What Is The Best Water Filter To Use?It's a popular topic of conversation these days, and it should be. We all know that clean, pure water is the single-most important part of our diet. We can go without food for many days if necessary - weeks even, in some cases - but without water we're in big trouble in a big hurry! It seems like we hear something new and disturbing about the public water supply every week. 
A widely discussed news release from March 10, 2008 reported that pharmaceutical residues are now showing up in public water supplies.Not good, that's for sure. There are a number of contaminants making their way into our lives via the kitchen sink. Here's a few to pique your interest: Chlorine, fluoride, pesticide runoff, industrial contaminants, heavy metals, pathenogenic microorganisms, and now, pharmaceutical residues?? What's next? The main point is, it's not such a great idea to drink untreated tap water, or to cook with it for that matter. Get a water filter and use it for filtering your tap water before drinking or cooking with it. The best water filter for you depends on what your needs are. Water filters come in a range of sizes and prices. If you are a renter, and just want something small and affordable, you'll probably want to get something like a counter-top water filter which comes with its own pitcher. You might also consider a filter unit which you can attach right to the faucet. You just switch it on when you want to filter the water, or leave it off if you're washing dishes. A number of faucet filters even have a little meter right on the unit which tells you when its time to replace the filter. In Search of the Very Best Water Filter....There's a number of options for water filtration, including:- reverse osmosis As I'm not a homeowner (yet) I've not done a huge amount of research to qualify as an expert in recommending the very best water filter for a whole house system . But I do want to provide my readers with as much information as possible to make an informed decision. Here's what I've got so far:Best Water Filter - OptionsGranular Carbon Granular carbon absorption filters are the most widely sold method for removing unpleasant tastes and odors, and they do remove substantial amounts of chlorine as well. Because of these features, they're well-suited for homes on municipal water sources. If you have a countertop pitcher style water filter it most likely There are only a few models, however, which are certified to remove lead, asbestos, volatile organic chemicals (VOC's), cysts, and coliform. Most do not remove other heavy metals, microbes or bacteria. While they are affordable and easy to use they do have some negative aspects to consider. As the carbon accumulates impurities from the filtering process, these impurities can become breeding grounds for unfriendly bacteria. In a similar fashion, as chemical impurities build up in the filter to a certain saturation point, they'll render the carbon granules inneffective. Once the graules have reached that saturation point they can no longer absorb any more impurities, and can actually begin to release built up impurities back into the water being poured through the filter. And finally, as the granules are not packed super-tightly inside the filter, to allow water to pass through, they can settle in certain ways which open up channels where the water can pour through too quickly, without sufficient contact with the carbon granules to effectively remove impurities. Best Water Filter - Options Solid Block Carbon Solid Block Carbon filters are made from finely pulverized activated carbon mixed with a binding medium and formed into a solid block. These carbon filters don't have the problems associated with granular carbon filters. Most carbon block filters have such a fine porous structure that they're able to filter out coliform and other pathenogenic bacteria, pathogenic cysts such as giardia, and lighter-weight volatile organic chemicals (VOC's). Best Water Filter - Options Reverse Osmosis Reverse osmosis filters trap impurities by forcing water through a semi-permeable membrane, which needs to be replaced from time to time as sediment builds up. Reverse Osmosis water filters are good for removing lead and other heavy metals, something called total dissolved solids (TDS), asbestos, radium and something else called dissolved organics. Hey, I'm no scientist, I'm just reporting on what I've dug up from my research thus far. . . :) They also remove organophosphate pesticides, chlorinated pesticides, and the heavier-weight volatile organic chemicals. They are not as effective at removing lighter-weight volatile organic chemicals and other pesticides which have chemical compounds which are either too small or too lightweight to be caught and filtered out. A couple of things to consider before investing in a reverse osmosis filtration system: They use anywhere from 3 to 9 gallons of water per gallon of purified water produced. However, the wastewater can be collected for uses other than drinking. Also, it takes about 3 to 4 hours for a residential unit to produce one gallon of purified water. Some sources recommend using a combination of Reverse Osmosis and Carbon Filtration. Distillers Distilled water systems remove pathenogenic mocroorganisms and some other pollutants including trivalent arsenic, fluoride, lead and mercury. The do not remove organic chemicals and chlorine. Most home distillers come with a carbon filter as well to remove the remaining chemicals and chlorine. Best Water Filter - Options Ceramic These filters are usually used in countertop models, though they can be desgined for whole house systems too. They are usually made of a combination of diatomaceous earth and something called nano-silver. They filter out bacteria and pathenogenic microorganisms. Best Water Filter - Options Ultraviolet Radiation UV radiation treatment is effective at killing batceria, viruses and other pathenogenic microorganisms. You can intall a UV treatment system under the sink, or get one for the whole house. UV bulbs need to be replaced about once a year. Best Water Filter - Options Ozonation Ozone is used in place of chlorine in hot tubs and swimming pools and can be intalled as a whole house system. It kills bacteria and other pathenogenic microorganisms and can remove some pesticide residue as well. I love this system for pools and hot tubs as I'm The National Geographic Green Guide is an excellent resource, so I'm providing a link to their article on types of water filters; including the positives, the negatives, and a detailed list of contaminants currently found in public drinking water. With the way things are going these days in the public
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