The Truth About a Home Water Treatment System

Whenever you compare whole-house water treatment systems, you almost always see reverse osmosis systems.

As a home water treatment system, reverse osmosis of RO has numerous disadvantages.

In large scale facilities, the step is the only practical option to remove large particles and smaller particulates.

In the smaller arena, a selective micron filter in a home water treatment system is just as effective and costs a lot less.

It is the contaminants that you are trying to remove that determine the steps you need to take.

Whole-house water treatment systems may or may not be the right choice.

Typically, you have a variety of options for contaminant removal.

For many years, the only things that any of us had to worry about were germs and bacteria that cause waterborne illnesses.

Viruses, protozoa, parasites and other microscopic organisms live and multiply in our surface and groundwater.

Deep wells and springs are sometimes protected from this type of contamination, but things have changed a bit and testing is now recommended.

Shallow and older well are at the greatest risk for microbial infiltration.

If you are on a public water-line, the risk of bacterial contamination is very small.

After flooding or another natural disaster, microbes may be present and boiling may be necessary, but under ordinary circumstances, you wouldn’t need a home water treatment system that disinfects.

Only filtration is necessary.

If you have a well and testing confirms the presence of bacteria, there is are new whole-house water treatment systems that include UV light devices that neutralize bacteria without the need to use chemicals.

UV treatment leaves no residue, but only addresses the issue of living organisms and will not kill microscopic organisms in the cyst stage of development.

Cysts can cause waterborne illnesses and they may be present in any supply.

They are difficult to test for.

In most cases, they cause only minor illness similar to food poisoning, but people who have a weakened immune system of those recovering from cancer treatment can die from the infection.

Children, too, have an increased risk of having a major illness, as a result of the infection.

In order for a home water treatment system to remove cysts, it must filter down to one micron.

Most whole-house water treatment systems only filter down to five or 10 microns.

Cyst contamination is one are that calls for the use of a separate filter on the kitchen sink.

A whole home water treatment system can effectively remove many chemical contaminants and any sediment larger than five microns.

But, some units only filter down to ten and do not adequately remove chlorine and its byproducts.

Read product performance data before you buy.

Look for certification by Underwriter’s Laboratory, the EPA and the California Health Department.

You should also look for a company that has been in business for quite some time.

With the increased popularity of whole-house water treatment systems, a few “pretenders” have entered the market.

Those companies that have recently entered the market are not providing the best quality.

My advice is to always shop for quality.