Drinking Water Filters

 With so many options and bogus info out there...

An honest, no nonsense intro to the different types of drinking water filters

Plain old tap water is absolutely as safe as can be. But it doesn't always taste that great. People spend a lot of money these days on bottled water. Filtering tap water is a perfectly reasonable alternative for better tasting water.

Local water companies add levels of chlorine to ensure remove any organisms in our water, and they are required to monitor the water they deliver for unsafe levels of naturally occurring chemicals, elements, or minerals.

There are several different water filtering units available designed for residential use. The simplest type of tap water filtering unit is the pitcher kit. These are inexpensive and readily available in any department store or even grocery store. They work great for filtering small quantities of water. but they work slowly because they rely of gravity to pull the water through the filter.

Other more sophisticated units require installation under the kitchen sink. Reverse Osmosis systems are pricey but they produce a very pure water. They do their job under your sink 24 hours a day, maintaining a supply tank of filtered water.

A small spigot is typically added to the kitchen sink for dispensing the filtered water. You can also get these units with instant hot water for tea or any other hot water need.

Then there's the refrigerator models. These days, any refrigerator with in-door ice and water system also utilizes a water filter. It is imperative to filter water in a refrigerator system to prevent gumming up the works - especially the automatic ice maker.

These filters need to be replaced every so often depending obviously on the usage, but they do last a good long time. Many refrigerators let you know when the water filter needs to be changed with an LED that changes color from green to amber when a change is needed.

There are several different types of drinking water filtration systems available. Some of the more popular are models are equipped with an activated carbon filter or ion exchange filters.

Carbon filters use activated carbon (charcoal) to absorb harmful toxins like pesticide and trihalomethanes (THM) and substances like chlorine. Activated carbon produces filtered drinking water that is clear and has no smell or taste. Carbon filters come in either granular or solid carbon block cartridges.

Ion exchange filters are equipped with resins that attract positively charged and/or negatively charged particles. Heavy metals are an example of cations or positively-charged chemicals, while substances like fluoride and nitrate are anions or negatively-charged particles. Ion exchange filters are also capable of blocking organic chemicals like pesticides and chlorine.

Water filter drawbacks

Drinking water filters are not one-time buys. While pitchers, jugs and other hardware that come with it may be used continuously without replacement, water filter cartridges themselves need to be removed and changed with new units every few months or so, depending on use.

The advantages and benefits of using a drinking water filter far outweigh the cons. And even with the ongoing expense of replacing filter cartridges, it's still a heck of a lot cheaper than buying bottled or packaged water