Should You Be Worried About the Nitrates in Your Water? | Livestrong.com (2023)

FAQs

Is it bad to have nitrates in your water? ›

High levels of nitrate in drinking water may increase the risk of colon cancer. Nitrate may enhance the cancer potential of other compounds or may turn into cancer-causing chemicals like the body.

Safe level

Drinking water with concentrations of nitrate (measured as nitrate-nitrogen) below 10 milligrams of nitrate per liter of water (mg/L) is considered safe for everyone in your family. 10 mg/L is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standard for nitrate in drinking water for public water supplies.

Nitrate is an acute contaminant, meaning that one exposure can affect a person's health. Too much nitrate in your body makes it harder for red blood cells to carry oxygen, causing an illness called acute methemoglobinemia. The primary source of exposure to nitrate is food, though water can sometime be a concern.

What about bathing and showering? Nitrate does not easily enter the body through the skin. Bathing, swimming and showering with water that has levels of nitrate over 10 mg/L is safe as long as you avoid swallowing the water.

Nitrates are chemical compounds that behave similarly to minerals and cannot be removed by activated charcoal filters. They can only be removed by water filtration methods for nitrate contamination in drinking water, which include: distillation, reverse osmosis, ion exchange, and blending.

If your water contains nitrate levels close to the EPA limit of 10 ppm, switch immediately to a different source of drinking water and install a water filtration system designed to remove nitrate. Even if your nitrate level is lower, you may want to install a water filter.

Nitrate can occur naturally in surface and groundwater at a level that does not generally cause health problems. Water treatment plants therefore monitor the nitrate content in the source water and treat it if required. Therefore the risk of high levels of nitrates in public tap water is low.

Consuming high levels of nitrates can cause nitrate poisoning, which symptoms include blue coloration of the skin, difficultly breathing, and fatigue.

The bottom line. High nitrate levels in tap water pose a health risk but are rare in public-water supply. Bacteria in the body convert nitrates to nitrites which can pose a cancer risk. Nitrate removal can be expensive so we recommend testing your water first.

Nitrates can be removed from water by reverse osmosis, distillation, or through ion exchange resin. Nitrates are difficult contaminants to eliminate from water. Nitrates will not be removed by sediment filters, carbon filters, or by the hollow fiber membrane of an ultrafiltration system.

Do water softeners remove nitrates? ›

A water softener is typically used to treat hard water, but it can also remove nitrate and nitrite with the proper media. Water softeners use an ion exchange process, during which minerals are replaced with sodium. These compounds are then removed from the softener filtering resin through a backwashing process.

The allowable concentration for nitrate-nitrogen in bottled water is 10, or 45 mg/L total nitrate (FDA 1998). FDA regulations require that bottled waters that exceed allowable concentrations of nitrate must have information on the label saying 'Contains Excessive Nitrate'.

Activated carbon filters, such as those in a “Brita” water pitcher, DO NOT remove nitrates.

Yes. Only a very small amount of water clings to smooth surfaces, like dishes, so exposure to nitrates would not pose a health risk.

Reverse Osmosis is our number one recommendation for treating nitrates in your drinking water. Reverse Osmosis will effectively remove up to 95% of nitrates in your water depending on your original water temperature, quality and system pressure.

Dirty Filters

Laxness in cleaning filters often underlies high aquarium nitrate levels. Remember that the media in the aquarium filter merely trap wastes, food particles, and detritus. Until you clean or replace the media, the dirt is simply out of sight, but it's still adding to the nitrate load of the water.

A bio-media, which uses bacteria to filter the water and remove nitrates, is a suitable option. Bacteria are aerobic and anaerobic. The anaerobic ones could reduce nitrate. So you can establish anaerobic flora in the filter media to lower the nitrate levels.

The most common side effects of nitrates include headaches, dizziness or light-headedness, flushing or a warm feeling in the face. Not everyone experiences these. If side effects are a problem for you, discuss it with your doctor before you stop taking your nitrates.

Treatment: Nitrates cannot be removed from water by such treatments as UV lights, chlorinators, carbon filters, water softeners, iron filters, neutralizers.

Distillation can remove nearly all impurities from water. Compounds removed include sodium, hardness compounds such as calcium and magnesium, other dissolved solids (including iron and manganese), fluoride, and nitrate.

Does purified drinking water have nitrates in it? ›

You can easily prevent nitrate buildup through regular water changes. If nitrate levels are high (above 60 ppm), perform a series of small water changes (no more than 25% per day) until it is lowered to acceptable levels (< 50 ppm).

This process normally takes anywhere from 2-6 weeks. At temperatures below 70F, it takes even longer to cycle a tank.

The quickest and easiest way to get nitrates down in your setup is to change the water. As long as your tap water has a lower nitrate level than your tank water, by replacing it, your nitrate level will go down. Test the nitrate level in both your freshwater tank and your tap, to ensure that this is the case.

With advancements in water treatment technologies, removing nitrates from drinking water is a relatively simple process. However, it is important to use the proper nitrate removal method. For example; Nitrates cannot be removed with filters such as Britas, PUR, fridge filters or any other carbon based technology.

Nitrate can be removed from water using an variety of processes, including: ion exchange, distillation, and reverse osmosis. It's important to note that heating or boiling nitrate contaminated water will have little effect and can actually even increase the concentration.

The nitrates should break down some at the end of the cycle but they will always be there in some quantity. Personally I strongly recommend getting rid of the API kit and going with Red Sea, Salifert, etc.

Higher nitrate concentrations can lower the pH, making the water more acidic.

AQUA Carpatica is nature's most perfect mineral water, naturally Nitrate-free and the lowest Sodium level of any bottled natural mineral water on earth; the first of its kind in the UK. Not man-made, purified, or enhanced, AQUA Carpatica is all-natural and sourced from the earth.

The study concluded that four (yes, only four) bottled water brands have a pH and fluoride level completely safe for your teeth: Fiji, “Just Water,” Deer Park Natural Spring Water, and Evamor.

What bottled water has no nitrates? ›

Natural minerals carbonate AQUA Carpatica's sparkling water – the only nitrate-free, naturally sparkling water on Earth – and while the spring water is also exceptionally low in nitrates, both waters are sodium-free.

Natural processes can cause low levels of nitrate in drinking water—usually less than 3 mg/L. The health concern is with levels of nitrate over 10 mg/L.

Illness: High levels of nitrate or nitrite can decrease the ability of your blood to carry oxygen to your tissues. Infants younger than 6 months may be particularly at risk. Related symptoms can include decreases in blood pressure, increased heart rate, headaches, stomach cramps, and vomiting.

The Maximum Contaminant Level, or MCL, for nitrate is 10 milligrams per liter (mg/L) and nitrite is 1.0 milligrams per liter (mg/L).

Nitrate is less toxic than nitrite and is used as a food source by live plants. The process of converting ammonia to nitrate is diagramed in the nitrogen cycle.

The allowable concentration for nitrate-nitrogen in bottled water is 10, or 45 mg/L total nitrate (FDA 1998). FDA regulations require that bottled waters that exceed allowable concentrations of nitrate must have information on the label saying 'Contains Excessive Nitrate'.

Activated carbon filters, such as those in a “Brita” water pitcher, DO NOT remove nitrates.

Nitrites are known to hold one nitrogen atom along with two oxygen atoms, whereas nitrates are known to hold one nitrogen atom, bonded to three different oxygen atoms. A nitrite can become a nitrate by the process of oxidation and similarly, a nitrate can become a nitrite by the process of reduction.

Not all forms of nitrates are bad. In general, the naturally occurring nitrates in many types of produce are safe to consume. But, added nitrates, like the ones often found in processed meats, are linked to health issues including cancer.

When should nitrates be avoided? ›

Finally, nitrates are contraindicated in individuals with hypotension, hypovolemia, severe anemia, and cardiomyopathy. Nitrates should be used carefully during pregnancy or breastfeeding, as well as in clients with increased intracranial pressure or cerebral hemorrhage, renal or hepatic disease, and syncope.

Acute acquired methemoglobinemia is the most important adverse health effect caused by excessive nitrate/nitrite exposure. The known toxic effects from nitrate exposure result from the conversion of nitrate to nitrite.