You
also have a choice of installing a filter a) on your faucet,
b) under the sink, c) on your
showerhead, or d) at the point where water enters your home
so that every drop of water
entering the house is purified.
Why So Many Water Filter Options
One
reason why there are so many water filter choices is that
no water filter removes every
single contaminant. Some are better at some jobs and others
are better at other jobs.
How successful a water filter is at removing specific contaminants
depends on:
a)
The water treatment technology
b) How it was manufactured
c) The types of contaminants in your water
d) The level of contaminants in your water
e) The pH of your water
Select the wrong
water filter and not only are you throwing you money
away, but you are
potentially damaging your health. Why?
Because the water filter you purchase may not be removing
the specific
contaminants in your water.
This article explains 5 different water treatment technologies
available today. It
tells you how they work, as well as some basic things they
will and won't remove.
Granular
Activated Carbon Water Filters
Its been
said that carbon is one of the most absorbent and purifying
materials on the earth. In
fact, just one pound of carbon could be spread out to lightly
coat the surface area of 125 acres
of land. That’s why carbon or charcoal are commonly
used as antidotes for swallowed poisons.
The consistency/uniformity of the granular carbon in these
water filters can vary from
something as fine as a powder to something more coarse and
large like small pebbles.
When water comes in contact with granular carbon, the carbon
attracts impurities in the water
and absorbs/holds onto them, while letting the rest of the
water continue flowing through.
Granular activated carbon is pretty good at absorbing chlorine
and removing foul tastes and
odors.
But granular activated carbon is really not good at reducing
contaminants that can damage your
health. When water enters the carbon medium, it can channel
around the actual carbon
granules, and thus the contaminants remain in the water.
Granular carbon water filters should also be changed regularly
(in harmony with the
manufacturer’s instructions) as they could become a
breeding ground for bacteria.
Activated Carbon Block Water Filters
As the name implies, the water filtration medium
in these water filters is also carbon. But in this
case the carbon is not in a granular form, but in a block
form.
These systems squeeze water thru microscopic holes in the
block of carbon. As it passes thru
those holes, the carbon absorbs contaminants that are in your
water.
As you can imagine, the effectiveness of these water filters
has to do with:
a) The amount
of carbon in the system.
b) The size of the holes in the carbon block that the water
passes thru
(The larger the hole, the more contaminants
that can pass thru).
Unfortunately,
activated carbon does not remove contaminants
such as bacteria, sodium,
nitrates or fluoride.
Lead and other heavy metals are only removed by very specific
types of activated carbon. Unless
the manufacturer specifically lists a contaminant as being
removed, you should assume that the
water filter does not remove that contaminant.
Ultraviolet Water Filters
Ultraviolet water filters aren’t really
“filters”. Instead, these systems use a lamp that
emits
ultraviolet light, which kills disease-causing bacteria.
Ultraviolet light water filter systems are a very safe and
healthy alternative to adding chlorine to
water.
The ultraviolet water filter system works by having the source
water flow into a closed chamber
that contains an ultraviolet lamp in the center of the chamber.
As the water flows through this chamber, the ultraviolet light
kills the bacteria, viruses, and
other microorganisms in the water.
A common problem with ultraviolet light water filter systems
is that high turbidity, or high levels
of iron, manganese and nitrates can hide/protect the bacteria
so that they are not killed. Those
substances can also absorb most of the ultraviolet light and
thus reduce the amount of radiation
needed to kill the bacteria.
Water Distillation
Water distillers use heat to bring water to a
boil; steam from the boiling water then rises and
passes thru condensing coils where it is cooled and condensed
back into liquid.
Impurities that were in the water are left behind in the boiling
chamber.
Distillers are typically not effective in
removing VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) and
certain pesticides. Why? Because these contaminants also turn
into steam and then fall back into
what was supposed to have been pure water. They are not left
behind in the boiling chamber.
Some distillers compensate for this problem by adding gas
vents and/or activated carbon filters
to trap these contaminants before the water enters the storage
container.
Distillers also remove all minerals from water, and some thus
view distilled water as dead
water.
Reverse Osmosis Water Filtration
Reverse osmosis water filter systems work by
forcing water thru a very fine, plastic membrane.
The membrane is the “reverse osmosis” part of
the system.
But reverse osmosis systems rarely use a plastic membrane
alone. They typically incorporate
other water filtration mediums as well.
For example, in these systems, the water is first filtered
thru a sediment water filter to remove
larger particles in the water (large particles could damage
the plastic membrane in the system).
Then the water is then forced thru an activated carbon filter.
Finally, the water is forced thru small pores in the plastic
membrane. Impurities that are not
able to pass thru the membrane are flushed down the drain.
Reverse osmosis systems waste a lot of water. The rule of
thumb is that for every gallon of
water that enters the system, 80% is discarded. In other words,
5 gallons go in and 1 gallon of
purified water comes out.
Selecting The Water Filter That’s Right For
You
The key is to find out what contaminants are
in your water. Once you know the type and level
of contaminants, a qualified professional can recommend
the filter that is right for you.
Remember, you cannot tell if your water is safe by the way
it looks, tastes, or smells. Case in
point, you probably have fluoride in your water right now,
but you certainly can’t taste, smell, or
see it.
Only laboratory testing can tell you what is in your water.
Once you know what is in your water, you can purchase the
water filter system that is right for
you.
To find
out what’s in your water, why not take advantage of
our low cost Water
Diagnostic
Service.
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