# Microplastics in Drinking Water and How to Protect Yourself
Few news stories from the scientific world have managed to generate such public interest in recent years as the finding that we are drinking plastics. Literally. Microplastics in drinking water are not a bogeyman from a dystopian novel – they are tiny particles that scientists find in tap water, bottled water, rainwater, and essentially everywhere they look. But the question doesn't stop at what we know. Far more important is: what can you realistically do about it at home?
First, it's worth understanding what we're actually talking about. Microplastics are plastic particles smaller than five millimetres, while scientific interest is increasingly focusing on so-called nanoplastics – particles smaller than one micrometre that are completely invisible to the naked eye. They enter water through many routes – the breakdown of larger plastic objects, tyre abrasion, washing synthetic clothing, but also from water pipes themselves or from plastic bottles. The World Health Organization issued a call in 2019 for intensive research into this phenomenon and acknowledged that the impacts on human health have not yet been fully explored – which is in itself a troubling message.
A study published in 2018 in the journal Environmental Science & Technology estimated that the average person ingests approximately 50,000 microplastic particles per year through food and drink, with drinking water accounting for a significant portion of this intake. If we add inhaled microplastics from the air, the number climbs even higher. These figures are naturally approximate and the methodologies of individual studies vary, but the trend is clear and consistent across research from around the world.
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Why this is a problem and why you should care
The health impacts of microplastics on the human body are the subject of lively scientific debate. What we know for certain is that microplastics have been found in human blood, in the placenta, in the lungs, and in faeces. Research published in 2022 in the New England Journal of Medicine demonstrated the presence of microplastics and nanoplastics in atherosclerotic plaques in arteries, with patients in whom they were present having a higher risk of heart attack and stroke. This is a warning signal that demands attention.
Moreover, plastics are not chemically inert. They can bind various toxic substances – heavy metals, pesticides, or so-called forever chemicals PFAS – and act as carriers delivering them directly into the body. As environmental scientist Sherri Mason, one of the pioneers of microplastics research, puts it: "It's not just about the plastics themselves, but about what they carry with them." This combination of physical and chemical burden on the body makes microplastics a complex health topic that cannot be dismissed with a simple answer.
At the same time, it is important not to sink into unnecessary panic. Science does not yet have sufficient data to say with certainty what level of microplastic exposure is demonstrably harmful to humans. However, this does not mean we should sit with our arms folded and wait for research to reach definitive conclusions. The precautionary principle makes clear sense in this case – and moreover, there are a number of things every person can do right now.
Take an example from everyday life: Jana, a thirty-year-old mother from the Central Bohemian Region, started addressing water quality two years ago after reading about microplastics in bottled water. She paradoxically discovered that the very bottled water she had considered a safer alternative to tap water may contain significantly higher concentrations of microplastics – due to the plastic packaging itself. She switched to filtering tap water and bought glass bottles for drinking. Today she says she feels better not only physically, but above all mentally – because she knows she has taken a concrete step.
What you can realistically do at home
And it is precisely at concrete steps that it is worth pausing for a moment, because there are surprisingly many options. These are not radical lifestyle changes, but rather thoughtful decisions within everyday routines.
One of the most effective things a household can do is invest in a quality water filter. Not all filters are equally effective against microplastics, however. Standard activated carbon filters capture some impurities, but are not sufficient for truly fine particles. Reverse osmosis filters show the best results in removing microplastics, capable of capturing particles as small as 0.001 micrometres. Research from Denmark published in the journal Science of the Total Environment confirmed that reverse osmosis filtration removes more than 99% of microplastics from water. That is a figure that speaks for itself.
Another step that is often overlooked is switching from plastic bottles to glass or stainless steel. Plastic bottles, especially those exposed to heat or sunlight, release microplastics and chemical substances such as bisphenol A or phthalates into water. This fact applies doubly to plastic containers used repeatedly – scratches and material ageing accelerate the release process. Switching to a glass or stainless steel bottle is a one-time investment with a long-term effect, and it also significantly reduces the amount of plastic waste that every household produces.
A less obvious but very important source of microplastics in the home is washing synthetic clothing. With every wash cycle, thousands of microplastic fibres are released from fleece jumpers, sportswear, or functional underwear, passing through wastewater treatment plants and entering waterways – and back into the water cycle. Special laundry bags for synthetics, such as the Guppyfriend, capture a large proportion of these fibres directly in the washing machine. An alternative is a filter directly on the washing machine drain, or gradually replacing synthetic textiles with natural materials such as cotton, linen, or wool. Every such step reduces the overall microplastic burden on the environment – and thereby indirectly in drinking water as well.
Also worth mentioning is kitchen cookware and food preparation methods. Cooking in plastic containers, reheating food in plastic bowls in the microwave, or using plastic spoons and spatulas – all of this contributes to microplastic intake, even if indirectly through food rather than water. Switching to cookware made from stainless steel, cast iron, glass, or ceramic is another logical step for anyone wishing to minimise microplastic exposure.
If we were to summarise the most important steps that every household has within its power, such a list would look roughly like this:
- A reverse osmosis water filter as the most effective protection directly at the source of drinking water
- Glass or stainless steel containers instead of plastic bottles and food containers
- A Guppyfriend bag or washing machine filter to capture microfibres from synthetic clothing
- Gradually replacing synthetic textiles with natural materials
- Kitchen cookware from non-toxic materials – glass, stainless steel, cast iron, ceramic
- Avoiding food packaged in plastic where possible, in favour of fresh or loose alternatives
Of course, the broader context cannot be overlooked. Individual measures are important, but microplastics are a systemic problem that requires systemic solutions. Legislation restricting single-use plastics, investment in better filtration at wastewater treatment plants, research into biodegradable alternatives to plastics – all of these are steps that must come at the level of governments and industry. The European Union is actively working on regulating intentionally added microplastics and in 2023 adopted one of the world's strictest restrictions in this area. Consumer pressure on companies and political engagement are therefore just as important as a tap filter.
It is natural to feel a certain helplessness when looking at the scale of the problem. Microplastics are now literally everywhere – in Antarctica, in the depths of the ocean, in mountain air. No filter or glass bottle will protect us from them entirely. But that does not mean there is no point in doing anything. Every reduction in exposure counts, every extra metre of synthetic fabric washed without a protective bag means thousands more fibres in the environment, and every plastic bottle replaced with a glass one is a small but real contribution to change.
Conscious everyday decisions carry their own weight – and not only for our health, but also for the health of the planet we live on. The topic of microplastics in drinking water actually leads us to the broader question of how we live, what we consume, and what kind of environment we want to pass on to future generations. And that is a question to which each of us has our own answer – and our own share of responsibility.
