WINK Smart: Testing your water before you buy that expensive filtration system

FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK) — Before buying an expensive water filtration system for your home, it is crucial to test your water so you know which kind of system you need. 

WINK Smart Anchor Mayzie Olson found a way to make the entire process as simple as possible. It's as easy as putting in your zip code online to check the official water reports for where you live and it may be different from your neighbor down the street. 

The Environmental Working Group, a non-profit activist group, provides tools and resources for residents to check their water on its website here. 

For example, typing in the Fort Myers zip code of 33901, EWG will display it's drinking water quality report. This is a compilation of test results conducted by the water utility, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, as well as information from the U.S. EPA Enforcement and Compliance History database (ECHO). 

This zip code water quality report flags three contaminants that exceed EWG guidelines. Two types of Haloacetic acids, HAA5 and HAA9, as well as Radium (combined -226 and -228). All three on EWG's report state they have a potential cancer effect. The Haloacetic HAA5 acid is 19x the EWG's health guideline, HAA9 is 43x the EWG's guideline. The report notes there is no legal limit for what's allowed in the water. 

Scrolling further down on this website, EWG lists the pros and cons of different types of water filtration systems. The list includes everything from cost, to maintenance, to how effectively it filters water. 

For the 33901 zip code, EWG recommends a reverse osmosis system, claiming it would tackle all three contaminants in this water. 

If you click to learn more, it even breaks down options you can buy right away.