There are as many as 2000 contaminants in water, when untreated. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets 90 water contaminants as the acceptable level for potable drinking water. Still, this acceptable number can perilously increase with time because of the inevitable accumulation of rust and dirt on your pipes and faucets.
Why not use a whole house water filter to solve the problem of water contaminants at its root? Why the fuss when even the EPA has declared that 90 contaminants are acceptable? Well, because you never really know what harmful contaminants made it through your water supplier’s filtration process!
What Contaminants Are Removed
When you use a whole house water filter, you remove as many as 20 harmful water contaminants! Any one of these can cause illnesses and diseases, which often manifest themselves almost immediately.
Heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, mercury, selenium, cadmium and copper pose health risks. Arsenic causes cancer, nervous system damage, hormonal dysfunctions, and skin problems; when ingested in large doses, it can kill a fully grown man (and horse, judging by Phar Lap’s death 75 years ago).
Lead and mercury damage brains and the nervous system. The other heavy metals can cause nausea and diarrhea, to say the least. The worst is that these are carcinogenic, too. If these heavy metals are not reason enough to use a whole house water filter, then pesticides, microbes, disinfectants, and gasoline additives should convince you.
Pesticides removed by a whole house water filter include atrazine, lindane, simazine, and toxaphene, to name a few. These might seem tongue-twisting and alien to you, but these are hormone disruptors and possess carcinogenic properties. These compounds can cause lung, kidney, heart, and nervous system damage.
Though some microbes are not dangerous in themselves, they are indicators of the presence of more harmful organisms. The least problems you have to face are diarrhea, but for family members whose immune systems are weak, these can cause death. You would rather spend on a whole house water filter than spend on hospital bills and funeral services, right?
How the Components of a Water Filter Works
This type of filter works by using many stages of the filtration process. KDF filters kill algae and fungi while removing heavy metals. It also controls bacterial growth within the filter itself.
Granular activated carbon (GAC) removes chlorine and other organic contaminants, which results in better-tasting and better-smelling water. The solid carbon cartridge in a solid block activated carbon (SBAC) stage removes arsenic, pesticides, and gasoline additives, among others.
Ceramic balls are used for their small and complex pore structure. As such, it helps to remove heavy metals and stimulates antibacterial action. The micron filter pads eliminate the junk particles that you see floating around in your tap water. Ion exchange resins facilitate the demineralization of water, which results in pure water that has therapeutic benefits.
The next time you drink water from your tap that went through your whole house water filter, you will be assured that you are drinking water that has been removed of almost all its impurities. So, drink up and get healthy now!