Should You be Looking at Home Water Filtration Systems?

Reports of door-to-door salespeople pushing home water filtration systems with exaggerated reports of contaminated water can lead some to believe all this water filtration talk is marketing hype. Unfortunately, the truth is the water supply in many areas really isn’t particularly clean. Here are some ways to tell if yours could use some improvement.

Your water tests positive for contaminants

The most accurate way to find out about impurities in your water is to either request a copy your water company’s water quality report or test it yourself with a kit from your local health department.

Your water smells

Does your tap water smell so strongly of chlorine or sulfur you couldn’t imagine drinking it? Chlorine kills harmful microbes in water, but it’s also been linked to heart disease and birth defects. A sulfur smell may be from the rock walls of your well or a bacteria problem. Either way, there are home water filtration systems that can greatly improve the situation.

Your hair and skin feel dry

If you’ve never bathed in pure, soft water you’ll be surprised at what a difference in can make in how your skin and hair look and feel. Although not all home water filtration systems can change the water’s pH level, most can take out the chlorine and other contaminants that cause dry skin or swimming-pool-scented hair.

You laundry doesn’t get clean

Laundry washed in impure water may come back with brown or green stains, a dull yellowish tone, or even an unpleasant smell. Whole-house, also known as in-line, water filtration systems can take care of this problem.

You don’t have to put up with smelly, chlorine-flavored water that stains your clothes and dries out your hair. Even with a budget of just $100 you can pick up one of the best home water filtration systems from a top-rated company like Aquasana.

The Disadvantages Of Reverse Osmosis Home Water Filters

Reverse osmosis water filters were the only method that was once available to provide purified water to your home. Better, more cost effective and efficient systems have since been introduced, and yet water companies still push the old system over the newer technology. There are many disadvantages to reverse osmosis systems, as we highlight below.

Still Being Sold

There are many people that are still led to believe by those selling them that the best way to filter water coming into your home is with a reverse osmosis filter system.

These systems are disproportionately expensive, starting in the region of $10,000 to supply and fit, let alone the annual running and maintenance costs. When there are systems a tenth of the price that will do a better job and have vastly reduced maintenance costs, how are people still persuaded to buy them? The answer lies in the big marketing bucks available to push this outdated product. These units cost a lot to purchase and install, making profits to large water companies lending their weight to them great; well worth their outlay financially to market hard.

Waste

It is not easy for any salesman to hide the fact that gallon upon gallon of water using reverse osmosis is wasted, in order to produce just a few gallons suitable to drink.

Many using a septic system for their waste water have to upgrade to larger sizes because the tank couldn’t cope with the amount of waste-water it was accumulating. For example, between 40 to 90 gallons of waste-water is produced in order to give the householder just 5 gallons of purified drinking water. This is an unnecessary and flagrant waste of a precious commodity.

Power

These systems take power to run, and given the waste water to drinkable water ratio, it is clear that they will be using electricity at a high rate. Not ideal given the increasing price of electricity, along with the higher impact on the environment.

Is Water Safer To Drink When You Use A Reverse Osmosis System

The most important question that you should be asking when considering purchasing any water filtration system, especially when buying one that is costly and expensive to install.

There is certainly no doubt that such systems will make the water safer for one to drink than if you were to leave it untreated, but the simple answer to the question posed above is no.

This is because one of the major disadvantages of reverse osmosis systems is that it does not eradicate all the cysts or chemical contaminants that are found in water.

One manufacturer has freely admitted as much with a proviso that these kinds of units are only designed to clean up the water’s aesthetic properties. They don’t actually act as a way of preventing waterborne toxic and microbiological chemicals from getting into the supply.

One other disadvantage of reverse osmosis filters is that they can remove all the natural minerals which are good for us from the water. If giving your family fresh, clean, pollutant free water as efficiently and cost effectively as possible is your aim, then you would do well to look elsewhere.

About the author: Tyler Waterman is a health enthusiast and chief writer for http://SafeClearWater.com.

The Best Home Water Filter – How To Choose

So you’ve narrowed your choice down to a few of the best home water filtration systems on the market. But now how do you make that final decision? Here are some tips on choosing the home water filter that will work best for your home.

Know your water

Before you choose a system, learn about what types of contaminants are in your water so you know what type of filter you’ll need. You can either request a copy of the water quality report from your water company or contact your local health department about doing a test.

Decide on a type of home water filter

Your first decision will be whether you want an in-line system, which filters water for the whole house, or a point-of-use system that hooks up to a single faucet system. If you choose a point-of-use system, you’ll then need to decide between the faucet-mounted, countertop/canister, and undersink/under counter types.

Decide on a type of filter

Not all filters remove all contaminants, so read the manufacturer’s claims for removal to find a filter type that will work for your water conditions. Remember, some carbon filters can’t protect you from pesticides, lead, asbestos, fluoride, chloroform, and certain microbes.

Look for extras

Really, all the best home water filtration systems from top name brands are high quality, but each has its own unique benefits. Maybe you’d like a cut-off meter that lets you know when to change the filter, an attractive brass finish, or shower head water filter with a handheld wand.

Once you have a list of the best home water filtration systems from reliable manufacturers like Pur and Aquasana, choosing is just a matter of finding the home water filter that meets your personal needs.

Home Water Purifiers and Filters – Investment In Your Health

If you are one of the many people who worry about the safety of their drinking water, you are not alone. Many American’s are quickly growing fond of home water purifiers and filters to help put their minds to ease and to give their wallets a rest.

The simple fact about the safety of American water is that we are largely blind to any water-borne hazardous substances that may be in it. Most of us don’t know how our local water plants are treating the water, what filtration systems they are using, or how well they are even doing their job. Nor we do know that the water is not getting polluted on the way to our homes through faulty pipes or other factors that no one can control.

This is part of the reason that home water purification systems are increasing in popularity. People desperately want to know the water their families live in is safe and not full of hazardous chemicals and toxins.

The move is a win-win situation and that is another reason that these devices are becoming so popular. You can easily gain so much just by implementing a simple appliance in your home or onto individual faucet fixtures in your home. The gains are tremendous when you break it all down.

• Live in clean, safe, healthy water that is chemical and toxin free
• Get peace of mind knowing you are safe from all of the uncontrollable factors that can make your water unhealthy and potentially deadly.
• Save bundles of money no longer buying bottled water. Potentially save $2,500 a year assuming you buy bottled water every week like many Americans do.

Due to the increased popularity home water purifiers and filters have grown in variety in the past few years to include many new kinds of devices. There are expensive reverse osmosis systems which actually over purify water removing healthy minerals. In the middle of the spectrum there are more affordable and ironically more effective systems you can implement.

Some of these less expensive devices are fixtures that can easily be placed onto your existing faucets to directly filter the water, without losing the beneficial minerals your body needs. These are substantially less costly than expensive reverse osmosis systems and easier to install.

As an example, one option is to simply apply a small shower filtration system directly on your shower head and it cleans the water as it is coming through the tap. This is a remarkably simple and easy solution.

Hopefully you can see the many benefits to using home water purifiers and filters. The improved taste and comfort when using these affordable and easy to implement devices is worth the investment. Now you can take control of the safety of your tap water and reap the benefits.

A True Story About Drinking Water Contamination And Shocking Truth About Bottled Water

Every day consumers purchase and drink bottled water because it gives us a nice warm fuzzy feeling that we are drinking something that is pure, healthy and safe for our bodies. If you’re like me, the thought of drinking water contamination blinks in your thoughts every now and then — while drinking that bottled water.

The Concern Is Real

The best way I can explain whether the concern is real or not is to cite the actual results of a recent four year study completed by Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The council studied bottled water quality and compared it to tap water.

The results are surprising so prepare yourself. The study revealed that bottled water companies were selling water that was more contaminated, more polluted and less healthy than common tap water. In addition, the results showed over one-third (33%) of the bottled water tested had levels of contamination and pollutants that exceeded allowable limits by either state or bottled water industry standards and guidelines.

So, Tap Water Is The Answer, Right?

I wish I could wrap this article now and tell you tap water is a great choice. Unfortunately, it’s not and I can’t. The whole reason the bottle craze took off in the first place was the fact that people were consciously aware that tap water wasn’t great quality. These legitimate concerns about the quality of tap water drove the bottle water craze.

Since most cities use chlorine to eliminate organic pollutants, there are additional problems created. Chlorine works well for the most part, but by the time the water gets to your home, there are still traces of chlorine that remain in the water that you drink and bath in.

Since Chlorine is known to be a poison, having even small traces in your water isn’t ideal. Furthermore, ingesting chlorine has been linked to an increased chance of getting cancer. Needless to say, this is a not something we want to ingest considering water accounts for 70% in our bodies.

There Is A Solution

I am sure you are reading this and wondering what’s the solution. Bottled water isn’t ideal. Tap water isn’t preferred. Where do we go from here?

Well, all hope is not lost. There are home drinking water systems that can purify and clean your water so it maintains a healthy standard.

Finding the best water solution requires a little research and information gathering to make ensure you get a quality water system that will last and meets your needs.

A couple choices include a single unit filter system which cleans the water from just one sink in your home. There is also whole house water filter system which cleans the water in your entire house. Determining which system is best will be a personal choice but the most important criteria is to buy from a reputable company that you can trust and has a history of quality water products.

As you can see, the problem of drinking water contamination is a real concern and not something to just gloss over. With a little research, you can enjoy healthy and pure water with a water system that fits best for you and your family.

Are you concerned about drinking water contamination?