Tap water straight from the tap often contains the following undesirable substances:

• Bacteria
• Pesticides
• Heavy metal
• Chlorine
• Medication
• Microplastics

Endocrine disruptors in drinking water are a major problem. They influence the regulation of hormones in the body. Possible effects can include developmental disorders, reproductive problems and an increased risk of cancer. But how do hormones get into our drinking water? Quite simply:

PFAS, or more precisely perfluorinated and polyfluorinated alkyl substances, which are also known as "eternity chemicals", pose a serious health risk. Numerous scientific studies have shown that PFAS can damage organs such as the liver and kidneys as well as the immune system.

Old lead pipes that were used up until the 1970s, industrial wastewater containing mercury and arsenic or natural geological processes - there are many ways in which heavy metals get into our tap water. And they really have it in them:

Quite apart from the fact that you certainly don't want to drink microplastics, the health risks have not yet been fully researched. Some studies suggest that they can have a negative impact on intestinal flora, cause digestive problems and lead to hormonal imbalances and other health problems.

Pesticides can enter drinking water via agriculture. Metabolites, i.e. degradation products of pesticides, were detected at 70 percent of the monitoring sites. One particularly worrying metabolite is trifluoroacetate (TFA), which was detected at 76 percent of the monitoring sites.

Chlorine is used to disinfect tap water, but it can also form harmful compounds such as trihalomethanes (THM), haloacetic acids and haloacetonitriles.1 These compounds are not uncommon in German drinking water.

Bacteria can enter drinking water in many different ways and pose considerable health risks. From diarrhea caused by E. coli to severe pneumonia, many things can happen. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria pose an additional risk, especially for people with weaker immune systems.