Saturday, August 9, 2008

Comparing Water Treatment Systems Before Buying

By Thomas Manso


With all of the frightening facts coming to light about the contents of tap water, water treatment systems are quickly increasing in popularity. Not all systems are created equal, however, and it is important that you compare these systems not only by cost, but by how safe and clean they make your water as well. Today, we will briefly consider the most popular systems and shine some light on the pros and cons of each.

The most popular system is the pitcher system. Filtered pitchers are available at most grocery, drug, and department stores. While initially inexpensive, when the filter cost is factored in, this is actually the most expensive method of obtaining filtered water available. In addition, these filters only remove large particles such as sediment and lead, and leave in numerous chemicals and bacteria. While far better than tap water, these systems are not the most effective or cost-efficient.

If we want to compare water systems with the purpose of finding out which one works most effectively, the two we need to explore and examine closely are reverse osmosis and multi-stage systems. Both systems provide far healthier and safer water than either filtered or tap water. We also need to examine the cost and effectiveness of each unit.

Reverse osmosis is a water treatment system that works by passing water through a semi-permeable membrane that filters out anything larger than a water molecule. These filters must also be used in conjunction with a carbon block filter, because bacteria and chemicals are smaller than water molecules.

Reverse osmosis systems do remove the majority of contaminants and impurities from water, but they also remove trace minerals like potassium and magnesium which are needed by the human body to maintain health. A factor to consider is that these systems waste about two gallons of water for every gallon that is purified. The price of these systems is in the range of 200 to 1,500 dollars going from just a kitchen unit to a whole house system. It cost about twenty-five cents per gallon of purified water.

Multi-stage water treatment systems do the process by moving the water through a series of steps and different patented filters. These systems remove almost all impurities including chemicals, lead, rust, and even the chlorine that is added to all tap water, but they leave in the valuable minerals your body needs.

Multi-stage systems cost about 150 dollars for a counter unit or 1,000 dollars for a whole house system. The total cost including filter replacement, which is only every three years, means you pay only about ten cents per gallon of water. These systems also produce far less waste than reverse osmosis systems.

When comparing water treatment systems, it is also important to highlight the difference between kitchen and whole house systems. While kitchen systems are very important and clean the water that everyone in your house drinks, whole house systems purify water in the one place in your home where the most water toxins are taken in; the bathroom.

When you take a hot bath or shower, you not only absorb the toxins from your water into your blood through your pores, but you also inhale them in the water vapor you breathe. Almost all of the chemicals in your water are dispersed into the air in the form of water vapor. For this reason, it is highly recommended that you use a whole house water filtration system.

Concluding, we can tell you that water treatment systems are extremely beneficial. No matter what water system you choose, whether the recommended whole house system or simply a kitchen unit, cleaning and purifying your water is one of the noblest decisions you can take for your family's sake. The presence of so many pollutants, carcinogens, and toxins in our tap water, makes it imperative for us to use a purification system to maintain health.

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