Water purification devices come in a variety of technologies and applications
. Some applications for water purification devices will include passive cartridge filters. These devices will depend on water pressure in the system to force water through the filters. Some water purification devices that are not hooked to the water supply, such as some water filtering pictures and bottles, will actually depend on gravity for forcing the water through the cartridge. While these are very effective filters, speed is not in their favor. Other devices can be mounted directly onto the water faucet. With these water purification devices, you are limited to only filtering the water at the faucet it's attached to. Next moving up is the whole house water purification devices. These will either be the cartridge filter systems or more technologically advanced systems such as reverse osmosis systems. The whole house water purification systems using cartridge filters will be available in single or multiple stages. The multiple stage systems will be much more efficient but the more stages will affect water pressure and will raise maintenance and replacement costs. The single stage whole house filter system will require much more frequent cartridge changes and you will be limited on the number of contaminants that can be filtered out. The reverse osmosis water purification devices are much more advanced but will still require maintenance and servicing to keep them working in their optimum level. You should first have a water sample tested by a professional to ensure you are looking at the proper system for your home.