Drinking water is essential to health, we all know that, but with studies showing water can boost immunity, getting your eight glasses a day is more important than ever right now.

If you’re looking to increase your water intake to unlock all the advantages of great hydration, choosing your water wisely will ensure that you not only want to drink water but truly enjoy its taste.

Tap water may be cheap, easily accessible and safe to drink, but it isn’t the healthiest. Tap water contains small amounts of contaminants and chemicals that pose their health risks, which makes exploring your water options essential.

There are tons of water varieties out there, and each year sees a bevvy of trendy water products released onto the market.

Filtered, spring, distilled, and purified water however remain the most popular water types, but what’s the difference between each of them?

Filtered water

Filtered water is produced when tap water undergoes filtration courtesy of a water filter. Water filtration systems are no longer costly, which means more and more people have installed them within their homes to enjoy great quality, better-tasting water around the clock.

The filtration process actively removes odours, impurities and sediment from water to unlock some pretty nifty benefits such as better digestion, improved weight control, and detoxification.

But, as Drink Filtered discovered, it’s not just what’s removed but what remains that makes filtered water the healthiest option:

“Filtered water doesn’t just remove a lot of chemicals and natural contaminants from our water, it also preserves healthy mineral deposits that are important for our well-being.

A good water filter will work in such a way that it will filter 99% of the contaminants in your tap water while letting healthy minerals through. Not only that, but a lot of great water filters work by adding minerals to your drinking water in various ways.”

Springwater

As the name suggests, spring water is water that is sourced from an underground spring. This water type is naturally filtered by rocks to ensure a distinctive flavour.

Despite this natural filtration, spring water still undergoes treatment and disinfection before being sold to the public, yet a good level of its natural minerals remain.

Springwater is most commonly found bottled, which may be convenient, but is extremely costly and damaging to the environment. There are many more reasons to say “no” to bottled water, which will make spring water not the best choice despite its great taste.

Distilled water

Despite being a type of purified water, distilled water isn’t the same as purified water. Instead of using purification to remove impurities, distilled water uses distillation to achieve a more thorough result.

Distillation occurs when water is boiled, and the resulting steam collected and returned to water form once cooled. Through distillation, a long list of contaminants is successfully removed, including chemicals (such as sulphate and lead), bacteria, viruses, and pesticides.

The rigorous nature of this method of purification however means that not a lot is left behind. Distillation not only removes impurities but strips the water of the natural minerals that can be beneficial to health.

Distilled water is a great choice if you live in a part of the world where public water sources are not safe from pesticides and other chemicals. It can also be beneficial to people with weakened immune systems.

Purified water

Purified water is essentially groundwater or tap water that has undergone purification. This process removes several impurities and is relied upon in water treatment plants in the Western world to achieve a high standard of drinking water quality.

Purification is a long process, with water having to go through coagulation, sedimentation, filtration and disinfection before it is drinkable. Bottled purified water goes one step further, undergoing an additional purification process to remove further metals, chemicals, and contaminants.

Those looking to produce their purified water at home, however, will find equipment and its installation and upkeep particularly costly. Some contaminants can’t be removed through purification, with certain pesticides and chemicals difficult to shift.

Which is best?

If you’re looking for better testing, healthier, impurity-free and affordable drinking experience, filtered water gets our vote every time.

Unlike home water purification systems, drinking water filtration systems are affordable and easy to maintain. When compared to distillation, filtered water also removes the ‘bad stuff’ and keeps the ‘good stuff’ to ensure more health benefits.

Filtered water can be produced and bottled in a reusable water bottle to ensure the planet benefits too.