Posts Tagged ‘Reverse Osmosis’

Compare Water Treatment Systems – The Ultimate Guide

With any important purchase you want to get the best value for your money. Take the time to compare water treatment systems and find the best products on the market. This type of purchase is just as important as any other important item from a car to a computer.

When you really stop and think about it, what is more important than your health and safety? Nothing. And you will see that with all the chemicals out there, water treatment systems are vital necessities in today’s world.

So why do you need a filtration unit? Well for one, the danger of lead in water. What most people do not know is that the plumbing fixtures in homes contain a large percentage of lead. This is usually found in brass and chrome-plated brass plumbing fixtures.

That means that whatever your local treatment plant is doing to purify the water doesn’t even matter. In fact, the EPA has stated that 98 percent of all homes contain plumbing where trace amounts of lead can seep into tap water.

That’s why when you compare water treatment systems, be sure they can filter out lead. Some products on the market are only capable of sifting out a few minerals and a small level of chlorine. You want to see if a unit can handle eliminating a wide range of properties.

Some feel that Reverse Osmosis and distillation water treatment systems are outdated. When you see claims on such products that they remove TDS, or total dissolved solids, be wary.

Fancy claims aside, the TDS meters actually just measure the dissolved minerals in water such as calcium and magnesium. They do not remove harmful contaminants or create pure water. You have to compare water treatment systems that use a better process like selective filtration.

Review products that have the capacity to remove contaminants and not just minerals. A good apparatus will safely filter out a host of chemicals and VOCs (volatile organic compounds). You have to understand that VOCs are manmade chemicals and water treatment systems need to be able to eliminate them.

Furthermore, these substances are used to manufacture pharmaceuticals, and other things, such as paint. VOCs typically include industrial solvents like trichloroethylene, and are by-products of chlorination in water treatment, namely chloroform.

Ideally a good dual-filter system can effectively handle all the threats out there. Compare water treatment systems for how they filter out harmful substances. Look for products that use a multi-faceted process.

Learn about what the filtration process of chemicals involves. This will help you make the right decision. A combination of carbon filtration, ion exchange and sub-micron filtration can provide delicious and safe water. Be sure it can filter out everything from lead and VOCs to fuel oxygenates (MTBE) and cysts.

Now that you understand some of the ins and outs of water purification, you are a step closer to creating a safer environment at home. Plus, you can better compare water treatment systems and make wise buying decisions.

Water Distillers for Pure Water

Learn About Home Water Treatment Systems

Some home water treatment systems are not worth the investment, regardless of the price. There are wonderful water treatment products for today’s homeowner. You just have to know what to look for.

The really inexpensive home water treatment systems provide little protection from common impurities. On the flip-side, the most expensive purifiers are not necessarily the most effective. In some cases, they include steps that are unnecessary.

Before I get to what you need to look for in water treatment products, let me take a moment to mention something that you probably do not need; reverse osmosis or RO.

Reverse osmosis water treatment products for home-use were originally designed for those people who live in rural areas that have highly polluted sources, such as a river or lake. Of course, reverse osmosis was only one step that they needed to take. They also needed effective disinfection, pre-filtration and sometimes, depending on their source, chemical removal.

Home water treatment systems that could do all of those things cost in excess of $10,000. But, today, we see companies like GE and Ever-Pure that include a reverse osmosis step for less than a thousand dollars. What’s the difference?

Those less expensive designs are for people with pre-treated waters. In other words, their market includes those of us who are serviced by a public provider; a utility or a public treatment facility, not a rural homeowner with multiple purification needs.

The truth of the matter is that people who have publicly treated waters do not need RO. Now, here’s what you do need.

The EPA warns that parasitic cysts may be present in any supply and even in some bottle water brands. A cyst infection can kill certain at-risk individuals, but any of us can become ill by ingesting them.

You should filter anything that you drink, brush your teeth with or wash fresh fruits and vegetables with. You need to look for water treatment products that are certified to filter down to “one micron”. The best purifiers filter down to .5 micron, just to be safe.  Be aware that these filters may be rated as absolute vs nominal.  Absolute is the preferred specification.

The Environmental Working Group recommends that anyone with chlorinated water should have home water treatment systems that include granular carbon or a carbon block. Research suggests that chlorine byproducts are even more hazardous.

Most water treatment products (PUR and Brita, for example) do not remove the chlorine byproducts. They must contain specific filtering material to remove them. Look for certified performance data and the listing “THMS removal” (trihalo methane) to be sure.

Then, there’s lead. The metal was used for many years to line pipes and solder joints together. Chlorine eats away at the lead, allowing it to enter the supply and the household.

The best step for lead removal is called ion exchange. It’s a complicated process, but, simply put, it “exchanges” ions of lead and other metals for ions of sodium and potassium. This step improves the pH level and the taste, as well.

Home water treatment systems that combine ion exchange with dual stage granular carbon and carbon blocks with a submicron porous structure will remove the widest range of contaminants, practically anything you can think of, at a reasonable price. That’s what you should look for.