Water Purification Devices and How They Have Evolved

Many people now a days use a cheap water purification device in their home if for nothing more than to get rid of the chlorine that comes out of their drinking and shower water taps.

Although our local water treatment facilities do a fair job with a complicated process that involves many procedures; do we rely on them to much to protect us from all the harmful things that may be in our water? The answer to this is yes, and is the reason why many people are turning to water purification devices

A good quality water purification device can do more than just filter the chlorine in your drinking water. Let's go back in time a little.

Waterborne sickness and cholera were rampant during the 1800's, which is when the use of chemicals began to help clean up the water. The population was growing rapidly, but there was nothing in place to keep the water supply safe.

People who had an idea of what the dangers could be used a water distiller which was the first kind of water purification device. One simple way to kill bacteria in the water was to boil it. This did kill some of the bacteria, but was a long drawn out process.

Now fast forward a few years and we saw the rise of reverse osmosis or R.O. Reverse osmosis was good, because it could get rid of some of the unwanted elements contained in the water, and if need be even salt. While it was a big step in water purification devices, one of the draw backs of reverse osmosis is that it can't filter out chlorine. Chlorine is a very harsh chemical which has been linked to certain cancers.

At first people wanted to get rid of chlorine because of the smell and taste. Later, as mentioned above people were concerned about what chlorine was doing to their health. Because of this, water purification devices using an activated carbon filter started showing up in many homes. Almost every water purification device on the market contains a carbon type filter of some kind. They also show up in some expensive reverse osmosis units.

One thing we do know for sure is not only does chlorine in your water not taste very good, but it is also a big health risk to people and their pets. How many people today use filtered water for themselves, but not use it for their pet's drinking water? Something to think about isn't it? The interesting thing is while chlorine does kill harmful bacteria, it could kill you in the long term, or cause other health related issues, so it's a two edged sword.

Newer water purification devices have been developed to solve these problems. You need to take matters into your own hands and not rely on the government to do everything when it comes to your health. It's virtually impossible for water treatment plants to eliminate the use of chlorine in the water filtering process. Bacteria, human feces, cysts, parasites and other things can enter your water once it leaves the treatment facility. That is why chlorine is added as the last part of the process.

When shopping for good water purification devices, you want to look for one that not only gets rid of chlorine, but those that also filter out the residual chlorination by- products or THMs. Other problems associated with chlorine and its by products are allergies, digestive distress, breathing difficulties, and in the longer term cancer. Don't buy any water purification device that does not filter out chlorine!