subject: Good Vs. Bad Home Water Filter Systems [print this page] Home water filter systems are quickly becoming a necessity these days. Some studies have shown that there can be over 2000 toxic chemicals in faucet water! However, did you know that picking the wrong system could have serious implications on your health? What are the different processes that these use to do their job? What are the price differences? Here are some tips on avoiding buying a bad home water filter system.
In order to avoid the not so great home water treatment systems, you will need to know how they work. There are reverse osmosis systems that have very fine filters to strain out the toxins, but these are very expensive and require additional systems in order to work properly. Some of the systems also strain out minerals like potassium and magnesium, which we need in our diets as part of a healthy regimen. They do however strain out chlorine and many other dangerous substances, though.
Distillation is another type of process used in some home water treatment systems, and although it is not as popular as it once was, many people still buy the water that is distilled that comes in gallon containers at the supermarket. Distillation is when water is steamed, and the steam is collected. As the steam condenses back into liquid form it is pure, because all of the sediment was left behind as the water evaporated initially. However, some people complain that this process results in the same demineralized water that reverse osmosis products give.
It seems that the best technology available today, which is recommended by US EPA, is carbon filtration. With these home water treatment systems, dangerous contaminants are bound the the carbon filters chemically and/or physically, and the important, healthy minerals are left in the water, just as we need them to be. High quality systems might also use twin or dual filtration and ion exchange to remove 99% of contaminants. An added bonus is that these are almost always much cheaper than the reverse osmosis systems are.
All of these home water treatment systems are available as counter top, under counter or whole house systems, depending on your budget and your needs. Some of them are to be used in the shower to absorb more toxins, because many contaminants get on the skin in the bath or shower and become absorbed by the skin into our bodies. These are only a few options for home water treatment systems that you might be interested in.
