There are so many different kinds of water filters and water treatment products on the market today that choosing one can seem like a daunting project, requiring hours of research. There are reverse osmosis and water distillation systems, there are pitcher and carafe style filters, and there are carbon block and granular carbon filters. Confused already? The purpose of this article is to briefly explain the differences and benefits and drawbacks of each and make a recommendation for the best quality and value.
Why Filtered Water Instead Of Tap Water or Bottled Water?
The most important thing to remember is that even the best tap water still contains many contaminants which may include chlorine, lead and harmful bacteria. Lead, in particular, is usually leached into water from the household pipes themselves, so the only possibility of removing it is to use a home water filter. Bottled water is not necessarily any cleaner or healthier than tap water, and is by far the most expensive water alternative. For healthy and affordable water, a home water filter is clearly the best option. So no matter what water filter you choose, be sure to use one, as any water filter is better than none at all.
Reverse Osmosis and Distillation vs. Water Filtration
The most important thing to understand about both reverse osmosis and distillation is that they both remove the minerals from the water. Distillation does this by passing water over a heated coil, which vaporizes the water (turns it into its gaseous state, steam) which then rises and ends up in a cooling chamber where it cools and turns back into liquid water. By doing this, the inorganic compounds such as lead, calcium, and so forth are removed from the water. Reverse Osmosis, or R.O., processes water under pressure through a semi-permeable membrane. The pores of the membrane are extremely fine and will filter out most inorganic contaminants, such as lead and other minerals. Neither distillation nor R.O. remove most organic contaminants, so both must be used in conjunction with a carbon filter. R.O. wastes 2 to 3 gallons of water for every gallon of water it produces. Both R.O. and Distillation work very slowly and have a cost of between 18 and 25 cents per gallon of treated water.
However, as stated above, the most important thing to remember about both of these processes is that they remove minerals from the water. This means they remove both the toxic minerals, such as lead, and the beneficial minerals, such as calcium and magnesium. In the "push for purity" that accompanied the rise of the natural foods and natural living movement of the past few decades, both distillation and R.O. were seen by many as the best option, as they produced the "purest" water – the closest thing to pure H2O. However, the evidence seems to be growing that drinking completely demineralized water is not a good health choice. Water is the "universal solvent," a substance which minerals have a natural tendency to be dissolved in. Nowhere in nature will you find de-mineralized water. There is research that indicates that drinking de-mineralized water over a long period of time will actually result in mineral deficiencies in the body. In other words, water can be seen as being naturally "hungry for" minerals, so if there are no minerals in the water you drink, it will strip minerals out of your body!
My Recommendation
My position is that the healthiest option is to drink water free of harmful contaminants but containing traces of natural minerals like magnesium, calcium and potassium. This is the type of water that would be found in a natural and unpolluted spring, and it is the type of water produce by a quality, multi-stage home water filter.
Pitcher or Carafe Style Filters
A note about Pitcher style filters – they are an inexpensive option and they do produce water that is an improvement over tap water. They do remove some toxic substances, but their small filters are limited in how effectively they work, and cannot be relied on to remove both organic and inorganic contaminants. In a nutshell, R.0. and Distillation remove too much from the water you drink while pitcher or carafe style filters don't remove enough. To get it "just right!" the best option is a multi-stage water filter using carbon block or granular carbon technology. Specifically, a multi-media block filter which removes not only lead and chlorine but also VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and THMs (Trihalomethanes) and even organic cysts such as Cryptosporidium and Giardia.
Which Brand?
Now that you know the kind of filter to get, what brand should you choose? At this point, it is a simple matter of comparing which filters are most effective at removing the contaminants you are concerned about for the best price. Fortunately, all of that has already been done for you and put into a convenient table at the following independent website:
www.waterfiltercomparisons.com/Water_Filter_Comparison_Matrix.cfm Now that you understand the basics, you can use this chart to easily compare brands. For more information about water and your health, see other articles at ezines.com under author Ann Hession.
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