Water filters are available in a huge and sometimes confusing range of types and prices. The technical terms used are sometimes confusing and before making a major purchase you should satisfy yourself that the water filter has a large enough capacity to handle all your drinking water needs.
Home Water Filters vary from simple jug or bottle filters with a basic charcoal filter up to serious water processing filters that will produce crystal clear water of far higher quality than municipal tap water.
Cost is a major factor of course but there are some outstanding bargains in home water filters.
Remembering your budget, think about how much you spend every week on bottled water. Bottled water comes in either 2 litre or 5 litre plastic bottles and according to which plastic the bottler uses can have a strong taste from the plastic material. Many brands of bottled water are just bottled tap water. Municipal tap water normally contains various chemicals and possibly micro-organisms
The average family drinks from 30 to 40 litres of water every week and that works out at over $1500 a year! That is for basic supermarket bottled water â" Fancy imported water would double or treble that cost. That would buy a pretty fancy tapwater filter.
Here is a breakdown of the different kinds of water filter available:
Jug type water filters - commonly the Brita is the most popular and is a good choice as it comes with a good filter cartridge. It is possible to use cheaper supermarket cartridges but these often leave an after taste and do not last as long. There is a counter top model which uses the same Brita filter and has a larger reservoir for filtered water/Filters last around 2 months. Most jug type filters are designed to fit into a refrigerator door. Lids on this type of filter are sometimes fragile.
Cartridges are widely available.
Refrigerator Filters - these are plumbed into a refrigerator.This is an easy to use filter that needs to be change every 6 months. Main advantage is that cold drinking water is always available on tap
Under sink water filters. These are plumbed in to your kitchen faucet and provide clean water on tap. They have the disadvantage of not removing micro-organisms. Should be changed every 2 or 3 months, Cost around $30 for new cartridge. Some units have a charcoal and a ceramic cartridge and the charcoal cartridge needs changing regularly. The Ceramic cartridge needs cleaning and can normally be reused.
Multi stage filters. These are usually a multi part filter system which may have three different filters. These are usually pumped systems so they need an electricity supply. First is a sand or gravel filter that removes organic matter (peat etc) next is a charcoal filter which cleans larger particles and is followed by a ceramic filter that filters out many micro-organisms. A refinement to this type of filter is a UV (Ultra Violet) filter that kills microbiological creatures like Giardia and Cryptosporidium which are the two main causes of stomach upsets from the water supply. Multi stage filters are basically similar to the filters used to filter water in aquariums for tropical fish but are on a larger scale. They can also be fitted as under counter units.
A further advanced filter is called the reverse osmosis filter. Although this filter produces excellent quality water, but the process is rather slow and can take a time to process enough for a large family.
Whole House Water filters are much larger but work on the same basis as multi stage water filters. They are correspondingly more expensive and many whole house water systems are designed for different house sizes. These will filter all water coming into your house and can also be incorporated with a rainwater collection system to cut down your water costs and needs. Think about how many bathrooms, toilets and water dependent machines you own (dishwasher, washing machine etc)when making your decision.
Advances in water filtration are always being made but these are the basic categories of water filters currently available.
Water is an essential component for life. However, in many places, tap water, whether from municipal supplies or a Best whole house water filters for well water well, has odors, sediments, and bacteria. While bottled water is a safer option, it can be expensive in a large household. Other families are worried about the extra garbage they generate when they use commercial bottled products. In such circumstances, household filters provide safe, potable water without the need to purchase cases of bottles.
Household filters come in four types. They can be for the whole house, under the sink, over the counter, or attached to the faucet. The whole house filter will ensure that all water that is used in the house has been filtered - water in the kitchen sink, bathtub, dishwasher, and washing machine. This water filter will ensure that there is not any sediment deposit at the bottom of the toilet bowl or bathtub and that the appliances are also protected. However, the large amount of water filtered by these systems may require frequent changing of the cartridges.
Under the Sink
A more economical way of providing clean drinking water to household members is to install an under the sink filter. Once installed, it is out of sight but provides filtered, clear water via the kitchen faucet. It is convenient to use and the cartridges last longer. However, only the water used for cooking and drinking is filtered by these systems.
Over the counter and faucet mounted water filters are the simplest to install. They do not require any alterations in plumbing or fixing. Some types of countertop filters are just placed on the kitchen counter and the water is poured into the filter chamber manually as you would into a coffee maker. Others connect quickly to the faucet with a bypass valve to redirect water to the filter.Faucet water filters are attached directly to the faucet in the kitchen sink. They filter the water as it leaves the pipe and require no expertise to install.
Utilizing a UV Cartridge
Apart from the various models available, household water filters also differ on their ability to filter various contaminants. Some filters are fitted with UV cartridges that kill bacteria present in the water whereas others have a sediment filter to keep out rust and other sediment from being mixed into the tap water. There are filters available to remove this odor as well. This can be done by a filter with a granular activation carbon. On the other hand a house relying on well water should have a water filter that will kill bacterial contamination. This type of water source requires an UV cartridge. Sediment filters are ideal if the water is colored with rust particles.
Another major water contaminant is lead. Older homes could have pipes soldered with lead. Many municipal water pipes too still have lead soldering. A safe way of removing any possible lead presence from drinking water is by installing a lead filter to the pipe leading to the kitchen sink.
Know Your Piping System and the Particular Threat that Exists
There are a variety of water filters available for household use. However, all of them have different capabilities and the choice of household water filter depends on the contaminants present in the water to be filtered.