Water Filtration

Needless to say, there is a wide variety of water filters on the market today. In fact, almost one for every known contaminant. So, how does the average person decide which is the best filter for their situation? The first step has to be to get a basic understanding of the terms used in every water filtration ad. Here are the most common terms you will find when researching water filters and a brief description of each:

Carbon Block: reduces rust, sediment, taste, odor, chlorine, chloramines, THMs ( chemical sovents ), lead particles and VOCs (volatile organic compounds)

GAC: “granulated activated carbon” reduces chlorine, rust and sediment, taste, odor,  VOCs, radon and MTBE (a gasoline additive found in some ground water)

Ceramic: removes bacteria, cryptosporidium (cysts) and sediment

KDF (trade name for a copper/zinc filter)/GAC: this combination reduces chlorine, heavy metals, pesticides, arsenic, lead, iron, mercury, THMs, VOCs, hydrogen sulfide, barium, cadmium, chromium, MTBE, taste and odor

Activated Alumina: reduces fluoride and arsenic

Reverse Osmosis with carbon: reduces all of the above plus removes calcium, magnesium and potassium

Sediment: pleated or wound cartridge for reducing sediment with different micron ratings

There are of course a plethora of additional terms one runs into, but these are the most common and hopefully will give anyone looking at water filtration systems a better understanding of what is being touted.

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