Water Filtration

Many people are interested in a water filter for their home to ensure safe drinking water. Since our drinking water tends to contain a lot of impurities, such as chlorine and pharmaceutical drugs, water filters can be a great option. They can work to remove all of the impurities and provide you with drinking water that is both clean and safe. If you are interested in a water filter, then you may want to think about a portable water filter.

Here are a few of the main benefits that portable water purification systems have to offer that other filtration systems don’t.

If you understand the importance of drinking clean water and can afford one water filter, portable is the way to go. Portable filters offer one main advantage over many other filtration systems. They are easy to install. Since a portable purifier can be moved from one place to the next, they tend to be the easiest type of water purification system to use.

Depending on the specific filter, it’s likely that all you will need to do is attach the filter to the faucet in order to experience clean purified water.

Another one of the main advantages of portable water filters is that they purify the water without using any chemicals. If you are worried about replacing the impurities that you get out of the drinking water with other chemicals, then a portable water filter may be a great choice for you. Those who want to ensure that their water remains healthy even after it has been purified will benefit greatly from the fact that these water filters are chemical free.

A portable water purifier is also a great choice for those who like to travel a lot. Due to the fact that they can be moved around, they can be taken just about anywhere that you want them to go. Anyone who owns a summer house or goes on vacation frequently would benefit from being able to take their filter with them. Portable water purifiers also offer the advantage of being able to move your purification system from one room to another.

Portable filters provide many advantages that other filtration systems are unable to offer. Obviously, much like their name states, they are a great option for anyone who wants a water filter that does not need to stay in the same place at all times.

Keep in mind that there a number of different brands available, offering a variety of different features, and tend to vary widely in price. It’s important to do some comparison shopping before making the decision to purchase a portable water filter for your home drinking water!

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An examination of 65 of the 3,000 largest utilities found cities such as Philadelphia, Boston, New York City, Providence, R.I., and Portland, Me., are “manipulating the results of tests used to detect lead in water, violating federal law and putting millions of Americans at risk,” The Washington Post said. More than 250 major cities currently exceed the EPA’s lead standards, and many of them have been deceptive, or even fraudulent in their reporting of the problems.

– NBC Nightly News

“Each day, millions of Americans turn on their taps and get water that exceeds the legal limits for dangerous contaminants.”

– USA Today, Special Report

How does water get contaminated?

• Any breach/rupture in the water mains (200,000 reported in 2002)

• Corroded pipes

• Older homes with Copper or Lead pipes, or homes with cheaper water fixtures containing lead

• Overflowing/leaking septic tanks

• Pollution/Pesticide/Agricultural runoff

• The EPA only regulates 87 of the thousands of possible contaminants

Who is at risk?

• Children, elderly, pregnant women, and the immuno-compromised

• Anyone who drinks well-water or water that is otherwise unregulated

• Anyone in a disaster situation where the water source is breached

What can I do?

• Filter ALL tap water used for drinking through a charcoal filter to reduce lead, radon, and arsenic (especially if preparing baby formula)

• Always filter your water when you are at the gym, at work, or otherwise away from home by using water filter bottles or other types of portable water filters

• Know where your water comes from (Is it regulated by the city? Susceptible to agricultural runoff? )

• If applicable, pump/professionally inspect your septic tank regularly

• If you drink well water, have it tested annually by local Health Dept.

• Be prepared!!!

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A portable water purifier can come in handy many times, including the aftermath of a natural disaster or while camping. There is, however something that you need to keep in mind when considering having fresh, clean drinking water and that is there is a difference between filtered water and purified water. All filtered water may not be safe for human consumption and even when using a portable water purifier the water can still hold floating contaminants that can alter the appearance and taste of the water.

No matter the reason or the amount of water required, there will be a portable water purifier to meet your needs. From small units that fit into the top of a water bottle to much larger ones, big enough to supply purified water to hundreds of people in a short period, a portable water purifier can turn some of the worst types of water into potable water for drinking and cooking. Although purified water is usually safe for drinking, unless many of the floating particles in the water have been removed, it may not taste or smell very good.

In order to be safe a purification unit is necessary, even though filtering will remove many of the smallest particulate matter, including metals and some bacteria. Even a portable water purifier can kill all the bacteria and germs living in the water to prevent them from causing disease when ingested.

On The Camping Trail Portable Units Handy

Having a portable water purifier, especially for campers, allows them to have a continuous supply of clean water while on the trail without having to carry large amounts of water with them. Before passing the dirty water through a portable water purifier to completely clean it of dirt, smell and bacteria, first run the water through portable water filters to remove any sediment.

There are different methods of purifying water, including the use of chlorine and iodine, but these chemicals often leave an unpleasant odor in the water and despite it being safe to drink, water from a chemical portable water purifier may not be acceptable to some users. Ultraviolet purifiers use the power of the sun to create heat to kill bacteria and some others use an electrical charge to kill any living things in the water. Using membrane filters small enough to capture bacteria are also popular types of portable water purifiers, but require pressure to force the water through the filter.

There are also in recent years a few disaster use water filters that can provide pure, safe water without the use of power or high pressure. These filters are a favorite with RV and boat owners, as well. Just make sure that no matter which filter you go with you don’t trade quality for cost, especially if it’s to be used in an emergency. 

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Let’s face it; there are a variety of portable water filters to choose from on the market today. In order to choose the best portable water filters for your own personal use, it helps to know a little about what the different products can do. Here are some things to consider.

First things first, where are you planning to travel? There are filters for practically any condition that you might come up against.

For example, if you are a hiker, drinking water straight from a spring or stream is unsafe. Ask any nurse working in an emergency room near the Appalachian Trail. Hikers come in all the time with a condition known as Giardiasis.

Hikers sometimes just call it giardia, the name of the single-celled parasite that causes the infection. So, if you expect to be in a situation where you will need to drink from a spring or stream, the safest filters to carry with you will kill or remove giardia.

If you were traveling to Africa or other countries where the water source is particularly unreliable, the best portable water filters to choose will effectively eliminate water-borne diseases such as cholera. There are some excellent water filters on the market that are credited with reducing cases of potentially fatal diarrhea in Zimbabwe. Caused by drinking water contaminated with pathogenic bacteria and cysts, the condition is a common problem in Africa.

But, let’s face it. Most of us are not planning to take a missionary post, and vacationing in a third world country is not particularly popular, but all of us have to go to work, school, on vacation or somewhere with unfiltered tap water. While drinking it probably won’t make us deathly ill, it could endanger our future health and it just doesn’t taste good.

So, the best portable filters for the majority of people usually fall under the heading of sport bottle filters or water filter bottles. Different companies rearrange the words, but they all work similarly.

Typically, you will find plastic bottles shaped like any other sports bottle, but with a specially designed lid or spout that holds a filter. Some of these devices block only odor and chlorine. Others can remove giardia.

A few of the best portable water filters block lead, which is particularly important if you work or live in some of the major cities around the country. Recent reports have determined that the tap water in a large number of city structures is contaminated with lead, because of deteriorating pipes that carry water into the buildings. In other words, don’t drink from the water fountain.

Make no mistake about it, portable water filters are a good alternative to buying bottled water. Not only will it save you money, but the quality and taste of the water will likely be better, particularly if you choose the best portable water filters. Plus, you’ll be doing your part to help protect the environment from those ever growing piles of plastic bottles.

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If you enjoy camping and hiking or any outdoor activity you will be happy to know there are portable water filters on the market in which you can take with you which will filter water you derive from areas in which you could not normally consume the water due to the enormous amount of contaminants including bacteria and chemicals. These filters can cost anywhere from $20 to $200, however, if you are a hiker or camper and enjoy this hobby multiple times during the year the cost could quickly pay for itself.

There are also also portable water systems which have a filter in them and you fill water before you leave and it filters through the drinking system and you carry the water as a backpack. They are a type of camel back. Pitcher filters can be taken on camping trips to fill as needed for drinking purposes or you can also filter water into gallon containers and take them with you so that it is simple and convenient.

Imagine going on a hike and taking your filter with clean pure water with you on your back and whenever you need a drink you simply sip the purified water through a straw like tubing. These types of water filters which are common for back country hikers are becoming more popular with day hikers and even families spending the day out at sporting events or day long picnics are using these. They are simple convenience and easy.

The next time you go camping or plan a day out or even fishing consider one of these portable water filters to make the ease of your trip a little less stressful.

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There are many occasions when Crystal Quest portable water filters may be a good idea.  Emergencies and international travel are two of them. A more common use might be when having an outdoor excursion near streams, lakes, or ponds.  The Outback is a water filtration system that exceeds EPA guidelines for removal of Giardia Lamblia parasites and Cryptosporidium protozoa as well as other bacteria that may cause illness.

The filtration matrix Outback uses has little effect on water molecule flow, but presents a difficult obstacle course for parasites, resulting in safe drinking water that needs no prior disinfection.  The filter is designed for ease of use and will provide approximately 200 refills.

Crystal clear, rushing streams; plunging waterfalls; bubbling brooks — all convey an image of freshness and purity. But when you drink from them, be aware you are not the only drinker. Insects drink, too, and some of them lay millions of eggs in the water. Animals also drink and very often leave behind their wastes. Just one swallow of that fresh-looking ( and often fresh tasting ) water contains literally billions of microorganisms, some harmful to humans and some not. Even cold, swiftly flowing water contains bacteria, viruses, and quite possibly, microscopic parasites and worms. The chance of getting sick, sometimes seriously sick, just isn’t worth it unless it’s an emergency and you have no other source of liquid.

Today there are several compact, portable water filters designed specifically for use in the wild, and I strongly recommend that you use one if you don’t carry your own water with you.

Excerpted from the book “The Drinking Water Book — How to Eliminate Harmful Toxins from Your Water” by Colin Ingram. 

One of the downsides of camping is that you have the arduous process of cleaning water, which includes the boiling and cleaning of water.  You could bring prepackaged bottled water, but that’s environmentally unsound, since bottles made of plastic 7 are not reusable. 

These issues can be remedied with the purchase of a portable water purifier.  By carrying a water purifier with you, you can drink from streams and have clean water and not have to worry about bring extra bottles or pots with you to have access to drinkable water.