You might be wondering if home water filtration should be worth the investment. If you are in doubt about its reliability, perhaps you need to know first about the basics of water filtration. You should know that water from the source is filtered and disinfected before it enters your home to make it safe to drink. The only problem is that large-scale filtration and disinfection may not be able to purify water completely.
How water filtration system works
It is important to note that when water is not completely purified, it can still contain traces of contaminants. Likewise, most water supplies that have been treated with disinfectants may also contain trace amounts. So, if you are concerned with contaminants present in your tap water, you can remove them with a water filter.
Basically, you can rely on the complex, multi-layered defence system that is engineered to catch and eliminate different contaminants in your water filtration system. This is through the incorporation of biological, chemical, and physical processes to remove everything from the visible particles to the microscopic threats.
What you get from filtration
It removes harmful contaminants
You should know that water filters can remove harmful contaminants because they offer a more thorough filtration compared to what water treatment plants offer. This is common for under-the-sink filters and whole-home filters that offer to remove dozens of contaminants. That said, even the more basic faucet-mounted filters can reduce many common contaminants found in most municipal water supplies.
Suited for your budget
You also have a lot of choices, even if your budget is small. In fact, there are different affordable filter types, including pitchers and faucet filters that contain activated carbon filters. Then, there are countertop filters and under-sink systems. On the other hand, there are more expensive filters if you have a more flexible budget. Such would include reverse osmosis systems and whole house water filter systems.
Improves taste and smell
After installing a filter, you will be able to differentiate between filtered and unfiltered water coming from your own faucet. In fact, even the most basic activated carbon filter can greatly improve the taste and smell of water by adsorbing chlorine. But it will give your drinking water a smell similar to that of a swimming pool.
Types of water filters
Activated carbon filter uses activated carbon granules based on charcoal. But charcoal may not be able to cope with fluorine, hardness, heavy metals, microbes, sodium, or nitrates. So, it may have to be replaced every once in a while, which means it can sometimes get costly at the end of the day.
Reverse osmosis is the process that forces contaminated water through a membrane under great pressure. So, the water will pass through except the contaminants. Another process is ion exchange, which is designed to split apart atoms of a contaminating substance to create ions. But this process traps the ions and releases the less harmful ones. Moreover, the use of distillation is a step further than ordinary boiling by capturing the steam and cooling it back into water in a separate container.
Note that not a single method can remove all the contaminants from water. Therefore, you need home water filter systems that use two or more of these processes together to successfully make it safe and drinkable water.
