Types of Drinking Water Filters

There are not many things more important than making sure that your home drinking water supply is safe and free of contaminants. All kinds of things can appear in your drinking water, and it is helpful to know exactly what types of contaminants are prevalent in your area so that you can make the best decision about what type of water filters to buy. Some water filters work well at removing certain types of contaminants but not others. However, there are some good water filters that can get rid of almost all contaminants on their own. One such type is a distiller. Water distillers operate by heating the water coming into your home until it turns into steam. When water evaporates like this, it leaves behind anything it was carrying with it when it was in liquid form. The steam rises and moves into another chamber, and when it condenses back into liquid form again, the contaminants are no longer present. Another type of water filter that removes the majority of contaminants is a reverse osmosis filter. These are excellent for removing things like asbestos, minerals, metals, salts and nitrates. For best results, however, you will want to purchase a system that incorporates some type of carbon filter as well. Carbon filters, placed either before or after the osmosis filtering system, are better at removing things like pesticides and radon. The combination of these two water treatment types into one filter system makes the solution more complete. If you do not think you have a serious contamination problem but just want to get rid of bad tastes or smells in your water, activated carbon filters are a good and economical choice. However, you will want to make sure that you know exactly what contaminants the filter you purchase is designed to remove, as not all carbon filters are equally as effective against certain types of contaminants. The most important thing to do before you go out and purchase a water filtration system, however, is to determine what exactly you are trying to remove from your water. The types of contaminants found in your water will vary a great deal depending on where you live and what types of pipes you have in your home, and that will directly affect the type of water filter that is right for you.