Six things you must do during a boil water advisory

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28 Jan Six things you must do during a boil water advisory

Posted at 17:05h in Health, Your Water by
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Boil water advisories are issued when there is a chance that your drinking water could be contaminated. To avoid illness, you should do the following six things:

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1. Boil your tap water before you drink it!

Make sure you boil your water for at least one minute before drinking it. Boiling your water removes potentially harmful bacteria, such as E. coli. Make sure that you boil your water before putting it in a coffee maker, cooking food, or preparing tea to avoid consuming bacteria.

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2. Be careful when bathing

Try not to swallow any water, and keep an eye on infants and toddlers while they bathe to make sure that they don’t consume any water.

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3. Give your pets safe water

The last thing you want during a boil water advisory is a sick animal to take care of. Make sure that your pets are given cooled, boiled water or bottled water.

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4. Safely prepare your baby’s formula 

Calling all new mothers: you can safely sterilize your bottles, rings and bottle nipples by leaving them in boiling water for two minutes. Then, make sure that water that you mix your formula with rolls at a boil for at least two minutes to ensure its safety.

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5. Watch your symptoms

If you, or your family members, experience a fever, diarrhea or vomiting after drinking your tap water, seek medical attention. Many waterborne diseases have a quick onset and can rapidly lead to dehydration or more serious symptoms.

6. Invest in a water treatment system

Not all water filters are designed to remove bacteria to make your water safe. You need a device that eliminates harmful bacteria. You can also install a UV system on the main water line to disinfect all the water in the house including baths and showers.

For more information about boil water advisories and picking the right water treatment option for your home, contact one of our Rainfresh reps at 1-800-667-8072!

Photos: Huffington Post, Currant Baby



What is lead and how do I know if I have it in my water?

Lead is a colourless, tasteless, odourless harmful metal that is typically found in water supplies that either pass through lead water service pipes or home water pipes that have been soldered using lead -solder. The National Plumbing Code allowed lead as an acceptable material for pipes until 1975 and in solder until 1986. Therefore homes constructed before 1990 are more likely to have lead problems.

Consumption of drinking water that has lead can lead to severe brain and blood damage, especially in young children, infants and pregnant women. Even low level exposure may harm the intellectual development, behaviour, size and hearing of infants. If your home was built prior to 1990 or you suspect that lead -based solder was used in your plumbing, you should contact your local water authority and get a water test done. Most municipalities in Canada will do a free lead test.

You can install Rainfresh Drinking Water system 3, Reverse Osmosis System (RO450) or TWIST system to have lead -free drinking water. All these systems are tested and certified to NSF/ANSI 53 for lead reduction.