How to Choose the Best Tap Water Filtration Systems For Home Use
Choosing the best tap water filtration systems for home use can be surprisingly difficult. You would think you could just hop online and easily find the right system for your needs and your budget. The problem is there are so many competing technologies out there, that you feel like you need to become a water expert to buy the right thing. Well, hopefully, I can make all of this a little more easy to understand.
To begin with there are basically two classes of contaminants you need to filter out, organic and inorganic. Organic contaminants are things like bacteria, viruses, and microorganisms that are found more and more frequently in our water. Inorganic contaminants are things like lead, asbestos, pesticides, and prescription drugs that are found with some regularity in our water systems. Some tap water filtration systems can address both types of contaminants, others can’t. Let’s take a quick look at the four most popular types of systems.
Distillers
Distillers work by vaporizing the water to be filtered by heating it up. The water vapor cools and condenses in another, clean, receptacle. Although distillers are some of the most expensive tap water filtration systems, they have a few drawbacks. One, of course, is the expense. The other is the fact that you might not want to filter chlorinated water with them. You see, chlorine can combine with organic impurities already in the water to form a class of chemicals called trihalomethanes. These are carcinogens, and because of their volatility, they can’t easily be separated from the good water by heat.
Reverse Osmosis
Another of the most popular tap water filtration systems for home use work through a technology called reverse osmosis. This method works by pressuring the water through a porous filter. Although reverse osmosis works well, there are some serious drawbacks to it, too. It tends to demineralize water. That is, it filters out trace minerals like calcium that we actually need in our water. Also, it’s very wasteful. It takes about four gallons of water to make one clean gallon. Just think what your water bill is going to look like if you use this method!
Ultraviolet Light
One of my favorite tap water filtration systems is ultraviolet light, or UV. UV works by killing anything that’s living in your water. That’s stuff like bacteria, viruses, or microorganisms. UV works great, and it’s cost effective. The only problem with UV is that it can do nothing for inorganic impurities like lead, asbestos, or pesticides.
Carbon and Ceramic Filters
Some of my favorite tap water filtration systems work through the use of carbon and/or ceramic filters. Water filters made with these types of filters are efficient and effective. The only thing you have to do as far as maintenance is change the filter every six months or so.
Whatever tap water filtration system you choose, you’ll be doing yourself a favor. Gone are the days when you can just turn on your water faucet at home and get good, clean water out of it. Nowadays, you have to protect yourself and your family by filtering your water yourself!
By: R. Lee Cole
About the Author:
To learn more about the best tap water filtration systems, visit my website!
R. Lee Cole is an avid health and exercise enthusiast who loves to make his research available to everyone via the Internet. Check out Lee’s website for more information about this important topic.