Your Health

Getting The Lead Out Of Your Drinking Water

Posted 1/7/2011

A lead-free water recirculator can also save families up to 12,000 gallons of water a year.

(NAPSI) - While many people are aware of the dangers of lead in paints and toys, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says potentially toxic lead is most commonly found in a home’s plumbing and water system.

Extended exposure to lead in drinking water can cause a variety of adverse health effects ranging from delayed physical and mental development in children to kidney problems or high blood pressure in adults. Dwellings built before the Safe Drinking Water Act amendments of 1986 are especially vulnerable.

Lead can sometimes “leach” from pipes in the water service line entering a building or from welds used on pipes in the home. However, there are several things you can do to decrease or eliminate the threat of lead in your drinking water:

Tips to Reduce Your Exposure to Lead

• Do not consume water that has been sitting in your home’s plumbing system for more than six hours.

• Run cold water for 15 to 30 seconds before drinking it.

• Use cold water for drinking or cooking.

• Never cook or mix infant formula using hot water from the tap.

• Use a faucet or filters that can remove lead from drinking water.

• Use a professionally installed water filter system on the pipes entering your home as well as under the faucets in your kitchen and bathrooms.

• Put your filtered water in a safe container—glass or BPA-free plastic.

• Invest in lead-free, energy-saving plumbing products such as balancing valves and the brass ITT Bell & Gossett ecocirc® water circulating pump that can save a family of four up to 12,000 gallons of water a year.

To learn more about how to get the lead out of your drinking water, check out EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791 and website www.epa.gov/safewater/lead/index.html. Explore lead-free and energy-efficient products at www.bellgossett.com.