Boiling water is a common and cost-effective way to purify drinking water. But does boiling water remove fluoride? Fluoride is a mineral found in many natural sources, including water. This mineral is essential for the development of strong teeth and bones. Unfortunately, too much fluoride can be harmful to your health.
Boiling water removes other contaminants, but it may not effectively remove fluoride. In this article, I will discuss does boiling water remove fluoride or not. You’ll also explore other ways to reduce fluoride levels in drinking water.
What Is Fluoride And Why Is It Used In Drinking Water?
Fluoride is a chemical element in the Earth’s crust and can be released through natural and artificial activities. Municipalities often add things to their water supplies to promote dental hygiene.
At the beginning of the 20th century, areas with elevated fluoride levels had low tooth decay. Previously, cavities were a major issue. If not taken care of, cavities can cause many dangerous repercussions, including heart problems.
The introduction of fluoride into the public water supply happened in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After the research, results showed a significant decrease in cavities.
The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention in the United States declared that community water fluoridation was one of the top 10 public health accomplishments to occur during the last centuryHow Do You Check Fluoride Level In Your Water?
After learning about the potential dangers of fluoride, you might be interested in discovering if your water has an excessive chemical amount. Fortunately, there are multiple methods to determine its presence:
- Testing strips – Buy testing strips to check the fluoride level in your home. Even so, they will still need to provide an accurate reading.
- Fluoride meter – An electronic instrument known as a fluoride meter measures the fluoride concentration in water.
- Laboratory tests – Get a fluoride examination kit from a lab and direct it to a water specimen to evaluate fluoride concentrations. It may be helpful to you, and the outcomes can be obtained quickly and reliably.
Does Boiling Water Remove Fluoride: Recommended Fluoride Level
It’s a fact that the fluoride addition in water is lower than the prescribed amount. But, in some cases, fluoride in the water may be higher than what’s considered safe. Therefore, be aware of the potential risks of consuming too much fluoride.
The Department of Health & Human Services may propose 0.7 mg/L fluoride concentration in public drinking systems. However, this doesn’t indicate that this is the safest quantity to consume.
The permissible measure of fluoride in drinking water is limited to 4 mg/L. This is the maximum amount of pollutants in community water systems. It is also recognized as the peak contaminant level (MCL).
Consuming excessive water with a fluoride concentration greater than 4 mg/L can cause serious health issues.
Does Boiling Water Remove Fluoride: Adverse Effects Of Fluoride
Here are the drawbacks of consuming too much fluoride in the water:
High blood pressure
A study suggests that there could be a strong connection between high blood pressure and water with fluoride. High fluoride levels in groundwater result in hypertension, particularly among grown male individuals.
Seizures
It is inaccurate to say that fluoride is the sole cause of seizures. Nonetheless, it may be a contributing factor to those with existing epilepsy or other seizure-related conditions.
If you are prone to seizures, be mindful of the fluoride amount in your water. Excessive fluoride consumption can lead to a deadly seizure.
Fluorosis
Fluoride causes white spots in developing teeth when teeth get exposed to extra fluoride through drinking water. It is known as dental fluorosis. In addition, it happens because of the excessive use of fluoride rinses or fluoride toothpaste. Excess fluoride grows up in the bones & causes skeletal fluorosis and weakness.
Acne
The potential inner repercussions of fluoride are worrying, yet this substance can also affect the skin. Daily fluoride consumption causes fluoroderma, which causes painful sores. In addition, excess fluoride exposure causes hormonal imbalances, which can lead to acne.
Toxic To Brain & Nerve Cells
Fluoride affects bones and teeth. It affects the brain development of children—high fluoride level results in low IQ scores. Moreover, fluoride causes cognitive deficits.
Does Boiling Water Remove Fluoride: Introduction
Boiling water does not affect fluoride content. Instead, it increases the fluoride concentration because of water evaporation. It also doesn’t eliminate any other salts or minerals.
Boiling water removes bacteria, viruses, and pathogens. It keeps you safe from microorganisms that cause illness. But does boiling water remove fluoride?
The answer is No! Boiling water does not remove fluoride.
Elevated temperatures do not influence various water pollutants, including excessive fluoride. Water evaporates when water gets boiled, and the minerals, solids, and other contaminants such as fluoride, drugs, pesticides, lead, artificial estrogen, herbicides, and arsenic are left behind in a more concentrated form.
Does Boiling Water Remove Fluoride: What Does & Doesn’t Boiling Water Remove?
Boiling water kills disease-causing microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria, and cysts. If you face a biological contamination threat, use boiling water for consumption.
Boiling water does not eliminate contaminants such as lead, chromium 6, or nitrates other than a few volatile pollutants with a low boiling point.
As the pure water evaporates, boiling increases the pollutants that are not turned into vapor. Boiled water may contain high contamination, except for microorganisms.
Does Boiling Water Remove Fluoride: How Can You Remove Fluoride From Water?
If you can’t manage to remove fluoride through boiling, you can try these methods to remove fluoride from water:
Bone char water filter
Bone char or brimac has been used for a long time to remove fluoride from water. This process involves cleaning, drying, and heating animal bones before carbonizing them. Certain experts view it as the most successful way to remove fluoride from water.
Bone char filters can reduce fluoride levels in water by as much as 90%. They necessitate more frequent upkeep than reverse osmosis systems, requiring new cartridges to be installed to ensure optimal functioning.
Bone char is an efficient way to remove a range of pollutants in the water, such as fluoride, chlorine, and chloramine. Usually, it will cost approximately $550 for 40 pounds. Although, it may not be the most suitable option for vegans.
Water distillers
Distillation is the most economical and basic way of purifying water. It utilizes the natural process of vaporizing and cooling, much like the hydrological cycle of our planet.
Steam evaporates from the boiling water as fluoride-concentrated water is heated and condenses on the surface. Fluoride and other pollutants disappear when droplets accumulate in a freshly acquired vessel. This results in clean, distilled water.
Both distillation and reverse osmosis processes eliminate particles, ions, and fluoride from the water, making it free of minerals but slightly acidic. Countertop distillation units can be bought for easy distilling. Distillation units are more practical for individuals or small families.
Distillation units are highly suitable for individual households or small families because of the slow distillation process. The price of a water distiller depends on its size and can range from $120 to $3500.
Reverse osmosis water filter
A reverse osmosis setup is a simple way to remove fluoride from drinking water. It can eliminate up to 92% of fluoride from your water source. This system uses standard water pressure to push tap water through the filtering device.
The water purification process involves using semi-permeable film and other filtration systems like sediment and carbon. It efficiently eliminates fluoride and other pollutants, like sulfates, asbestos, chlorine, detergents, cadmium, and heavy metals.
Reverse osmosis has grown as a secure, reasonably priced, and simple-to-maintain water filtration system. A family of four can relish freshly filtered water daily for a very low rate per gallon. Typically, a new reverse osmosis system will cost less than $400.
Activated alumina water filter
Aluminum oxide is a colorless combination in both sapphires and rubies. It is also known as activated alumina.
Activated alumina is particularly suitable for eliminating fluoride, arsenic, and thallium with its high surface-area-to-weight ratio. The pH water level needs to be 6.5 or below for the effectively activated alumina, and the absorption process must happen correctly.
Activated alumina is used in fluoride filters to reduce fluoride levels in the water. However, it is not able to eliminate all of it. Instead, it decreases the concentration to about 0.1 ppm.
How To Further Reduce Fluoride Exposure
In addition to filtering out fluoride in water, there are alternative methods to lower your daily intake of this mineral.
- Unprocessed organic foods – Inorganic food has a high fluoride concentration. So, purchase organic and unrefined food items.
- Coffee – Caffeine in the form of coffee is also a source of fluoride. Unfortunately, reducing coffee intake is necessary to keep low fluoride levels.
- Medications – A significant number of medicines employed regularly have fluoride. Ask a doctor for a suitable replacement.
- Toothpaste – Consider using toothpaste and other dental products that do not contain fluoride. Additionally, it’s a good idea to cease fluoride treatments at your dental office.
- Green & black tea – Green and black tea can have a large amount of fluoride. It largely depends on the area it was grown. So, it’s best to reduce their consumption.
- Teflon-coated cookware – Cooking and storing with Teflon can cause fluoride to leak into your water supply.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) On Does Boiling Water Remove Fluoride
1. How can I avoid fluoride in my water?
You can avoid fluoride by using water filters, purchasing spring water, and using the water distillation process.
2. Which technique is used to remove fluoride from water?
Reverse osmosis and electrodialysis are used for fluoride removal.
3. Does freezing water remove fluoride?
Fluoride removal depends on the freezing temperature. The most effective temperature range is from -15°C to around -20°C. The effectiveness of fluoride removal is between 50-75% when substances are added to regular water. However, when deionized water is spiked with fluoride, the percentage is between 75-85%, bringing forth a more desirable outcome.
Summary: Does Boiling Water Remove Fluoride
There is no doubt that extra fluoride has been advantageous in many ways. However, contemporary dental techniques have altered the way people think of fluoride.
Furthermore, naturally occurring fluoride can be hazardous. Recent studies have uncovered the detrimental effects of drinking tap water with a high fluoride concentration.
If a test shows that fluoride in your water is too high, it is essential to eliminate it from your drinking water.
Does boiling water remove fluoride? The simple answer is No! Boiling water does not remove fluoride from water.
There are other ways to obtain fluoride-free water for daily consumption, such as reverse osmosis, distillation, activated alumina, and bone char filters.
I hope this article on does boiling water remove fluoride sounds helpful!
