What Water Filter Is Best For Your Home?

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Is the water we drink everyday fit for our consumption? Many different factors such as rapid industrial development, growing population, misuse of water bodies and overall environmental degradation may or do lead to water pollution. Industrial chemicals like heavy metals, pesticides, pharmaceutical residues, etc. are increasingly finding their way into our water supplies. Even some ingredients that water supply bodies use to treat water (such as chlorine, chloramines, fluoride) can cause certain health problems.

This is why using a whole house water filter for your home, or at the very least one good water filter in your home has become absolutely necessary. However, before you go to purchase any particular water purifier, you might first like to know what harmful ingredients are there in your water. We strongly recommend a home water test for this purpose that will help you to know exactly what harmful ingredients are found in your home water supply and need to be removed therefore.

Choosing the Right Water Filter for Your Home
Once you know what contaminants are present in your water, it will be easier to make an informed decision about what kind of filter to buy for your home---and also, what model. Since, not all models and makes of a similar type of water filter (e.g., a pitcher filter) remove the same ingredients and contaminants.

You may often find people querying what is the best water filter or best countertop filter. However, you'll hardly come across models that fall in the 'Fits All' category. What is best depends on what your requirements are. For this reason, it is important that you carefully read the fine print whenever you are buying a specific water filter item for your home  and get to understand exactly what sort of contaminants the product is able to remove.

That said, we can still have a quick look at the most common types of water filters that are available for home use and discuss their advantages as well as the downsides.

Pitcher Filters
Pitcher filters are a simple and cost-effective option. However, bear in mind that they are not as effective at removing contaminants as they are when it comes to improving the odor and taste of your water. Some of the recent best filter pitcher models will effectively remove both chlorine and chloramine. However, remember that in a pitcher filter, the water sits for a long time in plastic and can thus absorb a number of still poorly understood compounds that can be harmful to your health.

Faucet-mount Filters
Faucet-mount filters again are easy to use and make for a relatively inexpensive option. More importantly, however, a majority of these models are able to remove a good number of contaminants. However, again pay attention to the fine prints and get to know exactly what contaminants a specific product will remove. Also, one telling disadvantage of a faucet-mount filter is that you will probably need to fit these filters at more than one location and that augments the cost. Also, although replacement filters do not cost much, they may prove to be expensive in the long run since this type of filters requires more frequent replacements than the others.

Countertop Water Filters
The countertop filters can be used as standalone gravity-fed filters or you can attach them to your faucet (if you happen to have a spacious countertop). If hooked to a faucet, you won't have to refill the filter container manually. Usually, these filters are excellent in removing a good number of harmful ingredients and pollutants from the water. The countertop filters are also low-maintenance and do not require frequent replacements. A replacement filter is able to purify 3,000 gallons of water and the price of the replacement cartridges have come down, too, from what they used to be, say a couple of years ago. The cartridges are currently available at around $60.

Undersink Filter
An undersink filter works in much the same way as a countertop model and requires little maintenance. People normally settle for these models when there is not enough space on the countertop to hook up a filter to the faucet.

Reverse Osmosis (RO) Filters
RO filters use a multi-stage filtration process by combining particle filtration with active carbon. The water is made to pass through a membrane fitted with the tiniest of holes that help remove microorganisms and minerals present in water. Of all other kinds mentioned above, Reverse Osmosis filters perhaps perform the best job in removing contaminants. Additionally, the filters are also good at improving the taste of the water. We especially recommend RO filters if the water source in your locality contains a high amount of dissolved salt in the water. However, since these filters remove all microorganisms and bacteria from the water including those that are beneficial for our health, consuming RO water long-term may lead to certain health issues.

UV and UF Filters
These water filters make use of the latest and most advanced technologies to purify water. UV or Ultra Violet filters, for example, eliminate the microorganisms in water by using a powerful UV lamp. The UV purifiers also does a great job in removing pesticides found in water.

UF or Ultrafiltration filters, on the other hand, uses a high-tech hollow fiber membrane to remove microorganisms as well as chlorine, sand and dust from the water.

All of these last three types of water filters (RO, UV and UF) do a better job in removing contaminants from water as compared to other types of water filters and as you can imagine, they are the most costly options, too. However, as we mentioned, since these filters kill all the bacteria in the water, including the beneficial ones, they may not be ideal for long-term use.

Finally, besides water filters for drinking water, you may also consider installing a Shower Filter or a Whole House Water Filter for added protection.