Americans have long felt safe drinking tap water in most of our cities and towns. While our supplies are far cleaner than in many parts of the world, many chemicals, microbes, drugs and minerals exist in today's taps than in years past. With factory waste, new pharmaceuticals, agricultural chemicals and microbes in our supplies these days, its critical that we protect ourselves with home water treatment systems to remove contaminants not removed by our utility companies.
Many different kinds of purification systems can be found on the market. It's important to know what they can, and can't do for you before you invest in any. Be informed before you spend. Here's a primer on the types of filter methods.
Water purification systems have different capabilities. Here are the main types of purification systems and their special abilities:
Reverse Osmosis Systems are common at the kitchen sink in many American homes. They force water through a metal or ceramic filter under high pressure. Big molecules get caught in the filter and only the nearly pure water gets through. While these systems are very good, they have their "blind spots" and can't remove all the health threatening substances in tap water. They work slowly and remove most toxic minerals and organic chemicals but they don't remove radon or chlorine and some micro organisms can get through.
Carbon Filters employ a cake of charcoal which attracts all sorts of molecules out of the fluid. Like all filter types, the filter needs to be changed from time to time as it will clog with contaminants. Carbon filters remove organic chemicals, radon, chlorine, bad tastes, and smells.
Sediment Filters remove large particles like sand, bits of metal, iron, and dirt. These often come with water softening systems.
Pathogen Filters take out micro organisms that can make us very sick, like bacteria or giardia. These filters have a ceramic or other membrane type that is firmly sealed around the edges. The organisms get trapped and clean water flows through the other side. Portable versions of this type of filter are used by people traveling or trekking in the outdoors or in other countries.
Distillers are devices that boil water then collect the steam and turn it back into liquid. This is the best way to produce a pure product but it will remove many beneficial minerals as well. Also they use a lot of energy and operate slowly.
Ultraviolet systems use ultraviolet light to kill bacteria. You may have seen these types of lights used in dentist or doctor offices to sterilize medical tools. A fixture that emits this high spectrum light illuminates the liquid for a set period of time. A pre-filter system must be in place but the ultraviolet will not kill microbes with a hard shell like giardia cysts.
As you can see, all of these systems have their strengths and their weaknesses. Today's urban or well water supplies can have up to 60,000 different contaminants according to the Environmental Working Group. Federal law only specifies 91 pollutants for removal by utility companies. The rest can flow into your taps and in many cities they do.
Given that so many pollutants must be removed from water to make it safe, particularly for children, you can't rely on any one purification system. Fortunately systems are available that combine a variety of the methods listed above. These so-called multi-stage water filtration systems provide great value and a pure supply for your family.
If you are concerned about the safety of your tap water, have it tested for contamination. Then you will know which type of system will service your needs. Click the link below to find quality testing and affordable high quality multi-stage filter systems.
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