Water Filter Systems: The Safety that You Need
Water is the ultimate thirst-quencher ? refreshing, cooling, soothing. Unfortunately, water is also supposed to be pure, though in these days, you can never be too sure. After all, microbes and bacteria are invisible; they can hide even in the transparent and crystal clear water you use to wash or to drink. And suddenly, water is not effectively thirst-quenching anymore.
The goal: Safety
To fully enjoy the refreshing effect of pure, clean, tasteless, and odorless water, what you need is a water filter system. Water filter systems come in many kinds so you can choose the one that best suits your needs and cleanses your water from any possible kind of impurity. What impurities threaten the quality of your water anyway? The impurities range far and wide; there are bacteria, harmful minerals, poisonous chemicals, viruses, cysts, and other toxic compounds. Most of these get mixed into your water supply unseen. And since most of these can harm your health, the ultimate goal of water filters is safety.
The filtration process
So how do water filter systems achieve this goal? How a water filter work depends on what type of water filter system you use.
Most water filters today use the activated carbon technology, which capitalizes on the absorption properties of carbon especially when accompanied by a heating process. So what happens is the carbon is activated through heating or a chemical process to make it more absorptive. As the water passes through the filter, the activated carbon absorbs any contaminants found in the water. This is effective for most recorded contaminants.
There is, however, another fast-rising process ? the reverse osmosis water filtration system. In the RO process, water passes through a very meticulously packed membrane that?s only permeable by the finest, purest substance ? water. As the water passes through, it leaves behind its impurities. The water mixed in with the impurities is immediately directed towards the drain, while the pure permeated water moves to a storage tank to be supplied to you.
Getting help against water impurities
Does Anyone Have Access To The May 2007 Consumer Reports Magazine? I Need Some Info On Water Filters And…?
this issue has the ratings and such I need. I just want to ask some questions about which water filters of various types are best. I'm so tired of taking empty bottles to the store, refilling them, and bringing them back home. Mom refuses to buy a water filter w/o knowing the best kind in our price range. We rent an apartment and I don't know if we can have a whole house system or even if we could afford one. But perhaps the kind you mount on the faucet? See, I just dunno. If you're willing to help me with the info, please reply!
Thanks so much!
Faucet Water Filters – the Basic Facts You Need
A faucet water filter is a good way to get pure drinking water from your taps at low cost. There are only a few things you need to know -- but knowing them makes a big difference.
If you're considering the most basic, faucet-mounted filter, be wary. This is the kind that looks sort of like a fat bottle. You unscrew the faucet aerator and screw in the filter instead.
This kind of faucet water filter is better than nothing, at least for someone living alone. They are among the least effective water filters. In quality, they're about equal to the carafe filters -- the kind that amounts to a jug you store in the refrigerator.
Besides the questionable dependability of the filter, these two types filter the least water, last the shortest length of time, and tend to cost a lot in replacement filters. You can also buy a throwaway faucet-mounted filter, among the poorest choices.
A major improvement is the counter top water filter. This type of faucet water filter also works by removing the aerator from the faucet and attaching the filter there. The big difference is, the counter top filter sits where its name implies, on top of your kitchen counter. High quality counter top filters are available, doing an excellent job of filtering contaminants from your drinking water. They couldn't be easier to install -- just as easy as the faucet-mounted filters just mentioned.
The big differences besides the quality of the filtration:
A quality counter top filter will last a long time. With replacement filter cartridges readily available, it can last a lifetime. If you live in an apartment, it's easy to take with you when you move. The cost of clean, pure drinking water from these filters is a few pennies per gallon.
If it's important to you to keep your counter top uncluttered, and you'd like a more permanent faucet water filter, an undersink water filter can be a great choice.
This type requires some installation. Changes in the plumbing, the sink or the counter top are needed. If you're fairly handy, the undersink installation is an outstanding kind of faucet water filter. The filter is under the sink, out of sight. Your counter top remains clear and uncluttered. Many undersink water filters come with their own faucet for drinking and cooking water, leaving your other faucets free for washing.
If you're not a handy person, though -- if changing a light bulb is about as complicating an operation as you want to deal with -- then you either decide an undersink filter is not for you, or you ask a friend to install it, or you hire a handyman.
Both counter top and undersink water filters can do a great job, last a long time and deliver pure drinking water at very low cost per gallon.
For more specific information on faucet water filters, check out my website.