Drinking Water Filters - Do I Really Need One?

Did you know that drinking water filters are not all the same? I'm not just talking about brand names, but the different makes of drinking water filter employ different methods of filtration. Some are more efficient than others and in this article I look at why this is so.

You might think that what costs more is better, but some of the most expensive drinking water filters are the least effective. Some, like those using the reverse osmosis system, include steps that are not necessary in most homes. Others, like certain brands of drinking water filters, do not include enough steps to protect your family’s health.

When a company includes information about water contamination in its advertising you may think that it is just trying to scare you so that you will be persuaded to purchase one of its drinking water filters. But the advertisements are just repeating the warnings issued by official public bodies like the FDA, the EPA and the CDC. Their reports may be written in dry, official langauage that is hard for the layman to understand, but the facts about tap water contamination are clear once you cut through the jargon.

Lead, a toxic metal, has been found in water supplies around the country. The cause is thought to be aging lead-lined copper pipes and lead solder used at joints, but the cause is really unimportant. Lead is not safe for consumption at any level. Children, in particular, should not be drinking tap water that has not been run through a lead-blocking filter.

If the pipe running from the mains supply to your home is the cause of the contamination, then whatever steps are taken by the public water authorities will have no effect on the water that comes out of your faucet. While you could pay to have your water tested by an independent laboratory, the safest course would be to install a drinking water filter.

Cryptosporidium is a parasite that lives in water. It is resistant to chlorine disinfection, particularly during the cyst phase of life. Public treatment facilities cannot guarantee that it is not present in your tap water. Government authorities say that it is “unfeasible” to test for it. When ingested, the parasite grows in the intestinal tract and causes symptoms ranging from a stomach ache to death in children, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems.

If you want to make sure that you avoid this parasite, you have only two choices. You could stop drinking tap water altogether or you could install a drinking water filter. To be absolutely safe you need to ensure that the filter is a type that is certified to remove "cysts". Check the product performance data sheet to establish whether this is the case.

Other than chlorine, lead and parasites, there are over 2000 cancer causing chemicals in tap water. The federal government has set maximum "safe" levels for their presence in public water supplies. The problem is that the "safe" levels are based on the assumption that only one chemical is present and that everyone who drinks the water is a 175 pound adult. In other words, the only way to be truly "safe" is to buy the best drinking water filters you can find and install them on every faucet in your home.