I saw this article on Yahoo today..

Here are ten toxic products, in no particular order, that you don't need. And, once you read about them, you probably won't want them either. Be aware that different homes may have different products that are more toxic than these. This is just a basic list of some of the most commonly purchased products that are almost entirely unnecessary, but pose significant risks.

1. 1. Air fresheners
2. Drain, oven and toilet bowl cleaners
3. Canned food
4. Pesticides
5. Dry-cleaning
6. Bottled water: Most people buy bottled water thinking they're avoiding any contaminants that may be present in their tap water. For the most part, they're wrong. Bottled water can be just as, or even more, contaminated than tap water. In fact, some bottled water IS tap water - just packaged (in plastic that can leach chemicals into the water) and over-priced. Also, from manufacture to disposal, bottled water creates an enormous amount of pollution - making our water even less drinkable. Do yourself and the world a favor and invest in a reusable stainless steel water bottle and a water filter. Try the ecoflowater filter bottles in Stainless and BPA free plastic. Each bottle filters 750 bottles of plastic water bottles..
7. Rubber duckies
8. Perfume and cologne
9. Oil-based paints and finishes
10. Couch cushions

Here is the link to the article in detail:

http://shine.yahoo.com/event/makeover/the-top-10-toxic-products-you-don-t-need-655726/

There is a water filter that claims to filter "total dissolved solids" (TDS)  from your water.  They say 'dissolved solids' can be either organic or inorganic, plant or mineral.  Dissolved solids can be harmful (like asbestos, aluminum, cadmium) but they can also be good (like potassium, calcium, phosphorus, and salt--sodium chloride).  This company even gives you a link to another company that sells a meter to test the TDS of your water.  They say the closer to zero the solids, the more pure the water.  This is only part of the story....

Having a low TDS does NOT mean your water is pure!!

Purity is not limited to dissolved solids.  Bacteria, viruses, chemicals and pharmaceuticals are NOT dissolved solids, and yet are dangerous to your health.  So your water could "test" with these TDS meters as having low or 'safe' levels, but still contain carcinogens, toxic bacteria, and volatile organic compounds!!

So be careful of water filters that focus on removing dissolved solids ALONE.  There are actually four important areas of purity to consider with your water: Dissolved solids, chemical, aesthetic (taste and odor), and microbiological. You need a water filter that can handle contaminants in all these areas---because, frankly, our water is full of it!

Look closely at their claims...they may not hold their salt :}

check out the ecoflo tech info,...

The National Toxicology Program is conducting research to clarify how human health may be harmed by drugs at low environmental levels.

The Associated Press reported last year that the drinking water of at least 51 million Americans contains minute concentrations of a multitude of drugs. Water utilities, replying to an AP questionnaire, acknowledged the presence of antibiotics, sedatives, sex hormones and dozens of other drugs in their supplies.

The news reports stirred congressional hearings and legislation, more water testing and more disclosure of test results. For example, an Illinois law goes into effect Jan. 1 banning health care institutions from flushing unused medicine into wastewater systems.

The EPA's new study will look for 200 chemical and microbial contaminants at 50 plants that treat drinking water. The list includes 125 pharmaceuticals or related chemicals. This research will help federal water officials decide if regulations are needed.

In the first move toward possible drinking-water standards, the EPA has put 13 pharmaceuticals on what it calls the Contaminant Candidate List. They are mostly sex hormones, but include the antibiotic erythromycin and three chemicals used as drugs but better known for other uses.

They join a list of 104 chemical and 12 microbial contaminants that the EPA is considering as candidates for regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act. No pharmaceutical has ever reached the list in its 12-year history, but medicines now make up 13 percent of the target chemicals on the latest list "based on their potential adverse health effects and potential for occurrence in public water systems," the EPA said.

They take a place beside such better-known contaminants as the metal cobalt, formaldehyde, the rocket fuel ingredient perchlorate, and the disease germ E. coli.

Some researchers fear that very small daily amounts of unwanted drugs in water could do cumulative harm to people over decades, possibly in combination with other drugs or insensitive populations like children or pregnant women.

It removes up to 99.99% of contaminants and pollutants found in fresh water supplies including Ascetics such as Chlorine, sediment and dirt; Biologicals such as Giardia, Cryptosporidium, E-Coli Bacteria; Chemicals (VOC’S) such as DDT, MTBE, Benzene, Chloroforms (THM'S); and Dissolved Solids (Heavy metals) such as Arsenic, Lead, Mercury, Copper, Zinc, Aluminum and Chromium 6.

EPA Contaminant Candidate List:

http://www.epa.gov/ogwdw000/ccl/ccl3.html

FDA flush list: http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/BuyingUsingMedicineSafely/EnsuringSafeUseofMedicine/SafeDisposalofMedicines/ucm186187.htm