Posts Tagged ‘residential water filters’

Shopping for the Best Water Filters

Sunday, December 20th, 2009

Cheap water filters do very little to purify drinking water. About the only thing they are good for is costing consumers a lot of extra money when purchasing replacement filters. Yet a high quality filter will give the owner years of service, thus saving money. Generally, if it costs less than a couple hundred dollars, then put it back on the shelf. Let’s take a look at a few simple steps to take when buying the best water filters to ensure that they will be cost efficient, highly effective and last for years to come.

The first step is to decide what you want to accomplish with a water filtration; do you want to reduce chlorine, stop bacterial growth and cysts, or would you like to deal with a wide range of organic and chemical contaminants all at the same time? The best water filters can do all of these things at one time. You should also consider whether or not you want to remove the healthy minerals from your water, such as calcium and magnesium.

If you investigate loose carbon filters, you will find out that they’re actually bacteria factories. They allow oxygen to exist inside the filter, which enables and enhances the formation of microorganisms. Although this type of filter is very economical to purchase, it is costly in the long run, because the filters need to be replaced often.

Distillation is of use when filtering germs, solids, residue and organic or synthetic impurities that will not dissipate on their own. There are a few chemical impurities, such as MTBE, that will evaporate, so distillation is not effective.

Ultraviolet (UV) light is occasionally utilized together with other filters to destroy bacteria, and has been shown to be a very effective tool. The light impacts an organism’s DNA, so it can’t replicate. If it can’t replicate, it’s not dangerous.

Reverse osmosis (RO) is a filter which reduces levels of fluoride, radium and various other impurities to a considerable extent, although it does have its limitations. There are quite a few pollutants found in water that will easily pass through an RO filter. Reverse osmosis is also utilized as a supplement to other filters to be highly effective, however the process does take away the good for you minerals as well. RO by itself is capable of reducing contaminants such as arsenic, radium, nitrates, nitrites and barium lead, in addition to giardia and selenium that are contained in tap water.

When choosing the best water filters, performance is the key factor and is actually the most important thing to look for in any water filtration system. Do your research and don’t waste your money on an ineffective water purifying system that simply does not work. Carefully read the packaging to determine which contaminants the filter will reduce, as stated by the manufacturer. The label on the product package should indicate this information based on standards set by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) International (a public health and safety company).

Why do people buy bottled water? It is because they hate the taste of tap water. But there is a better way that is far more cost effective and far more friendly for the environment. Residential water filters are the way to go, with choices ranging from the faucet units to the portable water filter.


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