Using water filters in commonplace these days, and more and more households have water filtration systems. But when asked their criteria for choosing a good water filter, most people just say they picked the best deal, price wise. However, picking a water filter that does what it is supposed to without burning a hole in your pocket is more complicated than that. Here’s our expert’s advice on how you can choose the right water filter for your family.
Figure Out What’s In Your Water
Not all water is the same. First, water in general contains total dissolved solids (TDS), which contribute to its “hardness”. TDS is naturally caused when water dissolves the minerals and substances found in the soil. So, water hardness refers to the combined total organic and inorganic substances contained in the liquid, meaning any substances present in water other than H2O molecules. Minerals, organic matter, inorganic matter, and salts from Calcium (Ca), Magnesium (Mg), and Sodium (Na), forms the “hardness” in water and acts as a general indicator of water quality. This is a universal fact, meaning that almost all the drinking water available to humans contains some levels of TDS, which are not harmful as they are misunderstood to be.
In short, TDS levels do not pose as a health hazard, unless they are present in large amounts and contain chemicals. The hardness formed from salts, organic matter, and minerals found in water are present in most natural water sources.
Apart from these organic materials, water can also contain various other pollutants or contaminants. You’ve probably heard of water sources in different parts of the world having more contaminants than others, which can affect the taste, smell, colour, and overall quality of drinking water. Some water sources have even been recorded to pose serious health risks to the human body.
Pick The Contaminants You Want To Treat
As with anything, after knowing the problem comes the process of finding a solution. Just as water sources are not equal, neither are contaminant reduction systems. Certain contaminants such as arsenic and sulfate require reverse osmosis and distillation, while most can be removed via filtration. Often, in cases where water filtration isn’t enough, meaning it can’t be cured using a home-based system, water treatment must be initiated by one’s locale or with the help of an institutional specialist.
NSF International has a handy list of commonly detected contaminants in drinking water and which technologies are most effective in clearing these out.
Pick The Right Water Filtration Technology For You
Even with home-based systems, water treatments solutions come in a varied range, from whole-house systems to filters for specific areas such as the kitchen faucet to more portable solutions such as countertop filters or water pitchers. The number of contaminants these types of filters can clear out also varies.
For maximum reduction, low maintenance, and user-friendliness in all aspects, including its energy-saving benefits due to needing no electricity to function, ultra-filtration (UF) technology is the best-in-class for household water filtration systems. Granted that your water supply follows the standards set by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the UF system ensures that you and your family get to drink safe and pure water by allowing only good minerals to pass through, while removing odour, and killing all the viruses, and bacteria.
UF technology is what has made our HomePure water filtration system such a great product throughout the years, and with the introduction of its latest version, HomePure Nova, all this has been made even better with NINE stages of filtration and the new 35+ UltraTech filter technology which filters out even tinier contaminants.
