There’s a variety of filtration systems you can use to keep contaminants out of your drinking water, and the water you use to wash your clothes, your dishes, and yourself. Contaminants the same as pollutants. Contaminants just mean the things you don’t want in your water, not necessarily pathogens and chemicals that will make you sick. Iron, for example, is one of the contaminants your filters might remove, even though it’s not much of a health hazard unless it hits appallingly high levels. A water softener and a reverse osmosis filter remove calcium and magnesium, minerals that actually support your health but wreck your plumbing.

Finding Out If You Need Water Filtration

Not every home needs its fresh water filtered. If you get your water from a municipal water company, your water is probably already cleaned at the plant. Installing a water purifying system costs money and needs maintenance. Not only that, you don’t want to drink water that’s absolutely pure. Pure water is unstable and seeks out the electrolytes in your body to stabilize it. In other words, you don’t drink pure water as much as it drinks you.

One way to see if you do need to have your water filtered is to test it for pollutants such as pesticides, VOCs, metals such as mercury, lead, or arsenic, and other materials that make your water unsafe to drink. After you’ve tested your water, you can choose to invest in a filter that’s certified by the National Sanitation Foundation International.

Types of Water Filters

There are different water filters that have different mechanisms for removing contaminants. The activated carbon filters remove things such as chlorine that give your water a bad taste or an off-putting smell, but they don’t do a great job of removing pathogens or minerals. Ion exchange filters pull out poisonous metals such as lead and replace them with sodium or hydrogen, much like a water softener. They’re often paired with carbon filters. On the other hand, reverse osmosis filters remove a range of contaminants, but they’re notorious for wasting water. They also take out healthy minerals, even though these minerals can cause problems by laying down limescale in your pipes.

If you want to put paid to microorganisms, ultraviolet water filters might be the thing. This type of filter uses ultraviolet C light, a short-wave type of radiation, to destroy the RNA and DNA of viruses, bacteria and protozoans.

A water softener is a type of water filter specifically made to treat hard water. This filter pushes the fresh water through a tank full of brine and resin beads, where sodium replaces calcium and magnesium.

If you find that you need a water filter, there are different ones to choose from. Talk to your plumber for more details. When you need water filtration services in Muncie, IN, contact Aqua Gold Water Treatment.