{"id":119317,"date":"2024-03-17T16:24:16","date_gmt":"2024-03-17T20:24:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/?p=119317"},"modified":"2024-04-05T17:58:09","modified_gmt":"2024-04-05T21:58:09","slug":"boiling-tap-water-found-to-help-reduce-microplastics-new-study-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/savethewater.org\/boiling-tap-water-found-to-help-reduce-microplastics-new-study-finds\/","title":{"rendered":"Boiling Tap Water Found to Help Reduce Microplastics, New Study Finds"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Samhar Almomani, Publishing Associate<\/span>: Researcher and Writer<\/span> at Save the Water\u2122 | March 17, 2024<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0A new study uncovered that boiling tap water could <\/span>remove at least 80 percent of three of the most common microplastics usually found in tap water<\/span><\/a>. This finding may mean that drinking boiled water is likely better for your health than bottled water. People in several East Asian countries already drink boiled water. This practice solves the increasing harms of microplastics. <\/span>Just last month, researchers found that bottled water can contain up to a quarter-million fragments <\/span><\/a>of nanoplastics per liter.<\/span><\/p>\n Although some advanced water filtering systems can filter microplastics from water, this relatively expensive solution remains an inaccessible method to many. In contrast, <\/span>boiling water before drinking it offers an inexpensive way of ensuring that the water supply is clean and safe<\/span><\/a>. Moreover, it only takes five minutes to get such positive results.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The study<\/span> was published in ACS Publications: Environmental Science and Technology Letters<\/span><\/a>. During the study, researchers used samples of \u201chard\u201d tap water. \u201cHard\u201d tap water refers to water that has a high concentration of minerals, <\/span>such as calcium carbonate<\/span><\/a>. The researchers <\/span>proceeded to contaminate these water samples with nano and microplastics.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n When the researchers boiled the water, the calcium carbonate formed a <\/span>solid chalky substance called limescale. Limescale is a natural way of trapping the plastic particles that were in the sample<\/span><\/a>. After boiling, you can remove this limescale using a simple coffee filter and remove the trapped plastic particles.<\/span><\/p>\n Microplastics and nanoplastics penetrate almost every aspect of our lives, <\/span>which makes them extremely difficult to avoid<\/span><\/a>. They are also<\/span> small in size, making them difficult to spot and filter out.<\/span><\/a> That said, why were the researchers worried about microplastics and nanoplastics to begin with?<\/span><\/p>\n Simply stated, <\/span>several health hazards result from overexposure to microplastics and nanoplastics:<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n On top of this, w<\/span>e still don\u2019t understand the full extent of harm that microplastics and nanoplastics can cause<\/span><\/a> to our bodies. <\/span>Therefore, as much as possible, it\u2019s recommended to try to reduce our exposure to microplastics and nanoplastics.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n While the recent study is noteworthy,\u00a0 the researchers left some areas for future research. Specifically, <\/span>the researchers only studied the three most commonly occurring microplastics and nanoplastics and excluded<\/span><\/a> less common microplastics and nanoplastics. For example, the researchers didn’t study vinyl chloride, although it was recently found to be extremely harmful.<\/span><\/p>\nHow Did Researchers Discover the Benefits of Boiling Tap Water?<\/span><\/h2>\n
Health Hazards Caused by Microplastics and Nanoplastics<\/span><\/h2>\n
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What To Do Next<\/span><\/h2>\n