The Drinking Water Book by Colin Ingram

The Drinking Water Book, Second Edition by Colin Ingram ISBN-13: 978-1587612572 Trade Paperback: 200 pages Publisher: Celestial Arts Released: June 1, 2006

Source: Bought through Half.com.

Book Description from Back Cover:
The Drinking Water Book provides the information you need to determine what's in your tap water and to safeguard your health and the health of your family. Unlike water purifier manufacturers and public health officials, Ingram presents unbiased reporting on what's likely to be in your water, whether you live in a big city or a small town or have a well, and how to drink more safely--including some things you can do without spending a penny. Based on years of extensive water-quality research, including actual home installations of products, Ingram evaluates various bottled waters and rates specific purifiers currently on the market.


My Review:
This review is also on my Adventures With Organics blog.

The Drinking Water Book is a practical book to understanding water purifiers and bottled water. I was trying to do research on the internet about what each type of water purifier actually did (carbon filter, UV light, distiller, etc.) and how well, but I couldn't find consistent information. If the person was selling the device, the device did practically everything; if they weren't, the device hardly did anything so what you really needed was their device. This book provided clear, easy-to-understand answers to my questions.

The author started by talking about what types of things might be in your water (pathogens, toxic minerals and metals, organic chemicals, radioactive substances, additives) and their risks. He then talked about what is more likely to be in your water in a big city, a small city, or with a well, and about water testing. He discussed different health claims about distilled water, minerals in the water, etc. He then gave some easy ways to improve your tap water without any special equipment.

He then discussed bottled water, vended water, and bulk water stores. He talked about how filters (sediment, carbon filter, redox), reverse osmosis units, distillers, and ultraviolet units work, the different sub-types of each, what they do, and how frequently they need to be changed. He discussed using a combination of the above based on what you determined were the most probable problems with your water.

He evaluated the effectiveness of the different types of water purifiers while in actual use, compared the costs of different methods, discussed the best places to buy a water purifier, and evaluated specific brands (for house, camping, and traveling). He ended by discussing emergency disinfection of water and water storage.

If you're thinking about getting a water purification system or are concerned about your water, I'd highly recommend this book. With the knowledge from this book, you'll probably save the cost of this book through informed future water-related purchases...and you can feel assured you're actually getting what you want rather than having a false confidence based on promotional hype.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.