The next time you take a drink of filtered water, don’t take it for granted. Worldwide, 1 in 9 people do not have access to clean drinking water. This fills half of the world’s hospital beds with individuals suffering from a water-related disease.

Filtered water is a luxury, but the real question is how filtered is your water? Water filtration systems can now be installed throughout your entire home. Even for water that you don’t necessarily drink, such as the shower. There are several benefits of having a whole house water filtration system.

What is a water filtration system?

Water is essential to every part of life, so where does your water come from? It is common knowledge that drinking water straight from the tap can be harmful on the body. Contaminants in everyday tap water can include chlorine, lead, and other bacteria. This can create foul smelling or tasting water, and can pose a risk that harmful substances enter the body.

For these reasons more and more individuals are filtering their own water. A water filtration system helps decontaminate water by using a mechanical, absorption, sequestration, ion exchange, or reverse osmosis filter. Each of these methods filters water differently, thus a combination is typically used in most filtration systems.

The goal of a whole house water filtration system is to provide clean, potable, drinking water straight from your tap. They are typically installed in a small space, usually under the sink. Resources like iPropertyManagement.com point out the leading types of water filtration systems, so that you may choose the right one for your home.

How does it work?

A water filtration system works by removing unwanted contaminants from the water. Since contaminants may be found in various forms, there are a variety of filtration methods.

• Mechanical: A mechanical filter is basically a physical barrier. It uses a mesh or ceramic filter with a complex pore structure to trap various sized particles. Mechanical filters can typically filter particles sized from 0.5 to 5 microns.

• Absorption: An absorption filter is powered mostly by carbon and removes water-borne contaminants. Carbon works well because it has a large internal surface with several pockets to trap chemical impurities such as chlorine.

• Sequestration: This method of filtering means chemically isolating a substance. Polyphosphate is used in this type of filter, which sequesters calcium and magnesium that causes limescale and corrosion.

• Ion Exchange: Ion exchange is an advanced method that literally replaces hard water caused by negative ions such as magnesium, with soft water containing sodium or hydrogen ions. This is what is meant by a ‘soft-water system’.

• Reverse Osmosis: This process also addresses the magnesium and calcium ions. Reverse osmosis removes these dissolved inorganic solids by forcing them through a semipermeable membrane under pressure. This causes water to pass through, but leaves most of the contaminants behind.

What most individuals want in their home is a combination of all these methods. A combination filter system can purify water to a specific level of purity. It is important to know what the goal of your filtration is to be able to elect the best water filtration system for your home.

Benefits of a water filtration system

As if clean water isn’t motivation enough to install a whole-house water filtration system, there are several other benefits. The truth is some water bottle companies have even less regulations than tap water standards. In addition, when you consider cost, buying water bottles is not always a feasible solution.

This leaves individuals searching for a new, healthy way to drink better water. Whole-house water filtration systems are ideal because they deliver filtered water straight from the tap, so you can drink, wash, and use anytime with fewer risks.

If you’ve ever noticed a weird taste or smell from your tap water, this is due to contaminants such as chlorine. A water filtration system can produce better smelling and tasting water by reducing water contaminants. In addition, it saves you money that you would otherwise be wasting on water bottles or water shipments. Some water filtration systems can be right around $500, but you will find that it quickly pays for itself. It is water - just think about how much water you use and in how many ways?

Another benefit is that clean water is better for the body. Even using water for cooking purposes can be risky when using contaminated water. With a water filtration system, you know your water is safe to ingest no matter how you use it.