Which Drinking Water Filter Should You Install in Your Home?
Which is the best drinking water filter for your home?” Unfortunately, there is no simple answer to this question. The answer entirely depends on your needs and the type of drinking water you have access to. You might be connected to the main water supply of your town or obtaining water from wells or springs. Different contaminants exist in different kinds of drinking water, so it is crucial to study your local water report first.
The question is, where will you get a water report? If you are on a public water source such as a town or water company, they are required to test the water and provide you with a water quality report. You’ll receive a copy once each year around July 1st. On the other hand, if you obtain water from wells or springs, you’ll have to purchase a water test yourself. Learn more about well water testing by searching for an ecologist who knows about such things. Once you have your water report, you decide which drinking water filter you should install in your home by purchasing the filter or a water purification system by https://cleanairpurewater.com/water_purification_systems.html that removes the contaminants in your water.
Why Should Drinking Water Be Filtered?
Drinking water that arrives at your home is not at all pure. You cannot imagine the number of contaminants it has. Even if it is purified at a public water plant first, it’ll contain a large amount of chlorine, making it unhealthy to drink and unpleasant in taste. The United States Environmental Protection Agency works hard in researching the contaminants in drinking water. They have formulated the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act to support clean drinking water. Let’s find out the type of contaminants in drinking water:
- Physical
These are visible contaminants such as sand, sediments, or stones in the water. They enter the water by surface runoff and erosion and are the easiest to filter out because they can be seen.
- Chemical
Elements and compounds such as nitrogen, salts, metals, and toxins are mixed with the water in its journey to your home. These chemicals are detrimental to your health in the long run as they can harm your organs.
- Biological
Microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses lie under the biological category of contaminants. They lead to serious health issues and diseases such as typhoid, dysentery, and cholera.
- Radiological
Radiation emitting atoms such as Uranium, Cesium, and Plutonium are sometimes present in the drinking water. These radioactive substances can lead to various neurological disorders.
Treatment in Public Water Systems
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), public water treatment is done in four steps:
- Coagulation and Flocculation: In the first step, positively charged atoms are added to neutralize the negative charge of the water. Particles bind with these chemicals and become a substance known as floc.
- Sedimentation: The floc naturally has a higher density than the water. This causes it to sink to the bottom, and then it is removed from the water.
- Filtration: The remaining water is passed through numerous filters of different sizes. These filters are made up of sand, gravel, or charcoal and remove some water contaminants.
- Disinfection: In the last stage, the water is treated with chlorine or other disinfectants to kill bacteria. Although it serves its purpose, but chlorine gives an unpleasant odor to your drinking water.
Three Kinds of Drinking Water Filters
Although the authorities try their best to provide you with clean and safe drinking water, it is best to install a water purifier in your home as well. We made it clear that the type you should install depends on your needs and the water source. But here are 3 common kinds of water filters you can consider:
- Under the Sink Filters
The name tells you where this kind of water filter is to be installed in your kitchen. These are plumbed-in systems connected to the water line under your sink and dispense filtered water through a small faucet rather than the main one.
The best under the sink water filters use four separate technologies in three stages to provide you the complete protection:
- Removing chlorine, chloramine, and all chlorine byproducts
- Reducing or removing fluoride and arsenic
- Providing a 5-micron sediment barrier
It will also remove disinfection by-products. In short, under the sink water filters are the ideal choice if you want to remove the chemicals added by the public water treatment plant. This water filter is cheap and easy to install. However, in most cases, different treatments such as reverse osmosis become necessary.
- Reverse Osmosis Filters
Reverse osmosis systems make use of a unique process. Contaminants are eliminated by forcing the water under pressure to pass through a semi-permeable membrane. The water flows across the membrane from one side with more contaminants to the side with fewer contaminants. This method is handy in removing most of the harmful pollutants and provides you with pure drinking water.
Reverse osmosis filters usually have longer lifespans and tend to last between 10 to 15 years. You can replace the membrane after every few years, but the prefilters and postfilters must be changed every year. It isn’t correct to claim that this process wastes water because the discharged water can be used for other purposes such as watering plants.
- Whole House Filter
A whole house water filter is installed at the point from where the water enters your taps. This way, the output from the filter goes to all the taps around the house, and you have easy access to clean and safe drinking water.
This type of water filter uses physical and mechanical filtration, activated carbon filtration, ion exchange, UV light, and acid neutralization. The top whole house water filters are effective in removing the following:
- Chlorine and Chloramine
- Alachlor
- Atrazine
- Trihalomethanes
- Halo acetic acids
- Solvents such as benzene and MTBE
- Soluble metallic and non-metallic ions (e.g., arsenic, cobalt, antimony, copper, mercury, cadmium, chromium, lead, chloroform, hydrogen sulfide, lindane, malathion and other pesticides, silver, and trichloroethane)
Final Words
As you saw, choosing the best drinking water filter is not easy. We suggest that you look for professional help for your water-related problems. Clean water is a necessity for you and your family.