Water Filtration

Your health is a valuable and important thing that can be protected through the use of a house water filter. We all know it is important to drink plenty of water every day, eight glasses at least. However, you want to make sure yourwater if free of contaminants.

Tap and bottled water can be filled with impurities. Therefore, a home water filter system can prevent you from ingesting dangerous chemicals and impurities.

There are many reasons to use a home water filter, here are some:

• One of the leading causes of death and epidemic disease in developing countries is through drinking unclean water.
• Tap water has the potential to have over 2100 contaminants, including several poisons, like mercury.
• Bottled H2O is not a healthy alternative.
• County and city government water treatment plants are incredibly underfunded and behind in the technology that provides for proper treatment and cleaning.
• The only way to make sure that they are through a point-of-use system that you can control and maintain.
• Some of the common contaminants of drinking-water, like lead, are known contributors to the development of cancer.
• Proper development, mentally and physically, in a child can be attributed to clean water.
• Lead can contribute to learning disorders in children.
• Impure drinking water can lead to the development of birth defects in pregnant women.
• Skin rashes and other irritation can be attributed to high levels of chlorine in drinking and bathing-water.
• The use of untreated tap water in the dishwasher will allow for the emission of more chlorine into the air than any other household appliance.
• Chlorine in water can damage skin and hair.
• The vaporization of chlorine into breathable air can hurt the lungs and impair proper circulation.
• Many cases of breast cancer have been caused by high levels of chlorine in the body.

As you can see, there are many reasons to use a home water filter. This device is an important component to a healthy lifestyle. Investigate how a home water filter can benefit your home and your life today.

An Ezine article

Water is a crucial resource which many of us living in the cities have come to take for granted. Our survival and health depend on the water we drink, but yet we hardly give a thought to the water we use each day.

Here are nine reasons why we should not take our water at face value, and why a water filter could be the best investment we can make for our health:

1. The Water Myth

Pure natural water is a myth. In nature, water picks up minerals as well as contaminants like arsenic, viruses and bacteria as it flows through streams, sits in lakes, and sips through soil and rock in the ground. It is the amount of these substances that determines whether the water is safe or unsafe for consumption.

2. Great Polluted Lakes

The five Great Lakes — Erie, Huron, Michigan, Ontario, and Superior — make up more than 80 percent of the U.S.’s freshwater supply and more than 20 percent of the world’s. But they have been increasingly polluted by agricultural, industrial and recreational activities that take place around and within the lakes. Pollutants, such as discharged waste water from factories, untreated sewage and toxic contaminants, enter and get trapped in the lakes, increasing in concentration over time.

3. Massive Contamination Power of Oil

Used oil is a major source of oil contamination of waterways and result in pollution of drinking water sources. Spilled or inappropriately disposed used oil from one oil change can contaminate up to 1 million gallons of fresh water, or a year’s supply for 50 people.

4. Chlorine: The Double-Edged Sword

Chlorine is a commonly used disinfectant to remove viruses and bacteria from water. But chlorine is also toxic to humans and it reacts with organic compounds in the water to form by-products like trihalomethanes and haloacetic acids that can lead to cancer and reproductive disorders.

5. Killing with Ozone

Ozone is another popular disinfectant that is used standalone or in addition to chlorine to kill germs in the water. However, ozone can react with natural occurring bromide in the water to form bromate, which is a known carcinogen.

6. Chloramine: Deadlier than Chlorine?

Chloramine is an increasingly common disinfectant used as an alternative to chlorine as it is more stable and does not dissipate from the water before it reaches consumers. It also does not have the distinct smell and taste which is characteristic to chlorine-treated water. However, chloramine has been found to create more disinfection by-products than chlorination and increases the leaching of lead from pipes.

7. Mouth Wash or Drinking Water?

Fluoride is often added to drinking water by water suppliers to prevent tooth decay. But this controversial additive has also been linked to bone disease, including pain and tenderness of the bones, in some studies.

8. The Convoluted Journey of Water

Treated water from public water suppliers can be further contaminated as it makes its way to our homes — by dissolving unwanted chemicals and substances such as asbestos, bacteria, viruses, lead and PVC from corroded pipes.

9. Drink to Even Weaker Immune Health

Seniors and young children, as well as people with immune systems compromised by chemotherapy, AIDS and other chronic diseases are more vulnerable to microbial and toxic contaminants in drinking water, even at levels determined safe by the authority.

So, you see, water filters can be the best investment we can make for our health.

An Ezine article

Maytag water filters, like so many others, are somewhat behind the times. Hopefully, they’ll catch up eventually. In the meantime, let’s look at what they currently offer and how we can get better protection. If it’s time to replace your filter, it may be time to take a different approach.

Maytag offers Puri-Clean I and II. System I is advertised as removing chlorine, lead, cysts and sediment. First of all, no system completely “removes” these things. They may “reduce” them by 99% or better, but the brochures that accompany the Puri-clean systems do not indicate the percent of reduction.

System II reduces chlorine, lead, asbestos, cysts, lindane, Atrazine and sediment. That’s a little better, but the filter is not compatible with older refrigerator models. So, you either buy a new refrigerator or you stop using your dispenser and buy a filtration unit for your kitchen faucet, instead.

Even if you bought their latest model, there are some chemicals that Maytag water filters do not remove. One group is present whenever chlorine is used for disinfection. They are called trihalomethanes or THMs.

There have been numerous scientific studies concerning the risk of THM exposure, because they are known carcinogens. At one time, it was believed that the amount that was present in publicly treated supplies was “safe”. Even though, many scientists warned that there was no way to actually determine a safe level of consumption for any chemical, since they combine with other chemicals, which increases their toxicity.

But, regulating agencies needed some sort of guideline, so maximum contamination levels (MCLs) were established. Using those MCLs, researchers evaluated the cancer-risk from consumption, inhalation during a shower and dermal absorption. They also tested individuals in their homes, after drinking and showering in unfiltered water. It was found that the blood levels were higher after a 15 minute shower than they were after drinking a liter.

Since there are no Maytag water filters that reduce THMs, they cannot help reduce your cancer risk. The latest research indicates that the amounts we are normally exposed to increase our lifetime risk of bladder cancer by two-fold. To reduce the risk, you need a faucet filter with special resins that traps the chemicals. To further reduce your risk, you can install one in the shower, as well.

You might be wondering if all refrigerator systems are like the Maytag water filters. From the research that I have done, it looks like they are. It seems to take the manufacturers too long to respond to new research. Atrazine and lindane, for example, are common herbicides and pesticides. They also cause cancer. Over seven years ago, studies were published concerning the presence of these contaminants in publicly treated supplies, but only the refrigerator models have a filter that traps them.

The studies concerning THMs continue to come in. The most commonly quoted report was only published in 2008. That means that it will probably be several years before Maytag water filters catch up. Until then, buy an effective water filter and drink from your faucet. That’s the best choice you can make.

An Ezine article

Depending on Maytag water filters to protect your family from hazardous chemical contaminants is a big mistake. The price is better than bottled and the quality may even be better, but the systems simply cannot reduce contaminants effectively.

It is impossible to include all of the necessary steps in a filter of this size. They are certainly inexpensive. You can get them from a discounter for $6 each. But, regardless of how inexpensive something is, if it does not provide effective contaminant reduction, then it is simply a waste of money.

I must admit that Maytag water filters are better than some other brands designed for refrigerated dispensers. But, there are some hazardous contaminants that none of the popular refrigerator brands will remove. They are commonly referred to as THMs.

THMs or trihalomethanes are present in all publicly treated supplies, because they are byproducts of the disinfection methods used by public treatment facilities. Only recently was the public made aware of the danger. The first reports came out several years ago, but respected publications were afraid to print them. They were afraid that there would be a massive outcry for an end to public disinfection.

Most people realize that disinfecting the waters of our planet is necessary. It might be a necessary evil, but outbreaks of cholera and other waterborne illnesses are a bigger public health risk than the health problems caused by exposure to THMs.

More and more healthcare professionals are becoming convinced that the synthetic chemicals in what we eat and drink have contributed to a variety of health problems. Some of those health problems are deadly. THM exposure contributes to the individual’s lifetime risk of bladder cancer. Estimates vary concerning the percentages, but in the most recent studies, researchers said that the amount that is commonly found in households double the cancer risk.

Maytag water filters do nothing to protect you and your family from this risk. In fact, drinking is not the only source of exposure. The chemicals become airborne in the shower, and we inhale them, along with the steam. They can be absorbed through the skin when showering, bathing or swimming in chlorinated pools. Researchers in one country were concerned about the risk to their Olympic swim team. They concluded that the risk was too great and something needed to be done. While Maytag water filters are not the answer, there are other companies that make systems for the kitchen sink, the shower and the whole house.

Ineffective contaminant removal was not the only reason that we stopped using our refrigerator’s dispenser. Do you know how much bacteria build up on those nozzles? I can’t give you an exact count, but without using a disinfectant on a daily basis, your family is spreading germs, continuously.

The company that we chose to buy from provides effective and affordable products that have a long lifespan. We enjoy what we drink and know that it is safe. So, before you buy some more Maytag water filters, shop around for an effective water filtration system. Your health is at stake.

An Ezine article

Here is a list of the top 7 types of water filters you can purchase on the market and information about each one. Hopefully this will help you make a decision when purchasing your next filter.

1. Pitcher

2. Faucet

3. Refrigerator

4. Under Sink

5. Shower

6. Laundry

7. Whole house

Now to take this further, I will describe each a bit.

The Pitcher filter is great if you just want to drink a good glass of clean water and are really not worried about the tap water for anything else in your home. With these you have a specially made pitcher with a filter at the top and you have to pour water in slowly and it filters this through to the bottom of the container. It may take 10 minutes or so for this to complete its process.

The Faucet filter I have found to be very popular, especially with families who have children. This attachment hooks up to the faucet spout and you have the choice to turn the filter on to dispense cleaner water or turn it off if you do not want to waste the cleaner. The only issue some families did not care for was that the pressure coming from the tap is diminished because it must go through the filter and process before coming out so I would say you get half of the pressure. Also it is a bit cumbersome and takes up space around the faucet and is a little unsightly if you are wanting a kitchen that looks designer beautiful.

The Refrigerator filter is becoming more popular as families purchase refrigerators with water and ice dispensers on the door. This hooks up inside the door and helps produce better tasting ice as well as water.

Under sink filters are great to have as a full kitchen use. It keeps clutter from being on top of the counter or faucet, however, it usually required a professional installation and you will have to give up some room under your sink cabinet to make space for this larger item.

The Shower filter basically allows you have have a bath free of contaminants. These are less common and people will usually get a whole house filter if they want good water in their bathrooms.

The Laundry Filter again is like the shower model information in that the whole house choice will usually be used. However, families find that they like to use cleaner water free from hard water deposits on their clothes.

The whole house water filter is the next big upcoming appliance that families are automatically having installed in their homes when they are building a new home. It is somewhat of a no brainer that they can have great water and why not do it now while they are installing everything else.

An Ezine article

If you are asking yourself this question, you are not alone. Many people are not well informed about the advantages of owning a water filter, nor do they understand what can arise as a result of not owning a water filter. A water filter can greatly improve the quality and taste of the water that you consume, along with your overall health and that of your family. Upon initial exposure, a water filter may seem like an expensive investment, but the benefits it provides pays for the actual cost many times over.

Everyone can benefit from owning a water filter. The optimal set up is owning a filter that purifies water that is consumed, along with water that is used for showering and laundry. This can be accomplished through the use of separate water filters, or a single whole house water filter. If you plan on purchasing separate water filters, the first decision to make is what kind of filter you will use to purify the water that you drink.

The most popular filters for this task are refrigerator water filters, undersink filters and countertop water filters. A refrigerator water filter attaches to the inside of a refrigerator door, and dispenses clean and cold drinking water. An undersink water filter purifies water before it is dispensed from a faucet. Although more expensive, a countertop water filter is an attractive and practical water filter choice. Any of these filters eliminate VOCs, chlorine and other impurities from drinking water. It is also useful to invest in a shower water filter. A shower water filter eliminates chlorine and other impurities that can cause hair thinning or skin irritation after repeated exposure during showers.

If you are looking for one filter to provide filtered water throughout your home, office or apartment, a whole house water filter may be the answer. A whole house water filter attaches to the main water source, and provides purified water from the sink, shower and washing machine. A whole house water filter removes the same impurities as other water filters, including chlorine, lime, lead and VOCs. All types of water filters use carbon as their main filtering component. Because of its porous nature, carbon has the ability to filter out large and small particles and impurities.

Carbon also does not interfere with minerals found in tap water that are actually beneficial to a healthy body. A whole house water filter requires more installation time and a higher initial investment, but actually evens out over the course of time. A whole house water filter normally lasts between thirty and sixty thousand gallons. When it comes to making a decision about water filters, it really all depends on what you need and desire from your home water filter system.

Excerpted from an Ezine article

News headlines send people searching for drinking water filters. But, what do you expect your drinking water filter to do? Do you want to remove chlorine and its by-products, lead, disease causing microscopic organisms, pesticides, herbicides, VOCs, TCE, MTBE or all of the above?

If you are like me, then you have chosen all of the above. There are high quality drinking water filters that remove all of these contaminants, but the price is not that high. Of course, the cheaper systems can not handle all of them, so you have to decide what fits your pocketbook, while protecting you family to the best of your ability.

Some people only drink bottled, because they think that is the safest choice, but benzene has been found in Perrier. BPA has been found in anything stored in polycarbonate. Phthalates are found in anything stored in any type of polymer. Both of those chemicals act like estrogen within the body and can cause some serious health problems, including cancer.

A pitcher drinking water filter is often chosen because it is the least expensive option, but the cost per gallon is actually higher. The filtration cartridges have a very short life span and that affects the cost of use. For a Brita pitcher, for example, the cost per gallon is 25 cents, as opposed to less than 10 for one of the best countertop drinking water filters on the market.

Pitchers are also slow. You fill up the top compartment from you tap and it trickles down through the system. In order to get a full pitcher, you have to repeat this process several times.

Then, there is a problem with what a pitcher-type drinking water filter can do. We’ll use Brita again as an example. Not to pick on them, but they are one of the most popular choices. They only remove about 75% of the chlorine and about 93% of the lead. Nothing else is removed.

Countertop drinking water filters can provide a lot more water in a lot less time. You just turn on the tap and get a drink right away. There is an option for switching it off, in case you want to prolong the drinking water filter life, but you should be aware that chlorine and its by-products can pollute the air quality within your home. So, if you are using hot water, you want the “on-position”.

An under the counter drinking water filter system costs more, but doesn’t do a lot more. It’s really just the aesthetics of having a unit sitting on the counter or stored underneath.

Whole house drinking water filters cost the most, but will protect your laundry from damaging chlorine and you won’t have to worry about your dishwasher emitting toxic gas. The choice is yours of course. I just wanted to provide little helpful information to accompany you while you shop. Just don’t let the many choices keep you from taking action to provide pure and safe water for you and your family.

An Ezine Article

The latest craze in the ongoing battle to keep our families safe from the deadly contaminants in our reservoirs is water filters for refrigerators.  What these offer you is the opportunity to enjoy pure water and ice from your refrigerators dispensing unit.  If this is the site where your family primarily gets your drinking water then it is a very good idea to have one.

The fact is though that the contaminants in our water supply affect us in far more ways than our simply absorbing them through ingestion.  These chemicals affect us through many portals of entry into our homes that we never really think of as being areas through which harm could come to us.  You will probably be surprised to learn at what is happening in your home.

Water filters for refrigerators are useful, but highly inadequate in protecting your family.  Did you know that your body takes in up to 6,000 times more deadly chlorine during an average shower than what you would get from drinking unfiltered water throughout an average day?  This happens both through inhalation primarily, but chlorine is also absorbed into your open pores.

Chlorine is a chemical which turns to vapor much more quickly than does the water that carries it, and therefore when you are breathing in what you thought was primarily water vapors into your lungs what you have actually been doing is sending massive doses of this carcinogen almost directly to your bloodstream.  You are also releasing chloroform gas into your home.

In addition to water filters for refrigerators you need to get showerhead filters in order to reduce the amount of chlorine that you and your family are exposed to.  You really should at least consider getting either a countertop, or under the counter water purifier for the kitchen sink also.  This faucet may not be the site from which you draw your drinking water, but I’ll bet that you do wash food in this water.

I mentioned earlier that during your shower you were releasing chloroform gas into the air, which is the true form of the THMs that are in our water supply due to chlorine disinfection.  This gas also enters your home every time that you run your washing machine, and your dishwasher.  It is for this reason that many people opt for a whole house water purification system.

Of course, if you ended up investing in a whole house purification system then you would not have a need to purchase water filters for refrigerators would you?  They are good for serving the limited purpose for which they are used, but as you can see they are not nearly enough to keep your family safe.  Take my advice and either go with countertop and showerhead filters, or invest in a whole house unit.

I’m not saying that water filters for refrigerators are not nice to have, because I have one myself.  All that I am saying is that if you truly want your family to remain healthy then you are going to need a lot more.

An Ezine Article

Many people are looking for house water filters and for a good reason — plainly said our tap water is not always safe to drink. Surely, it has been purified, but usually this water purification process is not enough to remove such dangerous things as bacteria, radio nuclides, metals and traces of pesticides and herbicides, which are often found in ordinary household tap water. Having a house water purification system will help you to ensure that water you and your family drinks is healthy and clean, but which type of filter is right for you?

Most effective types of home water purifiers

The most popular water filters are carbon water filters also called charcoal filters. They are made from coconut husk. This type of filter is pretty good - it removes most dangerous water impurities, but allows minerals that are beneficial to our health to pass. Carbon filters are not expensive, and a single cartridge lasts 6-9 months.

However, carbon water purifiers have some disadvantages. First, they can’t change the pH of your water, so if you know that the water in your area is acidic, you might need another type of filter - a simple carbon one won’t fix the problem. Another problem is that if the filter is unused for several days it starts getting moldy, especially in hot summer month. If you feel that your filtered water tastes moldy, change the cartridge.

Reverse Osmosis water Filters - More sophisticated technology

This type of water purifier was developed for use in submarines to turn salty sea water into drinking water. But it does more that that - as water passes through a very fine membrane, most contaminants are removed. Reverse Osmosis water purifiers do their job extremely well, sometimes a bit too well. They remove every mineral, leaving just pure distilled water and as some researchers discovered distilled water is not the best thing for our health ether - our bodies need many minerals that usually come from hard (not purified) water.

UV water filters effectively kill all bacteria

Ultra Violet water filtration systems are a comparatively recent invention. As high frequency light passes through the water, it effectively kills all microorganisms. So UV filters are great for getting rid of bacteria, but they don’t remove any dangerous minerals. They are often used in hotels in countries, where the risk of contaminated water is high.

There are more water purification methods including magnetic systems, energetic water treatments, far infra red systems and water ionizers. They all are effective to a certain degree, but some of them are still experimental and are not yet used for house water purification.

Variety of home water filters on the market - which filter to buy?

There are many options, you can chose from:

• Undersink Filters
• Countertop Filters
• Tap water filters
• Shower Filters
• Whole house water purifiers

The easiest solution is getting a countertop filter. They are easy to install and portable, if you ever decide to move. Tap water filter is another inexpensive option that produces good results.

However, if you live in an area, where water is generally low quality, you might want to go for a whole house water purification system. This will undoubtedly cost you more, but you will get clean, clear healthy water for all your household needs. Most whole house water filtration systems are of Reverse Osmosis type and they do the job pretty well.

An Ezine article

A very good question, “Are water filters important?” In today’s society, life is very fast paced, so much to do and so little time to do it. Between work, family and all the things in between, we sometimes overlook the simple things that can make a big difference in our lives. Most people are health conscious these days, we try to eat right and exercise and drink a lot of water, which is good. But most of the time, people end up buying very expensive bottled water and don’t realize how much they are really spending, a bottle here, a bottle there, it adds up quick! There have been reports that bottled water isn’t even all that good for you. But, now there is an alternative to this highly expensive way of getting our drinking water and that is finding a good water filtering system.

When you take the time to look at what options exist for filtered water, you will see that it isn’t all that complicated to figure out and you will save a lot of money compared to what you spend on bottled water. Some people get scared when thinking of purchasing a water filter system. Maybe the price of the unit seems too high or the thought of having to install the unit and then do the maintenance turns people back to the easy way of just throwing their money away on bottled water. Let us examine this further and see if that way of thinking really makes sense or if purchasing a good water filter system is the way to go. We will ask the questions: How do I know what unit is the best for my situation? What are the costs of owning a filtration unit and how will it save me money? What are the benefits I will receive from using water filtration over tap or bottled water? Are there different types of water filtration? We will look at these questions and see that the difference is great and filtering your water is the way to go.

First, there are many different water filter manufacturers out there and it is important to find an established company that has a good reputation. Since there is such a great push to being healthy and drinking plenty of water, there are many companies getting into the market and copying what good manufacturers have already put out there. A little research will help you to know the difference. Once you have found a good water filter company, it’s just a matter of deciding what you want out of your filtering system. Do you want to filter all the water coming into your house with a whole house unit, or just filter at point of use, such as the kitchen sink using a counter top unit or faucet filter, maybe a shower filter or a combination of filters. Regardless of what you want to filter, a good water filter manufacturer will have what you need and be able to walk you through the process.

The cost of owning a water filter system can vary quite a bit depending on the type of set up you want. Some people just want filtered water for drinking and cooking, in that case going with a counter top or under sink unit is a good way to go and there are many variations to choose from ranging from around fifty to a couple of hundred dollars. If you are just looking to filter your shower water, there are very good shower filters at very reasonable prices, most around thirty to fifty dollars. A lot of people are looking to filter all the water coming into their house; this is called point of entry. There are many types of units for this purpose and a lot depends on the home you are putting the unit in, such as what type of water comes into the house, well or city water. Also, how big the house is, number of bathrooms and so on. These units can range from as little as a couple of hundred dollars to a few thousand. The money you will save by purchasing a water filter system is great! You will have an endless supply of clean filtered water for only pennies a gallon, the water filter will pay for itself in no time when you add up all the wasted money on bottled water. A whole house unit can save you an untold amount of money by protecting your water pipes and all the appliances that use water by keeping sediment, lime and calcium build up and rust out of the system.

Other benefits of filtered water over tap are many. Of course your water will taste better and be healthier for you by taking out the chlorine, fluoride and other chemicals that are added to city water, but there are even more benefits to talk of. A good shower filter will make your skin and hair softer and smoother, good for people with sensitive skin or allergies. The human body is made up of over 70 percent water and showering in unfiltered water allows the body to absorb harsh chemicals like chlorine and THMs that are harmful and the steam from using hot water causes chlorine to be inhaled if no filter is used. Also, your clothes will be brighter and softer especially if used with a water softener.

There are different kinds of water filtration, the most popular are systems that use filters or a reverse osmosis unit that forces water through a membrane. A traditional water filter system has the most options of filtration as there are sediment, carbon, fluoride and media packed cartridges. It is important to use a filter that has GAC (Granulated Activated Carbon), KDF-85 and KDF-55. It is easier to develop a system that will best suit your needs. Reverse osmosis usually will cost more and does have some limitations. It requires more maintenance and is limited to a certain amount of water it can produce per day and may end up wasting more water than it produces. Although, many people say that the water has a better taste and this is because reverse osmosis water filter system also removes dissolved mineral contents which can cause a bitter taste in some water.

Water filters and water filtration systems can greatly affect your life in many positive ways, most importantly by giving you better health, saving you lots of money from purchasing bottled water and keeping your pipes and appliances in good working order.