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Fluoride is a mineral that occurs naturally in plants, soil, water, rocks, and air. It is also present in your teeth and bones. Fluoride has some benefits to our bodies, but it also has some negative impacts as well. It is usually added in water to treat it, and it is also used in the dentistry world to prevent cavities. However, if it’s in excess amounts in your drinking water, it may bring about unwanted outcomes.
As a result, it’s important that you remove fluoride from your drinking water. There are several proven methods of eliminating fluoride from the water. Here, however, we will focus on how to remove fluoride from water cheaply.
Contents
What are the effects of fluoride?
Fluoride in your drinking water is known to cause some health effects. That’s why it’s important for you to eliminate it from the water. Several studies indicate that fluoride exposure could cause an increase in the incidences of bladder and lung cancer. But there hasn’t been a consistent pattern in such conditions among populations that consume fluoridated water.
Besides cancer, fluoride is known to have negative effects on teeth and bones. When you consume water with excess fluoride, you will most likely suffer from dental fluorosis or skeletal fluorosis. It will cause the weakening of bones, and it can also affect the enamel, causing teeth discoloration. However, this condition mostly depends on the age, duration, and dose that an individual consumes.
There are also other health problems associated with the consumption of excess fluoride in your water. There have been concerns that it causes male and female infertility. According to a study conducted, the findings indicated that human reproductive health was affected negatively by an increase in fluoride levels.
Looking at these health effects, you now understand why it’s so important to get rid of fluoride in your water.
How do you get rid of fluoride cheaply?
Without further ado, let us get down to some of the cheap ways to get rid of fluoride from water.
Holy basil or tulsi
If you are looking for a cheap method to remove fluoride from your drinking water, you can use the leaves or powder of holy basil. Holy basil is also referred to as Tulsi. Using this plant implies that you can remove fluoride naturally, and it has been proven to work effectively.
To remove fluoride from the water using this method, you need to add tulsi powder or a few leaves to your water. This method is known to reduce the amount of fluoride in water by approximately 1.1 parts per million (ppm). The best things about this method are that it’s natural, and you can access the seeds cheaply. What’s more, the seeds take between two and three weeks to grow.
Distillation
Another cheap way to remove fluoride from your drinking water is through distillation. Distillation has been used as a water purification method for ages, and it proves quite effective when it comes to eliminating fluoride.
The process is quite easy, and you can accomplish it in two ways. You can either purchase a water distiller, which will carry out the process seamlessly. Alternatively, you can get heat your water up until it reaches the boiling point. Afterward, collect the water vapor in a separate container, where cooling takes place. The water you get will be fluoride-free. As you can see, this is a simple DIY task from the comfort of your home.
Sedimentation
Sedimentation is also another effective way to get rid of fluoride from your water. It is a great method to remove fluoride and other contaminants in the water. Here, you’ll need to fill a non-metallic container with the water that you want to purify. Ensure that you live the lid of the container open so that chlorine can evaporate.
Next, you need to close the lid and leave the purified water for close to eight hours to let it settle. The impurities will settle at the bottom of the container. As a result, you should not consume all the water in the container to avoid consuming the settled impurities.
Use pitcher filters
Another inexpensive way that you can rely on to remove fluoride from your drinking water is by getting pitcher filters. This method is a great alternative to drinking bottled water, which is usually costly. Fortunately, you don’t need to struggle much to acquire a water filter pitcher because there is a myriad of brands on the market.
Usually, a pitcher filter features a jug that is divided into two parts. The two halves are separated by a filter cartridge. To eliminate fluoride using these products, you need to pour the water that you want to purify in the upper half. The water then sips down to the bottom section, whereas the contaminants are trapped by the cartridge. However, as much as this method is convenient, it has a downside. The filtration process is quite slow.
Faucet mount filters
If you are looking for a cheap way to remove fluoride from your drinking water, then you may consider getting a faucet mount filter. Compared to pitcher filters, faucet mount filters cost higher, but they carry out the filtration process seamlessly. Besides, they have a faster water flow rate.
Such filters are fitted on a standard faucet in your kitchen sink to ensure that you only consume purified water. Moreover, the installation process is quite easy, and you don’t need any tools to get the job done. Faucet mount filters also include a valve that lets you swap between unfiltered and filtered water.
FAQs Do Refrigerator Water Filters Remove Fluoride?
Final word
Fluoride mainly occurs naturally in water, meaning that it will be present in your household water. Excessive levels in your drinking water are associated with some health problems such as dental and skeletal fluorosis. As a result, you need to find an effective method to ensure that you only consume fluoride-free water. Fortunately, you don’t have to opt for expensive methods to get rid of the fluoride. Here, we’ve listed some of the effective ways on how to remove fluoride from water cheaply.
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