We need clean water. It’s vital for drinking, cooking and cleaning. Contaminated or dirty water can make us sick and be a critical problem. There are a lot of methods and devices out there meant to give us clean water. It can be puzzling to know the difference, know the terms, know what each thing does. For instance, is a water purifier and a water filter the same? What’s best for what you really need.
Purifiers and filters are both good for treating water and making it cleaner. They are a little different in how they work and exactly what they treat in water. It’s helpful to have a good understanding before buying one and relying on it in your home.
Water Purifier or Water Filter: Which is Better?
Purifiers and filters both have important uses and situations for their uses. Both can be the right pick for what you and your family need for your home water supply. The key idea is getting the method and device for your specific needs.
Make certain, from the start, you know about the water and water source for your area. You need to know the problems you’re looking to remedy, then you can begin to think about purification or filtration. Some water has certain compounds that need to be eliminated, in which case you will want to make certain you are setting up a system for the specific problem.
You may be interested in a certain filtration device or system, but it’s not actually addressing the water problem at hand. Some people are asking about UV water purifiers and it might or might not be a fit. Do a bit of research and consult a pro. Clean water is not something that should be guessed about or ignored.
Filters or Purifiers: Knowing More
Water Filters
There are many different water filters of varying qualities and for many purposes. There are different methods and functions to them as well. No matter the kind, a water filter should block contaminants in water giving you cleaner water. We can look at the types of water filters to help you find the right one.
Whole House Water Filters
A whole house filter is put in at the main water line for a whole home or building, so it filters the water to every fixture and line. Generally, a whole house water filter has a sediment filter for removing particulates such as dirt, clay, sediment and corroded metal, such as rust.
Then, in most systems, water goes through another filter for metals, chlorine, algae and bacteria. This part of the filtration treats water for removal or neutralizing all of these contaminants.
Then, in most systems, there is a carbon filter which eliminates or highly reduces more chemicals, compounds and bacteria. This filter will remove pesticides and herbicides, for instance, in a water supply.
Whole house filters can be customized for your needs and the specific details of your water. You might have a need for a UV filter for bacteria and viruses in water. Hard water treatment might be a need for some people. Water filters are versatile and customizable to give the most effective filtration for your local water.
Point-of-Use Filters
Many people need clean water for drinking and consuming, so the best option may be filters designed just for drinking water, giving you and your family clean, fresh and healthy tap water.
In this category, you still have many devices and designs with many claims and purposes. Some point-of-use filters go straight on a faucet. Some go under a sink. Many of these devices use an activated carbon filter or ion exchange or other filters for metals, chlorine, sediment, bacteria, minerals and other particulates or contaminants.
Drinking water filters are typically effective at filtering out harmful contaminants. However, in some instances, you should think twice about what a filter is taking out. In the case of minerals, this might not be an actual problem in your water. Your body needs some essential minerals and we largely get them from water. Removing them from drinking water might cause other unintended health issues.
Shower Filters
If the issue you’re solving is only about showering or bathing, for instance with hard water, you can find filters meant to go on a showerhead.
If your water supply is “hard water” it can cause problems with cleanliness, leaving your hair or skin feeling filmy and making showers and other fixtures dirty, mildewy, streaky and so on. Hard water can eventually wear and corrode pipes, drains and fixtures.
Shower filters are helpful for water sources that are high in chlorine or other chemicals. These types of substances, chemicals and minerals can dry out skin as well as hair, affecting their wellness and look.
Water Purifiers
Water purifiers are very effective at treating water. In most cases, a water purifier does the job of a filter and more when it comes to treating or decontaminating water. A water purifier is generally meant to be a system which removes 95% or more of contaminants from water. So, a purifier may remove bacteria, protozoa and viruses a filter may not remove or remove at the same rate. Water purifiers are available in a selection of devices yet typically are one of two types: Reverse osmosis or distillation.
Reverse Osmosis
This kind of water purifier works a lot like a filter system with multiple filters. It uses a semi-permeable membrane layer to filter impurities from the water. What happens is clean water travels through, while bigger contaminant particulates are caught in the filter and removed from the water. Reverse osmosis is very effective. It can remove 99% of impurities from water.
Distillation
Distilling water operates in a different way. It gives you distilled or “pure” water, free from pollutants by steaming the water then having only the very clean water vapor condense. The clean water is turned into steam, which allows it to be gathered while the contaminant fragments (including bacteria) stay behind.
A concern people can have with drinking purified water is it is highly acidic compared to regular water.
South End Water Filtration specializes in HALO Water Filter products including the HALO H2 Zero Whole Home Water Filter. HALO systems solve hard water problems, give your family clear, great-tasting water and are totally maintenance free. We’re just a click away to help and answer any questions. South End Plumbing and South End Water Filtration will give you a free estimate. Call us at 704-486-1988 or contact us online to schedule a visit.