What’s The Best Water Filtration System?
When you turn on the tap, you expect that the water flowing out of it is safe to drink. While this is largely the case, it can also contain a number of invisible contaminants. These contaminants may alter the taste of your tap water or actually make you, your family member or pets sick. Fortunately, there are a number of filter system options available to remove most of what makes your drinking water less than pure.
What Can Contaminate Your Drinking Water?
Essentially, anything that drinking water interacts with as it makes its way to your home can make it less appealing to consume. For instance, it may interact with calcium or other minerals as it makes its way through the ground, through your home’s plumbing system and through the tap.
If there are pesticides in the ground, it can also get into your drinking water and make it hazardous to consume in large quantities. There is also a risk that water is contaminated by animal feces, microplastics and other manmade products that we use on a daily basis.
Bacteria and viruses can also enter your drinking water due to issues at treatment plants or because of backflow problems with your plumbing system. Finally, water can be contaminated by volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are generated by power plants or other commercial activity in the area.
How to Determine the Best System for Your Home
There are several steps that you can take to determine which filtration system is best for your property. The first step is to conduct testing to determine what is in your water whether it be viruses, heavy elements or VOCs.
You can verify test results by contacting your local water provider. The local utility provider has a wealth of data regarding water quality as well as which contaminants you’re most likely to deal with.
If your home is dealing with multiple contaminants, you may have to pick the one or two that you want to eliminate the most. For instance, you may decide that you want to get rid of viruses in water while putting up the consequences of hard water.
Alternatively, you could opt for multiple filtration systems in various parts of your house. For example, you could use a water softener in the bathroom while using a UV system throughout your home to eliminate bacteria.
Finally, the cost of a given system will likely determine how aggressive you can be. Typically, filtration devices that fit onto your faucet tap or that fit onto a jug of water are going to be less expensive than a whole home water softener or UV system.
What Are Your Options?
Perhaps the best option for removing most debris that tries to make its way into your home’s water is a reverse osmosis (RO) filtration system. The RO filter is designed to only allow water molecules to pass through while forbidding anything larger to pass. Therefore, you won’t have to worry about metals or viruses in your drinking or bathing water.
A UV filter is also great at protecting against bacteria and viruses in your water. However, it is not so great against metals and other items that you should be concerned about. Therefore, it’s often best to combine the UV system with a RO filtration system or with the use of carbon activated filters.
Activated carbon filters work by absorbing items such as chlorine or VOCs. Furthermore, it can do a great job against odors caused by whatever might be contaminating your water. It’s important to note that this type of filter needs to be replaced regularly as it can only absorb so much material because it becomes ineffective.
Finally, a multi-layered water filtration system may be best for those who want water that smells good and tastes great. Such a system combines activated carbon and RO layers to remove chlorine, metals and plastics from the water. When combined with a UV system, you might have the safest water in the entire neighborhood.
If you are concerned about your home’s water quality, don’t hesitate to contact the team at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing today. We’ll be at your home promptly ready to meet your needs in a timely and affordable manner. Remember, if there is any delay, it’s you we’ll pay for the unwarranted interruption to your daily routine.
