Friday 6 June 2008

A Simple Guide To Home Water Purifiers

If you compare home water purifiers on the basis of price alone, you may end up with an unsatisfactory product. But, this is not a case of you get what you pay for. The most expensive home water purifiers are not the right choice, for most people.


One way to compare home water purifiers is according to the system itself. If you shop around, you will see that there are activated carbon filters, micron filtration, reverse osmosis, distillation and multi-stage systems.


The most expensive system, reverse osmosis, is the wrong choice for most people. At a cost of over $10,000 for a home unit, the systems are large and require professional installation. They waste a large amount of water. At least 50% of the water that goes in cannot be used in the home.


If you live in a coastal region or an island community, reverse osmosis home water purifiers are sometimes recommended to desalinate the water. But, for the majority of people, reverse osmosis is a waste of money and the water could be bad for your health.


Like distillation, reverse osmosis de-mineralizes the water. Trace minerals that are good for your health end up in the waste water. Researchers say that drinking de-mineralized water can cause nutritional deficiencies, digestive problems and complicate existing health problems.


So, when you compare home water purifiers, mark reverse osmosis and distillation off of your list. You want to improve the quality and taste of your tap water. You want to make it safer for your family to drink. A system that strips the natural minerals from the water is not what you want.


Activated carbon filters are popular and affordable. Most of us have chlorinated tap water. More and more reports are saying that chlorine aggravated existing health problems and can cause future health problems. Several different types of cancer have been linked to drinking or showering in chlorinated water. Activated carbon filters out chlorine and most of the other chemicals in your water.


When you compare home water filters with activated carbon, you will see that prices vary a great deal, depending on the manufacturer and the design. For example, whole house filters are logically more expensive than kitchen or shower filters. Pitchers are typically the least expensive, but even the best brands can only remove about 75% of the chlorine and other chemicals.


The importance of micron filtration cannot really be overstated. Treatment facilities use chlorine to kill most of the microbes and other living organisms that inhabit public water supplies. But, some microorganisms, such as cryptosporidium, are resistant to chlorine.


The FDA has stated that checking for cryptosporidium is unfeasible and that it may be present in anyone's tap water. If ingested, the parasite can cause illness and in some cases results in death, particularly in those with weakened immune systems. Micron filtration is necessary to remove cryptosporidium and other microscopic bacteria from your tap water.


So, when you compare home water purifiers, look for carbon activation and micron filtration. Multi-stage systems combine the two processes to provide safe, good tasting drinking water for the home.


Warren Conley is an avid proponent of natural health and a researcher of water purification systems. To learn about the water filtration system that Warren recommends after extensive research, visit http://www.TheNewAndHealthyYou.net


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