The benefits of In-Home Water Filters are numerous. Do you filter your drinking water or get it directly from the tap? Some tap water tastes clean and refreshing, while other tap water just lacks something when it comes to taste. And regardless of taste, most tap water stands to benefit from a filtration system.
Whether you are worried about heavy metals, fluoride, or just want better quality water coming out of your tap.
You might wonder what makes a good water filtering system. You might wonder too what makes a good water filter, one that actually improves water quality. That’s what we’ll discuss below.
As plumbers, we see a lot of very impure water (to put it mildly) in people’s sewers, toilets and drains. But you’d be surprised how often we see discoloured, or generally dodgy-looking water coming out of taps even in North Shore homes. We know some household water passes through older pipes containing contaminants like unsafe metals. And some water retains contaminants even after water treatment.
Not everyone can afford costly bottled water, and any environmentally conscious person wouldn’t want to be sending heaps of plastic bottles to landfill every. But that shouldn’t mean we can enjoy pure, filtered water. That’s why we want to help you get this coming right from your kitchen tap!
How Do You Know How Safe Your Water Supply Is?
The best way to know how safe tap water is to have it tested professionally. Failing that, though, there are a lot of indicators you can check using your five senses and some common sense. Is the water coloured or cloudy? Does it smell funny or have a metallic taste?
Unfortunately, there are a lot of dangers hidden in water that you can’t detect with your senses alone. One way of knowing that your tap water is as safe as you can make it is to get a water filtration system for your home. That way, you’ll know that many contaminants have been removed.
You should have your water tested before and after getting the filtration system. You’ll know then what a difference water filters can make. It’s also wise to seek advice from your municipal water authority about the water quality where you live and any measures you should take.
What Sorts of Contaminants Are in the Water Supply?
Numerous substances are potential drinking water contaminants, even though most are removed by municipal water treatment. The following are categories of contaminants that have been found in municipal water supplies.
Sediment
These are rock, mineral, and soil particles that are suspended in water. You can tell if your drinking water has suspended sediments because it looks cloudy and if left still for a while, might have some sediment settled at the bottom of your drinking glass.
Chemicals
Water-polluting chemicals include bleach from paper production and other industrial uses, nitrogen from fertilizer run-off, pesticides, chemicals from bacteria, drugs used for humans or animals, and salt.
Heavy Metals
Heavy metals are natural elements with high atomic mass and density. Some heavy metals, such as copper and cobalt, are essential to human metabolism, though not in high quantities. Others, such as mercury, cadmium, and arsenic, are toxic.
Heavy metals are used in industry and agriculture. Traces of them are present in the water in places they’ve been used and can get into drinking water, and then, subsequently, into our bodies.
Microorganisms
Microorganisms polluting the water include bacteria, viruses, fungi (including mould). Many of the microorganisms in water come from human and animal waste.
How Do Home Water Filters Remove Contaminants?
Widely used types of home water filtering include activated carbon filters and the reverse osmosis process. The two are often used in combination. Sometimes, ceramic filters are used for home filtering as well, often by being integrated into activated carbon filters.
Activated Carbon Filters
Activated carbon filters use charcoal to remove contaminants from water. This filtration method efficiently removes metals such as lead and copper. However, it doesn’t remove nitrates, bacteria, or dissolved minerals
Some types of carbon filters also remove chlorine, mercury, and some pesticides and herbicides. Be sure to check the label before buying one for your home.
Reverse Osmosis
Reverse osmosis removes contaminants from water by using pressure to force water molecules through a semipermeable membrane. The contaminants that are left are flushed away.
This water filtration method removes nitrates, sodium, other dissolved inorganics and organic compounds. It sometimes reduces the level of certain pesticides, dioxins, chloroform, and petrochemicals. It doesn’t remove all inorganic and organic contaminants.
A Distillation Unit
A distillation unit uses simple and longstanding processes to remove water contaminants using high heat and condensation. Essentially, it’s a safer and more efficient way of what’s done on the stovetop to purify water.
This type of filtration removes nitrates, bacteria, sodium, hardness, dissolved solids, most organic compounds, heavy metals, and radionucleides (the radioactive forms of elements). It also kills bacteria in the water–which is something to consider.
Which Are Better: Single-Tap or Whole-House Filters?
There are quite a few household water-filtering systems available today. Each has its advantages and drawbacks, and some are used in combinations to deal with the greatest number of water contaminants.
Before purchasing a system, even a smaller one, read the literature and speak with dealers about each of the options you’re considering. There is a good amount of information available online from reliable sources, and dealers know their respective systems inside and out.
Why Hire a Water Filter Plumber?
Does the idea of pure, clean water in your home sound appealing? If so, call us and we can tell you about the options that are available for you. Our friendly North Shore plumbers will guide you through your options, and we can quote you on a system and full installation to suit your budget. You’ll be sipping refreshing filtered water in no time!
At Andrew Vanny, we are happy to share information on the various water-fltration methods used by our systems and help you weigh their pros and cons so you can select the perfect water filtration system for your needs. Should you choose to purchase a system from us, our water filter plumbers will be available to install it within a very short time frame, and as always, we’ll arrive on time, and clean up after ourselves once we’re done
