Choosing Your Home Water Filter System
There are many different options on the market today for delivering clean water to your home, from the cheap activated charcoal faucet-mounted filters to the complex reverse osmosis systems that install under your kitchen sink. While you may be tempted to go with the least expensive water filter system, you should consider your needs first. For someone who buys lots of bottled water, a good reverse osmosis system may be better; for country water that comes from a well, an ultraviolet filter may be a better choice, with its excellent ability to kill biological contaminants.
For water that just needs a little improvement, stick with the simple activated-charcoal tap mounted water filter systems. These are good for water with little contamination and relatively good flavor, using activated charcoal to filter out chlorine and any slight problems in water and give you clean pure drinking water. Ceramic water filter systems work in similar fashion, using diatomaceous earth as a filter.
If your water is relatively unpleasant to drink and you find yourself spending a lot of money every month on bottled water, it might be a good idea to go with a reverse osmosis drinking water filter system. The most basic of these consists of an osmotic filter where the water comes in, a reservoir where purified water is stored, and a tap separate from your regular sink tap where your purified water comes out. Where the activated charcoal water filter system removes contaminants when water is forced through the filter, an osmotic filter removes contaminants passively, allowing very pure water to seep through the filter while all contaminants remain on the other side. The result is bottled-water quality drinking water.
Reverse osmosis drinking water filter systems do have drawbacks. They take ten gallons of water to make one gallon of filtered water; the rest is used to flush out the filter. They process water very slowly, so they need a reservoir into which the purified water is placed. And they sometimes let a biological contaminant through, where it can contaminate the entire reservoir. This last problem can be solved by using a three-filter system instead of a single-filter system; in this drinking water filter system, water is first forced through an activated carbon water filter, then allowed to diffuse through the filter. Finally, just before the reservoir an ultraviolet water purifier shines powerful ultraviolet light on the water, irradiating and killing any biological contaminants while leaving the water itself pure and clear for your drinking leisure.
Besides having clean drinking water, there's at least one other reason for getting a home water filter system: to have clean water to bathe in. Hard water can leave residue and make your soaps and shampoos work more poorly, and chlorine can vaporize into chloroform, a gas that can irritate your lungs and is particularly bad for asthmatics and others with lung problems. For these homes, a whole house water filter system may be a good idea. Though you'll need a good plumber to install it right, you'll have a healthier family and cleaner water, and your home will have purer air.
Article Source: http://www.search-raven.com
About the Author
Trent Barrett is a consultant who writes for Home water purifiers. You can visit their homepage to learn more about home water purification systems
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by: TrentBarrett
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