As you return after a tiresome day, you head over to the sink, fill the glass with water and drink it. But is the drinking water clean?
Of course, you live in a developed country and must think that the tap water or your water supply is pure and follows the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. Unfortunately, the water running out of your faucet isn’t as clean as it should be and might be loaded with harmful chemicals, toxins, bacteria, and other contaminants.
That’s when water purification and having water filters installed enter the picture. From bacteria to chlorine, water filters come in handy for removing all impurities from water so that you can enjoy fresh, clean, healthy, and better-smelling drinking water. Not only that, but they also eliminate foul taste and odour from water, making it a must-have for every homeowner instead of buying bottled water.
Considering that not everyone is well-versed with water filters, we’ve curated this informative guide to walk you through everything you must know. Let’s jump right in, then!
What Are Water Filters?
Water filters eliminate impurities such as sediments, chemical compounds, biological contaminants, organic and inorganic materials, water hardness, foul taste, and odour. When all the impurities are cleaned from water through water filtration, their quality is improved and considered safe for drinking and other purposes.
Why Is Water Filtration Important?
As you turn the tap, crystal clear water flows out of it, and it must appear to you that it is clean and pure. For those unversed, let us tell you that water impurities aren’t always visible to the naked eye. And that’s why it’s impossible to determine the water quality based on its appearance.
Not everyone has a strong immune system, particularly infants and older people. As a result, drinking contaminated water can result in adverse health issues, such as stomach illnesses, respiratory troubles, kidney problems, etc.
Besides physical, chemical, and biological processes, another parameter to determine existing tap water quality is to check the levels of organic and inorganic chemicals.
Before tap water is released from the water filtration facility, it is filtered to eliminate impurities and contaminants and ensure the residents receive pure water. On top of that, authorities also check the water quality after filtration to ensure it meets the standards and only then is it released into the municipal feed lines.
However, the problem arises when it passes through pipelines that are decades old, corroded or contaminated. Water travels through these channels for a long time, and in the process, it picks up impurities and carries them along, polluting the filtered water.
Ways To Purify Your Water
If you don’t want to fall sick from drinking contaminated water, installing a water filter is about time. That said, we’ll discuss some of the mechanical filtration and common water filtration methods so that you get a fair idea of the filters available on the market.
1. Ion Exchange Filters and Deionisation (DI)
Deionisation eliminates ions or dissolved contaminants from water in a chemical filtration or chemical process. At the same time, ion exchange filters are excellent for impurity concentrations that aren’t too high.
Deionisation filters employ hydrogen and hydroxyl ion-charged beads swapped for anions and cations. When entering the filter, metallic ions are replaced by hydrogen, trapped in the beads. Consequently, the anions are exchanged for hydroxyl ions, later merged with hydrogen, and mineral-free water is obtained.
2. Activated Carbon and Granular Activated Carbon (GAC)
From volatile compounds (VOCs) to sediment, the activated carbon filtration method eliminates many impurities from water by relying on adsorption. An activated carbon filter is more appropriate to remove naturally occurring or disinfection tastes and odours from water.
Granular activated carbon filters (GAC) and powdered carbon block filters are two types of carbon filters used for decontaminating water. Nevertheless, they don’t eliminate dissolved inorganic compounds, minerals and salts from water.
3. Reverse Osmosis (RO)
Instead of one, Reverse Osmosis Systems (RO) employ several filters to purify water from impurities and contaminants. When it comes to eliminating higher concentrations of pollutants from water, no one does the job better than RO.
Thanks to its five filters, this filtration process is one of the most effective methods to eliminate viruses and bacteria from water.
4. Distillation
Even though it is the oldest, it’s one of the simplest ways to decontaminate water and filter water. It evaporates water collected in a separate container by heating water at exceptionally high temperatures. Later, the vapour is condensed into liquid form for drinking purposes.
However, it would help if you remembered that this method is virtually ineffective in eliminating chlorine and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How To Select A Water Filter For Households?
With plenty of water filter systems on the market, selecting the right water filter is no easy task. Besides the degree of purification required, you’ll have to consider total water use, total dissolved solids (TDS) and maintenance costs. Of course, you need to prepare a budget to avoid overspending.
2. Do Water Filters Eliminate Pungent Taste And Odour From Water?
Water filters eliminate weird taste, odour and smell from water, so you can rest assured you won’t have to drink bad-tasting water again.
The Importance Of Water Filters In Your Home
On that note, we’ve reached the end of our informative guide on water filters.
To sum it up, these devices are one of the most practical solutions every homeowner must consider installing in their space. They eliminate harmful contaminants, heavy metals and other impurities. Filtered tap water also gives a better taste to unfiltered water.
Don’t forget to replace the filters and filter cartridges every three to six months to maintain your unit. You need not spend a fortune to buy a water filter as plenty of reasonably priced options are on the market, so take your pick wisely.
Talk to the team at Fixed Today if you want to replace or install a water filter in Sydney or discover more about water filtration technology and how the water treatment process can eliminate chemical contaminants from your drinking water. Our company provides same-day premium services and has years of experience handling various types and brands of water filters.
With that, we’ll conclude our guide for the day. Until next time!
