PUR water filter is one of the most prominent brands that offer efficient water purification technologies today. It can remove harmful bacterias in your home water, but the real question is, “Do PUR water filters remove fluoride?”
The answer is YES. PUR water filters are among the many water filters that remove fluoride from your drinking water. Advocates of PUR water filters have reviewed the newest filter technologies and proved the effectiveness of pur filter fluoride removal.
In this article, I’ll be discussing in detail how PUR water filters eliminate fluoride. Read on and learn more fundamental facts about the dangers of excess fluoride from your drinking water.
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How PUR Water Filter Remove Fluoride from Drinking Water
Out of many innovative purification devices, PUR filters are one of those top-tier devices that eliminate numerous contaminants from your drinking water. Majority of the new filtration products of PUR filter out fluoride and other industrial pollutants because of their “MAXION” technology.
PUR’s MAXION feature guarantees top-notch filtration performance by using a highly specialized formula of activated carbon and ion exchange. This mechanism effectively removes chemical contaminants like fluoride and chlorine from your water.
In addition, the newly improved models of PUR pitcher filters with MAXION have competitive filtration capacity that can now eliminate fluoride, unlike the previous versions. PUR water filters generally have various filtration methods.
The PUR faucet filters are known to reduce over 60 known contaminants like fluoride, chlorine, heavy metals such as lead and mercury, agricultural pesticides, pharmaceuticals and other industrial pollutants, providing clean, safe, and fresh drinking water for your home.
What is Fluoride
Fluoride is indeed familiar to most of us. We often associate it with numerous toothpaste, mouthwash, and dental care tv commercials because it is an essential mineral for our bones and teeth.
Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral found in water, air, soil plants, and rocks. It is called nature’s cavity protection because it prevents cavities by strengthening the outer layer of our teeth (enamel).
It will protect our teeth from demineralization caused by acid attacks. Once fluoride is in your enamel, it teams up with calcium and phosphate ions which are found in your spit or saliva and makes your teeth harder and stronger.
Why is Fluoride in my Drinking Water
Fluoride is ubiquitous in our environment. We can directly ingest it through our daily diet because it is found and served in most foods we eat. The fluoride content in foods varies; that’s why water suppliers add moderate amounts of fluoride in municipal water to inhibit tooth decay problems in residential areas.
Since 1962, the US Public Health Service has authorized the use of fluoride in public drinking water. The American Dental Association states that fluorine benefits local communities as fluoridated water decreases tooth decay cases by 20-40 percent.
Water fluoridation is the process of adding fluoride to the public drinking water supply. Studies show that fluoride is a great addition to drinking water as it is considered the most efficient way to treat dental caries in both adults and children.
The US General Surgeons approve community water fluoridation. And more than 100 health organizations, including the World Health Organization, recognize the health benefits of fluoride in drinking water.
How much fluoride do we need in our bodies? According to the Mayo Clinic, daily intake of fluoride varies in different age groups : 0 – 3 years of age need 0.1 to 1.5 milligrams. Kids under 3 years of age can get fluoride by brushing their teeth regularly.
Children who are 4-6 years of age must have at least 1 – 2.5 mg of fluoride in their bodies. 7-10-year-old kids will need 1.5 to 2.5 mg. Meanwhile, adolescents and adults should have an approximate 1.5 to 4.5 mg.
Community water systems are generally safe as long as they maintain optimum/safe levels of fluoride content, which is 0.7 mg/L of water as recommended by the Public Health Service.
How Harmful is Excess Fluoride in Our Drinking Water
Given the enormous benefits provided by fluoride, Why do some people still use water filters to remove it from their drinking water? It is because it poses some health risks. We all know that too much of anything isn’t good for our health, and it is the same with fluoride intake.
The amount of fluoride in tap water should be relatively low. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Water Quality Association, 4 mg/L is the permissible drinking water standard for fluoride. This is the maximum acceptable level of fluoride in drinking water.
Anything more than 4 mg is not safe for public health. The municipal water treatment system includes adding 1 milligram per liter of fluoride salt to provide a natural remedy for tooth decay.
However, some homeowners become cautious about the fluoride content in their home water as they learn that ingestion of excess fluoride can cause fluorosis, which affects teeth and bones.
Dental fluorosis is usually mild and does not serve any long-term health effects on children. But severe fluorosis requires numerous cosmetic dental procedures like dental veneers or teeth whitening. What a costly problem, right?
On the other hand, Skeletal fluorosis is a pathological bone disease characterized by excessive accumulation of fluoride that causes severe pain in bones and joints. How do they affect them? The fluoride ions will substitute hydroxyl sites in the carbonate-apatite structure.
The covalent bond will produce fluorohydroxyapatite. It is a mature form of calcium phosphate insoluble salt that is distributed in the collagen fibrils of skeletal issues. It will alter the mineral structure of bones, causing them to weaken and become less capable of resisting pressure.
In a rare scenario, too much fluoride in our body could cause a medical condition called “fluoride poisoning”. It only occurs if we drink from contaminated water with high levels of fluoride.
The common symptoms are the following: nausea, vomiting, muscle spasms, excessive saliva, seizures, and abdominal pain. There are no known negative side effects if you drink tap water.
It is only likely to happen if your drinking water source is contaminated due to industrial accidents (e. g. fire or explosion). In addition, The natural drinking water sources in the US have an average of 0.2 mg / L of fluoride, but it can be higher in some places.
People have been questioning its safety since the 2003 Water Act started. The policy requires water companies to add fluoride to drinking water. Water fluoridation has indeed become a massive controversy for public health. But one thing is clear: excessive amounts of fluoride wreak havoc on our health.
Conclusion
Fluoride offers undeniably plentiful benefits to our health. But fluoride content in our drinking water has become questionable after scholarly studies reveal its health effects.
Too much fluoride is detrimental to our health. That is why we become meticulous in choosing water filters. Do PUR water filters remove fluoride? Definitely. We have concluded that pur filters have “MAXION” technology that makes it feasible.
If you have topic suggestions and questions about fluoride, please comment below and let your concerns be heard!
Hi, I am Ronald, founder of Saveourh2o. With this website, we aim to solve all the problems related to your water filters, softeners, and heaters. I have five years working in water equipment sales & service. I hope to bring the knowledge gathered from my daily work to help you to achieve comfort and safety in your home!