A cool rain shower.
An afternoon of gardening.Homemade iced teaand the clink of ice cubes in a glass.
What’s not to enjoy?
Monica Stevenson
But lately, such happy thoughts have become clouded with confusion.
Bottled water could be the answerif it weren’t costly and cruel to the planet.
Which leaves us wondering exactly how we’re supposed to get our eight glasses a day.
(Wait, what do you mean that’s a myth?)
To quench your thirst for knowledge, tap into our A-to-Z guide to H2O.
“Cells must have water to function,” Kempton says.
“If they can’t get enough water, they can’t do their jobs properly.”
Strengthen your skeleton.Not a dairy devotee?
(The cool liquid forces your body to work to maintain its internal temperature.)
And a glass before a mealchilled or notmay curb your appetite slightly, helping cut calories.
But exactly how much water we should drink is a matter of debate.
“Fruit and vegetables, for instance, are 80 to 90 percent water,” Dr. Valtin notes.
(We like Dr.
In general, pale urine means you’re hydrated.
If it’s dark or there’s not a lot of it, start guzzling.
Aim for even more fluids if you’re active, if it’s hot or both.
The short answer: yes.
Government budget cuts have been shortchanging our sewers, treatment plants and inspection programs, Sharp says.
Drinking water in the United States is safer than it is in most of the world.
But there’s always room for improvement," she adds.
Look forNSFon the label, which means testing confirms the filter reduces threats to your health.
Shower filters contain particles that absorb chlorine.
You could be polluting in less obvious ways, too.
The more debris in the water, the more chemicals may be needed to clean it.
Even tiny items add up in a landfill, where these chemicals can seep into our groundwater.
Find an e-cycler atElectronicsTakeBack.com.
Motor oilOil and antifreeze are major contaminants of waterways.
Germ fightersSkip the antibacterial soap; it works no better than regular suds.
On April 30, hand over extra meds to the Drug Enforcement Administration during National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.
CheckDEA.govfor a site near you.
No one wants to drink your drugs.
Use the hot faucet for dishes, but for drinking and cooking, keep it cool.
Hot water dissolves contaminants more quickly than cold.
And know that not all bottles are born equal.
Here’s a look behind the labels.
Purified wateris filtered tap water.
Many companies resell municipal water from the cities nearest their regional bottlers.
They treat it with processes such as reverse osmosis to remove impurities and reduce the chlorine taste.
Constantly moving springwater is self-sanitizing and often contains more minerals, including calcium, than purified water.
Springs also regenerate, depleting less water from the earth.
(The bottles are still shipped thousands of miles, however.)
Artesian wateris a fancy name for well water.
Brands like Fiji Water pull their product from underground lakes, using massive man-made wells.
Curious about the look, smell or taste of your tap water?
Our experts explain it all.
“It comes out cloudy at first, then clears up.”
It’s nothing but bubbles.
“Sometimes air gets into the pumps that move water through your pipes,” Wunsch explains.
“When air dissolves in water, it makes it cloudy.
And then, as the oxygen is released, the water clears up.”
“It looks coppery brown.”
If you see this, consider buying an iron-removal unit.
The metal is nontoxic, but it can change the taste of your tap water.
“It smells like rotten eggs.”
This stinky gas emanates when bacteria break down naturally occurring sulfur compounds in water.
“It leaves a ring of gross muck around my drain.”
What color is your gunk?
Pink stains on fixtures are likely iron, Wunsch says.
Black or yellow goo indicates hydrogen sulfide.
“It smells and tastes musty.”
