Keuringsdienst van Waarde: water filters are a scam
Water filters are completely unnecessary in the Netherlands. In fact, they are more likely to make the water worse than better. That is the conclusion of Keuringsdienst van Waarde, which explored the wonderful world of water filters in its episode last Thursday.
You surely know them: those plastic water jugs with a cylinder inside to purify the water. The purified water is supposed to taste better once it has been filtered. And it contains fewer harmful substances, such as heavy metals, asbestos, chlorine and cyanide, or traces of medicines such as contraceptive pills and chemotherapy treatments.
Don’t complain
Such a water jug costs a bit, but then you do have a jug with a special filter. Wait, you do have to replace that filter regularly. In the Keuringsdienst van Waarde episode, Teun van der Keuken calculates that this can easily cost 200 euros a year for an average family. No small amount, and sales increase by one hundred percent every year, says Jan Bart Fanoy, the importer of those filters. You won’t hear him complain, not even when Teun subtly points out that his filter removes all kinds of substances from the water that are not present in Dutch drinking water. ‘Yes, uh… perhaps we should adapt that on the packaging,’ the importer reluctantly admits.
Filter makes water worse
What about the quality of tap water in the Netherlands? Is it so contaminated that it makes sense to spend a lot of money on jugs and filters? According to Roberta Hofman, a water purification researcher at KWR, ab-so-lutely not. She says Dutch drinking water is the best in the entire world. She considers those filters complete nonsense. In fact, the filters can even make the water worse. After a while, bacteria start growing in the filter, contaminating the water. She demonstrates this in the laboratory with a filter that is only a few weeks old.
Vitamin pill
Here’s another strange paradox: the filter removes minerals from the water that your body needs. So there are people who take a vitamin pill containing minerals with a sip of water in which they have just filtered out those same substances, presenter Ersin Kiris asks her. They both have a bit of a laugh about it. Yes, says Roberta, or people buy mineral water specifically to get those minerals.
Superior water
So those water filters are complete nonsense. Or are they? Juglen Zwaan of aHealthyLife, a water-filter retailer, responds by email. (Naturally,) he disagrees with the claims made by Keuringsdienst van Waarde. Is drinking water really that healthy everywhere in the Netherlands? He has his doubts. What about lead and plastic water pipes through which that superior tap water flows? The Keuringsdienst should have tested that too. And according to Zwaan, the bacteria-filled water filter was from an inferior brand, so that was not fair either.
Water is healthy
His conclusion: drinking plenty of water is healthy, and some people simply do not like water straight from the tap but do like filtered water. So water filters are good. Moreover, even more health hazards lurk in and around the home, such as air pollution, alcohol and cigarettes, too little sleep and unhealthy food. Well, we could say the same about that. With a glass of water. From the tap, yes.
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