The entire human population is witnessing a constant downgrade of the quality of tap water. Even the purest places on Earth are becoming problematic and in the very near future there will hardly be a place that has a 100 percent clean tap water. Unless you happen to be in one, it was high time you started considering a domestic water filtration unit. There are several possibilities and the following lines will help you choose one that will meet your present and future requirements.
Initial concerns
The most important concern when it comes to choosing the most suitable domestic water filtration unit is knowing what contaminants are present in your tap water since different impurities demand different filtering approaches. All responsible towns and cities publish local water quality reports based on official water quality guidelines and this is what you need to check first. On the other hand, if you happen to live in a particularly problematic area, hiring a professional to additionally test your water would be a smart decision, all in order to be absolutely certain what your biggest concerns are.
Filtration
If the water testing you or the municipality authorities performed resulted in the list of the contaminants that show an increased presence of heavy metals or VOCs, granular activated carbon (GAC) filters are the solution. Their operation is simple but highly effective. The contaminants are held by the filter pores, broken down or absorbed by the filter media resulting in purified drinking water.
UV treatment
If bacteria that were found in your water are the only contaminant and concern, UV water treatment is the perfect solution. As the name says it, this purification method is based on the ultra violet radiation or energy produced by UV lamps that is harmless to humans in this shape and volume and lethal for all types of bacteria. The reason why it is so effective lies in the fact that it affects the DNA of the microorganisms, rearranges it and disables them from reproducing, thus eliminating them for good. Simple but effective against 99.9% of harmful microorganism without any chemicals being involved.
Reverse osmosis
RO purification systems may seem complex at the first glance, but they operate on a simple principle. Tap water is pushed through a semipermeable membrane which lets only water to pass and keeps all particles and impurities larger than 0.001 microns. In a recent chat with Sydney-based reverse osmosis experts, it was brought to my attention that these contaminants are not kept anywhere, they are immediately flushed. This makes RO systems easy to operate and maintain, which often proves to be very important for consistent use and functionality of any filtering system.
Two system types
All water purification systems exist in two variants and it is another notion that needs to be taken into consideration before making a final choice. There are a point-of-entry (POE) and a point-of-use (POU) type. POE practically covers the entire house, that is, all water using points of the house. The best location for installation of this type is next to the water meter or storage tanks for those households that use personal wells. On the other hand, POU systems, just like their name says is, are located where the filtered water is used. Since they target a single unit, they are produced in much wider variety than POE ones and can be highly customized.
Which system you should use depends on the type of contaminants that were found in your tap or well water. Combinations of various systems are also an option if the contaminants are of such variety that they cannot be eliminated using a single method. Remember, your principle goal is to have a healthy drinking water and do not stop until you make it happen.