How to Compare Water Filtration Systems

It never fails...

Too often, when a homeowner or business owner decides to compare water filtration systems, he or she looks only at the purchase price for each available system. While the purchase price of a filtration system belongs among the criteria used to compare these systems, it is by no means the only criterion that one should use.

In order to be effective, any water filtration system needs to receive an adequate level of maintenance. The cartridges in many filtration systems need to be replaced on a regular basis. A homeowner should plan to purchase a new cartridge each time that the filtration system has filtered 500 gallons of water. Replacement costs should be considered by those who want to compare water filtrations systems.

Water quality too, belongs among the criteria that deserve consideration whenever a homeowner or business owner plans to purchase water filtration systems. Not every filtration system has the ability to remove all of the possible contaminants in tap water.

Some water filtration systems fail to remove "cysts." Those are the parasites that can at times get into the water. Residents of the United States should be most concerned about two specific cysts: Cryptosporidium and the protozoa that can cause giardiasis.

Homeowners must also pay attention to the details offered about any particular water filtration system. Is it a bactericidal system? Such a system has the ability to do-away with any bacteria in the water. Is it a bacteriostatic system? Such a system does not kill the bacteria, it only slows their growth.

A water filtration system that uses steam distillation, ceramic filters or ceramic filter plus carbon is a bactericidal system. Water from that system does not have bacteria. What about the other contaminants found in water? Are they removed by those same systems?

Steam distillation guarantees complete removal of heavy metals, organic compounds and inorganic compounds. A filtration system that depends on ceramics lacks the ability to remove organic compounds.

Some filtration systems use a process called reverse osmosis. What is the quality of the water that comes from such a system? Such a system does not remove 100% of the heavy metals, organic compounds and inorganic compounds in the water. Traces of those contaminants remain in the water, even after it has passed through the water filtration system.

The information in the above paragraph underscores the reason that any effort to compare water filtration systems needs to include a study of exactly what unwanted elements can be found in the water that will be passing into any given system. In some cases, the removal of 98% to 99% of any one contaminant does not put "at risk" those who will drink the water with only traces of any one contaminant.

Suppose, however, that a homeowner lives in a region of the country where local streams pass by drug-making plants. In that case, the water supply could well contain a large number of harmful contaminants. An attempt to compare water filtration systems needs to factor-in the potential harm from the drinking of water that retains a noticeable level of certain harmful compounds.

When the homeowner or business owner sits down to measure up water filtration systems, he or she must remain focused on the ultimate goal. That goal is the ability of residents in a home or workers in a business to enjoy clean, pure, great-tasting water. A majority of homeowners and business owners find that one particular water filtration system helps them to achieve that goal.

After taking the time to compare water filtration systems, a majority of homeowners and business owners decide to use activated carbon filters with ion exchange and micron filtration. An analysis of the available water filtration systems, using the criteria listed above has caused them to make that choice.

So in conclusion, such an analysis has no doubt indicated that the filtration system that enjoys immense popularity is also the safest choice.