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Fresh Drinking Water: A Festival Goer's Best Friend
With 175,000 music fans making the annual pilgrimage to Glastonbury, the music festival season is officially in full swing. Festival fans setting up their tents will know this is a time to get back to basics. Amid all the festival indulgence, two basic needs are always at the back of festival goers' minds: access to fresh drinking water, and to the toilets, yes, those notorious festival toilets! With alcohol playing a big part in the experience for many, it is even more important to keep adequately hydrated by matching this with plenty of drinking water - particularly before and after a drinking session. Thankfully, this is a need recognised by music festivals, which have drinking water points dotted around the site where revellers can fill up their water bottles. Check out our refillable Water Bottles now! Why drinking water at a music festival is so important Heat exhaustion - long days spent outside in the heat can lead to symptoms including dizziness, intense sweating and nausea. Stay hydrated by drinking water, seek shade and use suncream. The body loses more water from exercising - festival fans can cover miles on foot each day, add in dancing, and this equates to a very active weekend. Stay hydrated by regularly drinking water. Alcohol - booze is a diuretic and, as a result, can dehydrate the body at a time when you need to be working to keep it hydrated. Make sure to fit in enough drinking water to keep festival fit. Even if the sun isn't shining, the exertion of being active all day at a music festival means drinking the recommended amount of water each day is important (1.5 litres for women, 2 litres for men). A whopping 11 million litres of water is needed for the Glastonbury festival, which is provided by the local water company. Glastonbury's Worthy Farm site provides 400 taps that can be used to access clean drinking water - and in keeping with its environmental ethos, Glastonbury encourages festival goers to fill up at the taps rather than buy bottled water. With hundreds of thousands of music fans setting out for festivals across the country this need for clean drinking water - and to cut plastic waste - is repeated throughout the summer months as big name festivals such as Isle of Wight, T in the Park, Leeds/Reading, V Festival, Download, Latitude, Green Man and Bestival, among many others, draw in the crowds. Glastonbury Festival also uses the festival to raise funds and awareness for the Wateraid charity, which aims to bring clean drinking water and sanitation to those living without across the globe. Plan ahead Go prepared and take your own sturdy water bottle - don't add to the mountain of plastic waste by buying bottled water. Also plan and fill up a large water container with filtered water before setting off, which can then be stored in your tent. For people concerned about the quality of the water at campsites, portable filters are available to give you peace of mind while on the move. Doulton's stainless steel gravity-fed system is a fully integrated water filter system that can be used on the go for better-tasting, cleaner water. Most importantly, don't let dehydration ruin your festival. Find your water bottle and fill up at no cost to yourself or the planet. Check out our Gravity Filter solutions now!
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How To Avoid Chlorine In Your Drinking Water...
Often, with a long way to travel from source to tap, drinking water has chemicals such as chlorine and chloramine added as disinfectants to remove harmful bacteria. While the importance of water is kept clean as it moves through these communities of pipework is without doubt, do we really need to be consuming those chemicals once the water has reached the kitchen tap? Check out our Chlorine solutions now! Why is Chlorine added to water? Chlorine is a powerful disinfectant, and it is in this capacity that it is added to drinking water - and has been for more than 100 years. Added at the treatment stage it destroys harmful bacteria found in reservoirs and water storage units, in particular when it could cause dysentery, cholera or typhoid. As a catch-all chlorine is relied upon to stop the disease spreading through drinking water. What is Chloramine? Water companies also use chloramine as a disinfectant to reduce drinking water microbes. Chloramine is created when chlorine and then ammonia are added to the supply, combining to create chloramine. Very similar to Chlorine, it is also a highly effective and long-lasting disinfectant; however, it has been found to create fewer potentially harmful by-products. Is there a health risk from drinking chlorinated water? Concerns have been raised about the impact of chlorine on drinking water. The most serious issue is that if it reacts with organic matter, chlorine can create trihalomethanes(THMs) as a disinfection by-product. If ingested over a long-term period, THMs have been linked with cancer and are classed as "possibly carcinogenic". It has also been suggested that THMs could have an impact on pregnancy outcomes in rare cases. Some water companies have moved towards using chloramine to disinfect water, claiming that much lower levels of THMs are created. However, that fact is disputed by some critics, who are also concerned that chloramine remains in water when it is exposed to air - unlike chlorine. How chlorine/ chloramine affects the taste of water The most obvious impact of the presence of chlorine in drinking water is on smell and taste. Yes, if it tastes and smells chlorinated, it'll be germ-free, but is that the quality of water most households want, and is there anything consumers can do to improve the taste of their drinking water? As well as the chemical being present itself, dead microbes can remain in drinking water once the chlorine has destroyed them, which can also cause an unpleasant taste. Use a filter to improve your drinking water Using a water filter will help to reduce the chlorine in drinking water once it has served its purpose in making a safe delivery. By using an integrated using Doulton ceramic technology, families can enjoy clean, fresh water, free of a chemical taste, and of the majority of chemical contaminants. While the benefits of chlorinating water outweigh concerns about water-borne disease, consumers can take action to protect themselves against residual risks. Doulton water filters remove up to 99.99% of contaminants to deliver top-quality drinking water. Why take any chances with your health? Remove unwanted chemicals from your drinking water using Doulton's time-tested ceramic filters - and enjoy better-tasting water. Check out our Chlorine solutions now!
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The Fight To Help Get Millions Access To...
More than one billion people in the world still don't have access to a safe, clean source of drinking water. Heartbreakingly water-borne disease is responsible for the death of more children aged under-five than any other cause. Simple steps are all that is needed to start to make a difference. Everyone should have access to clean drinking water - and everyone should be equipped with life skills that can help to keep them safe from the catastrophic effects of poor sanitation. Water for life Of those who do not have access to clean drinking water, 40 percent live in sub-Saharan Africa, and it is here that an organisation's determination to make a difference inspired the creation of fast, effective and affordable solutions to bring clean drinking water to communities in dire need. Check out our Gravity Filter solutions now! Cleanwater, based in the UK, was formed in 2009 from a project in East Africa called LifeWater which is an arm of Watchmen International, a UK-based Christian charity. Using British Berkefeld® ceramic filters; Cleanwater has designed two highly effective filtration kits specifically to help tackle the problem of water-borne diseases in communities in Uganda, Kenya, Burundi, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Zambia and Malawi. Cleanwater kits - access to clean drinking water These gravity-fed, standalone water filter systems can be quickly put into use in emergency situations, or in communities with no means of accessing clean drinking water. The emergency Bag Filter Kit is ready for immediate use. The British Berkefeld® ceramic filter is fixed inside a durable plastic bag designed to be hung from a suitable place, providing safe drinking water within minutes. Easy to maintain, the Static Siphon Kit has been successfully used for humanitarian relief. Harnessing what resources are available on a local level in combination with a British Berkefeld® ceramic filter, Cleanwater Siphon Kits can be used to convert almost any plastic containers into a water filter unit. Providing low-cost access to clean drinking water where it can really make a difference, including schools and hospitals. Change for the future British Berkefeld® ceramic filters have been used to help communities across the world. In Guatemala, the Utz Ja' Project brought low-cost water filtration to rural communities after ceramic water filters were integrated into locally manufactured containers to provide clean drinking water. Another project saw British Berkefeld® gravity-fed water filter systems introduced to more than 4,000 homes in Oaxaca, Mexico, drastically cutting water-borne diseases in local families. High-quality solutions are the bedrock of lasting change. By relying on the ceramic technology that has been a proven success to filter water for more than a century, aid agencies have been able to bring clean water to communities with no other solution in sight. British Berkefeld® filtration systems are a key factor in the Millennium Development Goals to support drinking water projects. Made to exacting standards, British Berkefeld® ceramic filters are helping to make sure more people across the world have access to the clean water they deserve. Check out our Gravity Filter solutions now!
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E. coli & Drinking Water: Can A Water...
Most of us will probably at least be familiar with "˜Ecoli", short for Escherichia coli O157. Even if we don't know precisely what it is, or how it can relate to water, you'll probably know it's a potentially dangerous bacterium. Here's all you need to know about E. coli and your drinking water. What is Escherichia coli (E. coli)? Escherichia coli O157 is a bacterium that is usually found in the intestines of humans and a number of other warm-blooded mammals. It's worth noting that not all strains of E. coli are harmful. Indeed, some of them can even be useful for your digestive tract, and serve a role as regular gut flora. However, some strains of E. coli can cause food poisoning and severe illness in humans. E. coli can be passed to humans through contact with an infected animal or person, eating contaminated food - such as raw, unwashed vegetables, undercooked meat and unpasteurized milk - or, as we will be discussing, being exposed to contaminated water. It's important to note that E. coli is also able to survive outside of the body. Check out our water solutions now! What health risks are caused by E. coli in water? As we discussed, a number of E. coli strains pose no health risk to humans. Others, however, can cause real problems. Some harmful E. coli bacteria strains, for example, are known to cause cystitis, a bladder infection. Others commonly cause gastrointestinal problems. One particular strain of E. coli - O157:H7 - is known to cause severe and prolonged abdominal cramps, seizures, bloody diarrhoea and vomiting, as well as being the leading cause of kidney failure in younger children. Outbreaks of this particular strain of E. coli are usually those that hit the news. As we discussed, E. coli can be contracted by consuming water that has been contaminated with the bacteria and hasn't been adequately treated. This may be from a tainted water supply, or ingesting water from a lake or pool. Symptoms of E. coli sickness typically include: Diarrhoea (particularly with blood) Abdominal cramps Fever Treatment Loss of appetite Nausea Fatigue How do I know if E. coli is in my drinking water? For most of us, the majority of the time, we do not have to worry about our drinking water being contaminated, and that's because our water treatment services are regulated by quality standards. The World Health Organisation (WHO) sets out guidelines for drinking water quality, and the UK follows legal standards set out by a European Drinking Water Directive. The standards we have in the UK are very strict, and they mean our water is tested and monitored to ensure it is free from harmful levels of contaminants such as metals and other microorganisms. We would only usually be at risk of contracting E. coli this way if we were drinking unregulated and/or untested water, such as that from private wells or surface water. How to reduce E. coli in drinking water It is possible to reduce any risk posed by boiling water for at least one minute (time can vary depending on a number of factors). You can then leave this water to cool and store in a sanitised container before consuming - but this is the kind of process you should only be following if safe drinking water is not available. Trusted, regulated water sources should always be utilised where available. Water filter to reduce E. coli Drinking water from a safe source is the most important consideration in protecting yourself and your family from E. coli infection through water.As we've discussed in this post, your home water source, if part of a public network, will go through rigorous testing, but using a water filter adds an extra layer of protection and means a better taste. If the quality of drinking water is questionable, then filtering is vital and can help catch potentially harmful contaminants. Doulton Water Filters use specialist ceramic technology to remove up to 99.99% of pathogenic bacteria such as E. coli. Take control with Doulton At Doulton, it's our mission to give you complete control over your family's drinking water. We've been keeping people's water healthy, safe and tasty for over 180 years; our leading ceramic water filtration products reduce common and harmful contaminants, producing drinking water of the highest quality, every time. Explore the Doulton range and take no chances by safeguarding your water supply. Check out our water solutions now!
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Important Health Risks of Lead in Drinking Water
Of all the fears about pollutants reaching the water supply, concerns about lead remain a top priority. Water boards have advice ready for residents. Its use has been banned in water pipes, and large-scale incidents, such as in Flint, in the United States, have made families all too aware of the dangers of excessive levels of lead in drinking water. Check out our water solutions now! How does lead get into drinking water? Before the use of lead was banned across Europe in the 1970s, it was used in pipes that supplied drinking water to many houses. Despite the use of lead in water pipes being outlawed for four decades, it remains a problem where older homes still get their water supply via a lead pipe - and where older kitchen fittings remain. Lead has also been found, at times, to be used wrongly to attach pipes. These are problems homeowners may not even be aware of. Why is lead in drinking water harmful? Consuming too much lead is a serious health risk and can cause lead poisoning. Health experts highlight the danger to be much greater for young children (under six years old) who absorb lead at a higher rate, and pregnant women. Lead enters the body's vital organs, such as the heart, brain, and kidneys and is stored in the teeth and bones. The resulting health effects can include: At high levels, it attacks the brain and central nervous system, possibly leading to coma and death Brain development problems sometimes lead to a lower IQ, learning disabilities and slower growth Behavioural problems Anaemia High blood pressure Kidney damage Problems with the immune system Reproductive toxicity Miscarriage, stillbirth or premature babies Symptoms of lead poisoning Children suffering from lead poisoning may experience abdominal pain, loss of appetite, fatigue, vomiting, headaches, hearing loss and learning difficulties. Adult symptoms display as muscle pain, abdominal pain, headache, fatigue, memory loss, hearing problems and tingling or numbness in hands and feet. It can also cause a blue line on the gums. Treatment for lead poisoning Just as lead is slowly absorbed by the body, it is also slowly emitted. Anyone who fears they may have been exposed to excessive lead levels needs to seek the help of a doctor. Where the levels of lead are low, identifying the source will help to reverse the problem. However, people suffering higher exposure levels will need treatment with specialist medication, known as Chelation therapy. What can be done to protect against lead in drinking water? While people living in hard water areas may be afforded some protection by the build-up of limescale in lead pipes, soft water areas are not, and often an additional chemical (orthophosphate) is added to the water to take away the risk. It is a very real risk that particles of lead will find their way into drinking water in homes supplied by a lead pipe. Ultimately, families whose drinking water is supplied via lead pipes will want to take steps to replace the pipes. Check the pipe supplying your water - lead pipes are dull grey - and if unsure, ask a plumber to look at it for you. The local water authority should also be able to provide information about the levels of lead found in drinking water for a particular area. As boiling water does not reduce lead, the most affordable and immediate solution is to install a water filter to reduce heavy metal elements in your drinking water. Doulton water filters harness ceramic technology to filter out toxic metals from your drinking water. Using a water filter will help to reduce chemicals finding their way into drinking water and is ideal as a precautionary measure, even in houses with no link to lead being used. So important is the control of lead in drinking water that the omission of orthophosphate to stop lead water pipes corroding eventually led to a state of emergency being declared in Flint, Michigan, in the United States in 2015. Thousands of people drank water containing excessive levels of lead. Don't leave your health to chance The amount of lead in drinking water should not be above 10 micrograms, although the World Health Organisation (WHO) says there is no safe level for lead in the human body. Health is too important to take a risk with, check your water supply to ensure it is bringing you the best quality drinking water, and use a water filter for added peace of mind. Check out our water solutions now!
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Refuel On-The-Move & Boost Your Well-Being During National...
Walking and drinking water go hand-in-hand as ways to boost your wellbeing - and National Walking Month UK aims to get more people on the move. Throughout May, families are encouraged to pull on their walking shoes and step out onto the nation's streets to improve their health. Check out our water solutions now! Get moving to feel better - and cut pollution Living Streets, the charity behind the campaign, aims to get more people out of their cars and using their feet to get around instead to cut help pollution and improve health and wellbeing. Living Streets says walking every day can: Boost your metabolism and burn calories Improve blood pressure and the health of your heart It would be a good way to boost your mood Make you more aware of the community around you To this end, National Walking Month has launched the initiative #Try20 to encourage people to get out for a 20-minute stroll every day, whether by walking to school, getting out at lunchtime or going for a stroll in the evening. Stay hydrated by drinking water on the move When exercising, it is important to keep hydrated by regularly drinking water. It is recommended that people consume 1.2 litres of water every day to stay healthy, but when we exercise that need can increase. Be prepared and stay fresh on your walk by filling up a bottle of drinking water at home before you set out, however long you are planning to go for. If it is a hot day, even just a short stroll down the street could leave you feeling thirsty - the first sign of dehydration. Drinking water as you walk will also help to keep your energy levels topped up, as dehydration can leave you feeling sluggish, which won't encourage you to get out walking again. The idea of National Walking Month is not only to increase fitness but also to cut pollution, so working hand-in-hand with that ethos, ditch the plastic bottles and turn to the water tap. Fill up at home to help the environment Filling up a water bottle at home and reusing it will help to fight the mounting pile of plastic bottles that have become a major environmental concern. Maximise the health benefits of drinking water by using filtered water. National Walking Month also wants to map out how "walkable" the nation's streets are using feedback from those taking part. Cutting pollution, increasing wellbeing, making the country a better place to walk and reducing the Earth's pile of plastic waste by choosing drinking water from the tap can all play a part in making the world a better place to live. The great thing about walking is that, as well as being a brilliant low impact form of exercise, it is free. So fill up a bottle of filtered drinking water from the tap at home and head outside to enjoy a healthy lifestyle at no added cost! Check out our water solutions now!
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Why Clean Drinking Water Is Essential To A...
Much to the disappointment of expectant mothers, health experts have warned of the risks of 'eating for two', but how important is drinking water when it comes to pregnancy? Medical professionals advise pregnant women to follow a balanced, healthy diet, and within that they suggest cutting back on sugary food and drinks to avoid gaining excess weight. Sensible caffeine levels also restrict the amount of tea and coffee recommended for pregnant women. The NHS suggests no more than 200mg of caffeine a day - that is two cups of instant coffee, but caffeinated products such as chocolate and tea also count towards the limit. This makes drinking water one of the best choices to keep dehydration at bay during pregnancy. Check out our water solutions now! Why drinking water is essential to a healthy pregnancy Morning sickness With fatigue and, all too often, morning sickness being a problem during the early months of pregnancy, drinking water could help to alleviate some of these symptoms. Certainly, in the case of pregnancy-related sickness, which can really strike at any time of day, if not all day, topping up any fluids lost by drinking water is essential to staying hydrated and healthy. Good hydration is also an important factor when avoiding fatigue, so, along with getting plenty of rest, drinking an adequate amount of water will help. One of the early symptoms of dehydration is tiredness, so regularly sipping drinking water can rule this out as a reason for feeling fatigued. Using a Doulton Water Filter will ensure that drinking water not only tastes better but is free of any toxins carried in the water supply, leaving pregnant women happy in the knowledge they are feeding their bodies the best quality water. Exercise, heat and hydration While women should drink the recommended eight glasses of fluid each day throughout their pregnancy, they may need to drink slightly more water in the third trimester of pregnancy to meet the demands of their growing baby. It is important to listen to the body and look out for signs of dehydration such as thirst, darker urine, headaches and tiredness. Drinking water will help to flush toxins out of the system during pregnancy, and, just as importantly, will help the body to absorb nutrients, which all play a part in nurturing the development of the unborn baby. If exercising during pregnancy, women are advised to increase their intake of water, as well as when they become hot. Keep it clean Using a Doulton Water Filter will ensure that drinking water not only tastes better but is free of any toxins carried in the water supply, leaving pregnant women happy in the knowledge they are feeding their bodies the best quality water. Healthy, cheap, plentiful and cost-effective, water is the ideal source of hydration to keep the body healthy through pregnancy. Check out our water solutions now!
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Make The Choice To Cut Fluoride From Your...
Sipping a glass of clear, clean water goes hand-in-hand with a healthy lifestyle, but how pure is your drinking water and could using a water filter make it healthier? Chemicals are added to the water supply for a number of reasons not least to keep it clean, but one of the more controversial additions is fluoride. Around 25 countries add fluoride to their drinking water to improve the dental health of the population by helping to reduce cavities and tooth decay. In the UK, fluoride has been added to the drinking water of around 5.8 million people - around 1mg per litre of water. In the United States, 194 million people drink water that has had fluoride added to it. In the UK it is the choice of the local authority to add fluoride to drinking water. A report by The Telegraph showed those areas include parts of Cumbria, Cheshire, Tyneside, Northumbria, Durham, Humberside, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, the West Midlands and Bedfordshire. Check out our Fluoride solutions now! What exactly is the fluoride added to water? Leaving no taste or smell in the water, fluoride is added as either sodium fluoride, fluorosilicic acid, or sodium fluorosilicate. Fluorosilicic acid is a waste product of the phosphate fertilizer industry. Opponents are concerned about the health implications of adding such toxic chemicals to drinking water. Fluoride also occurs naturally in drinking water and bottled water can also contain amounts of fluoride, although the levels are often unknown. Health concerns over fluoride Despite claims of success, adding fluoride to drinking water has not always met with approval or even agreement. Many countries believe the fluoride in toothpaste and other dental solutions is enough to protect teeth. While critics are concerned about the need and impact of adding unnecessary chemicals to drinking water. They believe fluoride can potentially cause serious health problems. Dental fluorosis is a recognised side effect of drinking water with fluoride added to it that can cause discolouration of the teeth as a result of excessive childhood exposure to fluoride. While studies have failed to show any concrete link between the use of fluoride in drinking water and more serious illnesses, incidents of accidental over-fluoridation in the United States has led to outbreaks of fluoride poisoning, causing vomiting and diarrhoea. A number of countries in Europe, which did introduce fluoride to drinking water in the 1950s, have long since abandoned the practice, including Germany, Holland, Sweden and Finland. How to remove fluoride from water The optimal way to reduce unwanted naturally occurring and added fluoride to safe levels in your drinking water is to install a fitted water filter to your kitchen tap. Doulton Water Filters has developed a dedicated fluoride reduction cartridge that can be used as part of a filtration system to remove impurities and unwanted chemicals from your family's drinking water. Affordable and environmentally friendly, Doulton Water Filters help you control the content of your drinking water. Be crystal clear about what's in your drinking water use a Doulton Water Filter. Check out our Fluoride solutions now!
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How To Make Your Coffee Taste Better With...
To millions of people across the world the only way to start the day is with a good cup of coffee - but is it with filtered drinking water? Last week UK Coffee Week shone a spotlight on the relationship between coffee and drinking water. This annual campaign aims to get coffee drinkers to give back to the farming communities that create the initial product by supporting a fund to improve access to clean drinking water. Water is key to the coffee industry, from farming the beans to brewing a cup in your own home. Check out our water solutions now! Clean drinking water for all Yet the cruel irony in the pursuit of the perfect cup of coffee is the harsh reality that some of the farming communities producing coffee beans do not have access to clean drinking water themselves. To that end, UK Coffee Week works to make a difference by raising funds to bring clean drinking water to those communities. In support of the initiative, coffee shops are encouraged to hold events, or donate cash from each cup sold, to Project Waterfall, which has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds to help bring clean drinking water to communities in Tanzania, Rwanda and Ethiopia. By getting behind the fundraiser, coffee drinkers can give back to the communities that work to bring coffee to the world. Access to clean drinking water is the key ingredient to a better quality of life for those struggling to find a supply. How filtered drinking water can improve your coffee With the surge in popularity of coffee houses on our streets, self-styled home baristas are taking up the gauntlet and creating their own ever elaborate creations. While there is a real art to crafting the perfect cup of coffee, starting with the best materials is certainly a help. So why invest in the best quality beans and a state of the art machine, then leave the quality of water to chance? A fantastic, aromatic cup of coffee is the sum of all parts and good quality drinking water is the key ingredient. Using a water filter to remove any contaminants will improve the taste, texture and appearance of your coffee. By using a device such as a Doulton Water Filter you can be sure of healthy water every time you fill up your coffee machine. Reducing chemicals and bacteria with the natural ceramic filtration method will result in a smoother brew and a more consistent taste. Most coffee houses rely on a water filtration system to maintain the quality of their product, so to get the same great taste at home a water filter is a great investment. Water filters also help to stop "scum" forming on the top of hot drinks. This is caused by the presence of calcium, along with other chemicals, in drinking water. Particularly problematic in hard water areas, the use of a water filter will help to stop this unsightly appearance on hot drinks, and also help to preserve the workings of coffee machines by reducing the formation of scaling inside. To brew coffee like a professional, invest in the right equipment and make sure your main ingredient - drinking water - is up to the job by using a water filter. Be sure to check out what's on offer for National Tea Day on 21 April and remember the importance of a truly healthy cuppa. Check out our water solutions now!
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