Sep 04 , 2018
What Kind of Water Filter Is Best for My Family and Me?
Water is essential to everyones life. We use water to hydrate ourselves, water our gardens, wash our clothes and dishes, cook our food, and keep up with our personal hygiene. It is important to know the contents of the water we put into our bodies. Despite what you may think, not all water is pure and clean. Water often contains harmful chemicals and toxins that cities and local governments may overlook or neglect to recognize. That is why a water filter is essential for safe water consumption, not only for yourself but for your family, too. There are plenty of filters on the market today, but some are better for and meant for home consumption.
Pitcher-Style Water Filters
Pitcher-style water filters are a great way to keep your family safe from dangerous toxins and chemicals that can potentially contaminate your water and cause detrimental health issues for your family. The benefit of pitcher-style water filters is that they are typically less expensive than the water filters you need to install. Additionally, pitcher-style water filters are portable and easy to use, and they work to eliminate a lot of chlorine found in tap water.
They use granulated charcoal to purify the water, which improves the taste, but pitcher-style water filters do not eliminate or even reduce all the toxic chemicals or minerals with toxic elements such as lead, arsenic, and mercury that could potentially be in your water. In areas with these chemicals in the water, another water filtration solution, such as reverse osmosis, distillation, or carbon-block filtration, is more desirable.
Reverse Osmosis
Reverse osmosis filters, as opposed to pitcher-style water filters, get installed in your home and are not devices that you can move around. Reverse osmosis filters contain a membrane with very fine holes. These holes keep toxic chemicals and contaminants in the water from flowing into your homes water system. Reverse osmosis filters fit underneath your sink rather than attaching directly onto the spout of the sinks faucet.
Reverse osmosis filters may filter out more nutrients than you intend to remove when you use the water to cook with or drink. Minerals such as iron and manganese are important to a persons overall health, growth, and development. However, this is a minor inconvenience when ensuring the safety of the water you use.
Water Distillers
Water distillation is a great way to remove harmful chemicals and toxins from your water. Water distillers evaporate your water at a very high temperature, which results in a release of steam from the distiller. The steam escapes from the hot side of the distiller, leaving behind any chemicals that have boiling points below that of water or which are too heavy for water vapor to carry into the air. In addition to separating the water from harmful chemicals, the heat also kills off any dangerous pathogens that may make your water unsafe to drink. These pathogens may include bacteria, viruses, and some microorganisms.
Should you choose to use a water distiller for your home and your family, keep in mind that a water distiller is an effective way of safeguarding your home water supply. However, distillers only destroy certain pathogens. They may leave some hardier microorganisms unharmed and may not remove chemicals that are lighter or which have boiling points lower than water. An additional filtration method used alongside distillation can offer your family a much higher level of water purity.
Carbon Block Filters
Carbon block filters come either built into a standalone device or installed in in-line filtration devices. As their name suggests, carbon block filters use a solid block of activated carbon to remove odd tastes, contaminants, and odors that may emanate from your home water supply. The solid activated carbon block has holes that are around one micron small, making it difficult for most harmful chemicals and pathogens to pass through. Carbon block filters tend to be less expensive than other water filtration devices because they are often small and made of very durable and easy to find materials.
The Best Filter for You and Your Family
Overall, the choice of which filter is best for your family depends upon your personal preference and how your family uses water. While pitcher-style water filters may be common and inexpensive, they are more suitable for purifying smaller quantities of water. On the other hand, reverse osmosis and water distillers are extremely efficient in eliminating most pathogens that can cause harm. When used together, they can provide a level of water purification that few single-solution filtration systems can match. Finally, carbon block filters are inexpensive and efficient when installed in your home, and they do an excellent job of filtering harmful contaminants.
