Why do you need a water filter? After all, the public supply water from the faucet is safe to drink, isn’t it? The answer is probably a qualified “yes”, but it’s not the whole story. There are so many potential contaminants which can affect the taste and clarity of the water. Chlorine is usually added to remove harmful organisms, but chlorine is bleach, and sometimes the smell and taste can be very strong. Even though the water is safe to drink, do you really want your family to drink water that smells like it came straight from a swimming pool? The water can also appear cloudy and lack the clear, sparkling look of pure water. The taste can be quite bad too.
If you like the idea of pure water, then what’s wrong with buying bottles of water from a nearby store? This will be much purer than the public water, but it is an expensive option. The water has to be shipped from the bottling plant and taken, often hundreds of miles, by truck to your local store. This is costly, and also bad for the environment. Also, the plastic bottle it came in has to be disposed of afterwards, another environmental problem.
The environmentally friendly and sensible economic solution is to use some kind of water filtration system. You can then take the public supply and filter it to remove chlorine and other impurities, resulting in that crystal-clear, odor free appearance that only pure water can have. There will be an initial cost of installing such a system, of course, but if you compare it with the ongoing cost of buying bottled water, then it will soon pay for itself, and also forever get rid of all those plastic bottles.
What are the filter options? They range from the cheapest and most basic; a “pitcher” type of filter jug, which you just fill from the tap and keep in the fridge; thru a “counter top” filter, connected to your cold water faucet, or a dedicated drinking water faucet fed from an under-sink filter, right up to a whole-house solution, so all your existing faucets and appliances that use water can have the pure water too. A water filter system can improve the functionality of your washing machine and dishwasher. If you notice that your white clothes aren’t as white as you think they should be, it can be caused from rust and sediment in the water. If your dishes come out of the dishwasher looking dirty, it is often caused by the minerals in the water that make it hard. That’s where those spots come from. A whole-house water filter system can remove the contaminants from all the water coming into your house, whether it is well-water or water from the public supply. If the water supply is hard, consider a water softener. This will also help both your washing machine and dishwasher to function correctly, and give them a longer life too.
For more information on the options, click the links on the right.