already be getting minerals from the meals you eat, however the lack of wholesome minerals in purified water could trigger deficiencies in some individuals. Fortunately, some purification strategies like reverse osmosis can repair this by remineralizing the water.

So, which one is best? Spring water or purified water? Though the choice between each sorts all boils down to private choice, in the event you had to decide on one, we’d suggest purified water. Listed here are a couple of the reason why:

1. You possibly can purify water from many alternative sources
2. It’s extra broadly accessible than spring water
3. Some water purification techniques, like RO filters, can reintroduce wholesome minerals to the water by remineralization
4. Purified water is freed from poisonous chemical substances and pollution that would in any other case hurt you and your family members
5. Purified water undergoes a extra rigorous purification course of than spring water, so it has a better purity degree and is safer to drink

Now, in the event you go for purified water and need to purify your water at house, you may’t go improper with the Springwell SWRO under-counter reverse osmosis filter. The SWRO is a 4-stage point-of-use RO filter that may be put in underneath your kitchen sink – solely out of sight. It’s rigorously designed and engineered to take away dangerous contaminants from water, together with lead, fluoride, chlorine, arsenic, chromium-6, and plenty of others, whereas leaving you with wholesome minerals.

One other outstanding function of the SWRO is that it produces as much as 75 gallons of recent, clear, great-tasting purified water per day. Additionally it is simple to put in and preserve. Plus, if you buy it instantly from our manufacturing facility, you get a six-month money-back assure, a lifetime guarantee on the tank and valves, factory-direct financial savings over 50%, quick and dependable delivery, and inexpensive financing. However most significantly, you’ll be assured that you just’re consuming the cleanest and purest water.

Last Ideas

Since faucet water is commonly tainted with dangerous substances, many purchasers desire spring or purified water. Each sorts have excessive purity ranges, making them match for consumption. Nonetheless, they’re fairly totally different. Spring water shouldn’t be purified however processed and handled to take away some pollution. Sure, it retains important minerals which might be good on your well being and contribute to the water’s nice style, however it might nonetheless include poisonous impurities, comparable to nitrates and metals.

In distinction, purified water has been processed and handled till it incorporates not more than ten ppm of dissolved solids. Meaning it doesn’t have undesirable contaminants comparable to micro organism, sediment, chemical substances, and extra however might also style flat because it’s lacking the minerals that give water its taste. Fortunately, reverse osmosis and different related purification strategies can add again the important minerals, making purified water the only option for consuming.