The Flint, Michigan water crisis exposed the dangers of lead in drinking water. Still, lead pipe usage is widespread, and excessive levels of lead are found in public water supplies in all 50 states, affecting 22 million people or more.
How Does Lead Get Into Drinking Water?
When the pipes carrying water to homes, schools, and care centers begin to corrode, lead can enter our drinking water. Water that has high acidity or low mineral content is especially corrosive to fixtures and pipes.
Today, most pipes are made of copper, but because many homes built before 1986 still have lead solder connecting their copper pipes, the risk of lead in water is high. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that hundreds of major cities in the U.S. still have 100% lead piping connecting municipal water plants to homes and businesses.
Even in brand new homes, the pipes carrying water may bring lead-polluted water to a household.
As many as 12 million lead pipes carry drinking water to the homes of 22 million or more people in the U.S.
How to Remove Lead from Water
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) suggests two ways to remove lead in water: Reverse Osmosis or Distillation.
- Reverse osmosis is a simple and economical way to protect your household from lead contamination in water. Reverse Osmosis can remove 99.1% of lead in water and can remove dozens of other contaminants.
- Distillation is a very slow process and requires a lot of energy from a heat source, so it's not the optimal process.
During the reverse osmosis water treatment process, household water pressure pushes water through a series of filters. The membrane in the reverse osmosis system will filter out contaminants, including removing lead from water. Through the RO filtration process, impurities flush away, leaving you with filtered, clean drinking water.
Reverse Osmosis is a highly effective purification process, has a low production cost (only pennies per gallon), consumes no energy, and is easy to clean and maintain. To learn more about how reverse osmosis works, go to our Understanding Reverse Osmosis page.
Does Boiling Water Remove Lead?
Boiling your water will not remove lead. In fact, if water contains lead, then boiling the water can increase the concentration of lead in your water. This is because as water evaporates during the boiling process, the ratio of lead to water is greater than when started.
To successfully remove lead from water, the CDC site states, "You may wish to consider water treatment methods such as reverse osmosis, distillation, and carbon filters specially designed to remove lead.”
These 3 filter systems can successfully remove up to 99.1% of lead in your water
Top-Selling Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water Systems
Can Lead in Water Make You Sick?
According to the EPA, lead poses a serious health threat, especially for pregnant women, infants and young children. For example, lead exposure has been linked to the following issues in children:
- delays in physical development
- behavioral problems
- damage growing brains
And when it comes to the health effects of lead in water, adults are also at risk. There is evidence linking lead exposure to kidney problems, high blood pressure and increased risks of cardiovascular deaths.
Is Lead Dangerous for Children?
Lead exposure can cause irreversible harm to children. According to the CDC, there is no safe level of lead exposure for children. In fact, low levels of lead exposure in children have been shown to damage the nervous system and brain, causing hearing impairments, learning disabilities and harm to blood cells.
Does Running Water Reduce Lead?
Yes! If water has been sitting unused in pipes for six or more hours, the CDC recommends that you run water for 1-2 minutes. The longer water has been sitting in pipes, the higher the risk of lead in water. Flushing your pipes can waste water, so you may consider taking a shower to flush out your pipes. You may ask, "Is it OK to shower in water that contains lead?" Yes, human skin does not absorb lead in water, so shower or clean while flushing the pipes.
Water temperature matters! Hot water dissolves and corrodes lead more than cold water does, so when getting water from the tap for drinking or cooking, acquire water from the “COLD” side, and then heat up the water yourself to reduce the potential for lead contamination. “
Do not use hot tap water to make cereals, drinks or mix baby formula. You may draw cold water after flushing the tap and then heat it if needed" (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).
How to Test for Lead in Your Water
If you're wondering if you have lead pipes in your house, the EPA provides a guide to help determine if lead service lines bring water to your home.
Some states and/or utility companies provide residents with a program to pay for water testing and service line replacment. Testing should be done by a certified laboratory.
The EPA requires all community water suppliers to prepare and deliver an annual water quality report for their customers by July 1 of each year. To find your local Consumer Confidence Report, visit the EPA website.
Also, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) offers a "Lead Check" quiz for your home. You'll simply need a penny (or key) and a magnet.
FAQs
Water filters are the most effective way to remove lead from drinking water. Activated carbon filters can purify your water by removing most contaminants, including lead. Lead can also be removed through reverse osmosis and distillation.
How do you remove lead from water naturally? ›
Lead can be removed from water through reverse osmosis, distillation, and activated carbon filtration when configured for lead reduction. Lead can also be removed by identifying and replacing all the pipes and plumbing fixtures in your home that contain lead.
Do Brita filters remove lead? ›
As water passes through the filter, the nonwoven element reduces sediment, while the carbon block traps smaller contaminants. * Brita® faucet filters reduce lead, chlorine, asbestos, benzene, particulates and other contaminants. See this chart for a complete list of what Brita reduces or removes from tap water.
Does boiling tap water remove lead? ›
Boiling water does not reduce lead levels and may actually increase them. Test your water. The only way to know if lead has been reduced by letting it run is to check with a test. If letting the water run does not reduce lead, consider other options to reduce your exposure.
What filter removes lead from drinking water? ›
Reverse Osmosis Filters
RO systems are capable enough to remove 94% to 97% of lead from water. But some amount is left in water after the filtration as the systems available for personal use or commercial uses are not complete reverse osmosis systems.
How do you flush lead out of your body? ›
Chelation therapy.
In this treatment, a medication given by mouth binds with the lead so that it's excreted in urine. Chelation therapy might be recommended for children with a blood level of 45 mcg/dL or greater and adults with high blood levels of lead or symptoms of lead poisoning.
Can lead in water be filtered out? ›
Answer: Some filters can remove lead from drinking water. If you use a filter, be sure to get one that is tested and certified by an independent third party. Be sure to read the manufacturer's directions to learn how to properly install and use your filter and when to replace it.
Do coffee filters remove lead? ›
Impurities Filtered by Coffee Filters
Among the impurities that coffee filters can effectively remove are lead, chlorine, and other contaminants commonly found in tap water.
Does a fridge filter remove lead? ›
While they can remove some contaminants, they're smaller in size and can't remove nearly as many pollutants in the water as other types of filters. Plus, they typically aren't capable of removing heavy metals like lead, as well as bacteria.
Why is Brita in a lawsuit? ›
A class-action lawsuit alleges that Brita has engaged in false advertising about what its filters remove from tap water. A California man is suing Brita over what he alleges is misleading messaging on its water filtration packaging.
For example, because lead can leach from pipes as water travels from water utilities to home faucets, EPA has set its limit for lead in public drinking water water at 15 parts per billion (ppb). For bottled water, for which lead pipes aren't used, the lead limit is set at 5 ppb.
What happens if you drink water with lead in it? ›
Lead is a powerful neurotoxin, which means exposure to lead can damage the brain. It can also injure other soft tissues and organs, can interfere with the formation of blood, and exposure to enough lead can even kill. Both children and adults are vulnerable to lead's health effects.
Is it safe to shower in lead water? ›
Bathing and showering should be safe for you and your children, even if the water contains lead over EPA's action level. Human skin does not absorb lead in water. This information applies to most situations and to a large majority of the population, but individual circ*mstances may vary.
How to remove lead from water naturally? ›
Water filters are the most effective way to remove lead from drinking water. Activated carbon filters can purify your water by removing most contaminants, including lead. Lead can also be removed through reverse osmosis and distillation.
Does a charcoal filter remove lead from water? ›
Yes, carbon filters remove heavy metals. But these filters are only designed to remove certain contaminants, and they typically only remove around 50% of heavy metals. You're best looking at a water purification method like reverse osmosis, if you want to remove as many heavy metals as possible.
Do filter jugs remove lead? ›
If you have high concentrations of lead in your drinking water then jug filters will help reduce the levels but the lead that comes through the filters may still pose a risk to health.
Does white vinegar remove lead? ›
Yes, and it is very simple to do! The recipe is: 2 parts White vinegar 1 part Hydrogen peroxide. When the water turns blue after you have soaked the parts for 15 minutes. Remove them and rinse well.
What neutralizes lead? ›
Some pros use trisodium phosphate (TSP), which neutralizes lead by turning it into lead phosphate. But TSP is poisonous—some states prohibit its use—and lead phosphate is a suspected carcinogen. Instead, try a phosphate-free, biodegradable detergent, like Ledizolv, which attracts and stabilizes lead dust.
What to do if you have lead in your drinking water? ›
If you have a lead service line connecting your home to city water, you may need to let the water run 3 – 5 minutes. Use cold water for drinking, making food, and making baby formula.
Can you drink water from lead pipes? ›
Lead in drinking water
If water is left to stand in lead pipes, it absorbs small traces of the metal. If you're exposed to too much lead it can be harmful to your health. It can be especially harmful for pregnant women and young children, so they should reduce their exposure as much as possible.
women, infants and young children. For example, lead exposure has been linked to the following issues in children: