Year by year, as science advances, we become aware of things that we previously didn’t know, or did not recognise. For example, in recent years increasing awareness of the health risks of smoking has made this issue a hot potato. Similarly, we all now know of the health issues related to dangerous substances such as asbestos, cadmium, chromium, etc.

It has also been known for a long time that lead does our bodies no good. Lead poisoning mainly affects the functioning of various organs, especially the brain, kidneys and central nervous system. Governments have therefore decided to ban lead from consumer products and to improve procedures to protect the users of products containing lead. For example, lead-free paint has been available for some time, and petrol is now only sold in a lead-free form.

It is less well known that our household faucets also contain lead. Faucets are generally made of brass, a copper-based alloy which also contains zinc and lead, plus many minor additives, which generally add up to less than 1% of the total. However the lead may be as much as 3-3.5%. This maximum percentage is stipulated in European regulations and is generally applied in each country in the EU. The purpose in adding lead to the brass alloy relates to simplification of the manufacturing process. It is almost impossible to produce a faucet without lead and yet we have succeeded in doing so.

The lead in a faucet releases contaminants into the water during use. Water from the faucet is drunk and causes, each time, a small increase in the lead accumulation in the body. The problem is that lead is not broken down by the body, it remains and accumulates. So after ten years there can be a considerable quantity of lead in a body. Foetuses and small children are particularly vulnerable to this form of lead poisoning.

In children, lead is known to disrupt especially the healthy development of the brain. The mechanism is that lead hinders the development of red blood cells, and these are needed to distribute oxygen to the organs in our body. Drinking water that contains lead can thus affect children’s intelligence and even influence their behaviour.

In addition to lead, faucets contain another harmful substance. Faucets are generally chromed, and the chrome-plating process begins by depositing a layer of nickel on the faucet. Most faucets are chrome-plated by immersion in a bath, which means that not only the outside is chrome-plated, but also the inside, through which the drinking water from your faucet must flow. After some time, traces of this layer of chrome and nickel find their way into the water. People who are very susceptible to allergies may be seriously affected by these metals.

A new and specially developed process now enables Zeromix to produce entirely lead-free faucets. Moreover the brass that we use contains no nickel and the faucets are made in such a way that no nickel comes in contact with your drinking water. So Zeromix has developed the Healthy Faucet. Why not go for the safest product if you don’t have to pay more?