One of the essential elements needed to sustain life, Water also needs some maintenance from us. Water Filters is all about we are going to see in this article, which is equally required for the maintenance. If the liquid that we use, is not in a healthy condition it can cause harm to us. To solve this issue, came the water filter mechanism which can help in removing a significant amount of chemicals and pollutants present in the solution.

These water filters not only purify your water but also remove any foul smell if any present. Now if you want to get the maximum benefit of the water filter mechanism, you need to choose the best filter among the available filters in the market. So we are writing this article to lower that search-task by displaying the most efficient filters for you.

There are different kind of water filters available according to the need of the user. Make a proper study of your need and choose the best-suited one accordingly.

Type of Best Water Filter

The water filters have been classified based on where and how much water is to be purified. These types are:

Reverse Osmosis System – RO system uses a membrane for filtering the water and removing any pollutants from it. It is also found that RO is joined with Powdered Activated Charcoal that is used for reducing the chlorine level in the water. This semipermeable membrane filters out many particles which have a larger size than water and gives out clear water after it is passed through the membrane. In this process, some amount of water is also removed which causes wastage. For water filter process of contaminated water, this one is a good choice, but it fails to provide a reduction of Volatile Organic Chemical (if carbon filters not included). And the filtration process can take a lot of time. Also, the water filters are needed to be often changed. Read the reverse osmosis water filter reviews.

Activated Carbon Filter – In this filtration system, carbon with high absorption rate is used. This carbon is positively charged and is used in filtration of impurities. The types of filters included in this are, under the sink, countertop and also as tap filtering system. These kind of filters are good at improving the taste of the liquid, in removing any odor and also the smell of chlorine. This water filter system is very much effective in reducing the pollutants, which include some heavy metals also like lead, mercury and copper, and also pesticides, VOC(Volatile Organic Chemical). Read the activated carbon water filter review.

Distiller – This water filter system works by boiling the solution and performing re-condensation on the purified steam. The distillers can be used for almost every unit of house needs. One of them is Countertop Distillers. These distillers are efficient ones, but they take some amount of extra time to distil the solution. They work on electricity, dissipate heat and some of the fans included in the machine, makes noise also. We will see two types of Countertop Distillers. Read more on distiller water filter review.

• Megahome Countertop Distiller: There are many water filter kind of distillers that are sold under this brand name. Even if they are less expensive, there are a lot of products of this brand available. It can provide one gallon of water in five hours. The connections through which purified solution passes is sealed. Therefore, the possibility of water getting contaminated due to air is reduced. The stainless steel unit is also attached so that it can be easily cleaned by the user.
• Waterwise Countertop Distiller: This works more efficient than the previously mentioned filter. This filter can produce one gallon of water in four hours. Rated as one of the excellent water filter choices.

Ultraviolet Disinfection – As the name says, the ultraviolet light is used in water filter process. These units are installed under the sink and also include carbon filters which help in removal of any pests and microorganisms if present.

The Right Water Purification System for Water Filter

As you are going to choose the right purification system as per your need, you have to consider a lot of points before deciding the system. The main parameter to be considered is the quality of the water in your area. Considering the choice of the water filter system, if you are going to buy a comparatively large system, you need to take some help from the system officials with the installation. Otherwise if dealing with smaller systems, you can handle it on your own.

Based on the requirements, we have classified filters in 3 categories. They are:

• Pitcher Water Filter – In this purifier system, charcoal is the primary player who performs the filtration. Charcoal in the form of granules is used in this, which helps in removing the pollutants. This investment is one of the economical ones and long lasting also, but such water filters still require a usual change of cartridge within some time.
  They are helpful in improving the taste of the solution. Here the carbon is not in the solid form, so it may not be able to clean the toxic completely from the solution. They are useful in reducing the chlorine contents, still is not much suitable for home usage. Read the pitcher water filter review.
• Faucet Purifier System – This is for such cases, where the solution that is used for bathing, cleaning clothes and other uses is in good condition. But the one used for drinking purpose needs to be more purified.
  In this water filter system, a small device is placed on the tap and with just one click you can get filtered solution from the taps. This system usually contains three-step processing, which includes sediment, KDF and activated carbon filter. Read the faucet water filter review.

• Whole House Filter System – In those cases where the quality of solution used for almost all purpose is of very low quality, then this option should be considered. This water filter system is comparatively high in cost, but then its efficiency is a lot better than the previously mentioned filters. These filters can place at the point of contact where the supply valve is getting connected with the house.
  These filters are capable of removing minute particles also. The water filter system runs for a long period and performs hard before actually needing a replacement. Read the whole house water filter review.

Contents of Waters and Drawbacks of Bottled Water

Do you know, there are about 310 chemicals and pollutants present in the water according to the Environmental study. Now some of the main pollutants found in water are:

• Volatile Organic Chemical – This content is found in fertilizers, pesticides. It is found that most of the municipal water resources contain this pollutant. They can damage the liver, reproductive system and also kidney functioning.
• Fluoride – This element has been in debate. The consumption of fluoride can help in teeth benefits, but the drinking of fluoride has not been much beneficial, though. This component has been responsible for thyroid affecting cases.
• Heavy Metals – They mainly include Mercury and Lead. Responsible for many health issues.
• Endocrine Affecting Chemicals – This may be responsible for the improper working of the hormones in the body.

So what is your escape from using this kind of water which is full of contaminants?

You may say one option like bottled water. But some of the points to be considered in this:

• Bottled water is a good choice, and also one of the cleaner options. Still, it is not the better choice because of some limitations found in this.
• The chemicals found in the plastic bottles is found to be exploiting the solution content badly.
• There is no surety of the water quality inside the cylinders, and sometimes it would be same tap liquid.
• By use of bottles, you are adding more of consumer waste.
• The cost of bottled water is more than the standard tap solution using for drinking purpose.

Is there any difference between Reverse Osmosis Systems and Water Softeners?

One of most used water filter system that is adopted by many people, even for homely needs is the RO system. RO stands for Reverse Osmosis. In the RO system, pressure is applied to the flow of fluid for purification. The pressure causes the liquid to pass through a semipermeable surface, which helps in accumulating all the solid particles and pass the purified solution out of the surface.

RO devices work very nicely, but it is not suitable for the liquid softening purpose. They are more of water filter and less of the water softener. RO system can be used for treating solid solution sometimes, but it is mainly designed for the liquid purification purpose. So if you want to purchase some device for softening the liquid, this does not serve the purpose.

Also to mention, the RO system and the faucet filter both of them has this filtering of water in it, but still the RO system has comparatively more complicated than the faucet filter. Therefore, reverse osmosis is more of water filter and also it is practically not advisable to use this system for softening of the solution.

List of Product Standards by Technology

These are the seven NSF/ANSI standards that are suitable for home usage systems:

1. Filtration: This comes under NSF/ANSI standard number 42 and 53. Carbon filters are used in this mechanism. The pollutants are also decreased for collecting the contaminants in the water filter. The contaminants can be absorbed or broken down also depending on the making of the system.
2. Water Softeners:  This comes under NSF/ANSI standard number 44. Under this criteria, the system uses the positively charged ions for replacement of resin, generated by potassium chloride or sodium chloride, thus reduces the hardness of the liquid. The minerals replace the sodium/potassium ions which depend on the pellets that are used in the system.
3. Ultraviolet (UV) disinfection:  This comes under NSF/ANSI standard number 55. Under this standard, the UV rays are used for water filter process or removal of any organism that depends on for food from other entities from the solution.
4. Reverse osmosis:  This comes under NSF/ANSI standard number 58. In this, the solution undergoes the unnatural flow of liquid. That is, the liquid is passed through a more dense liquid to the less dense fluid which in fact passes through a semi-permeable membrane. Now for such systems, pre and post filters are also present, near to the membrane.
5. Distillers:  This comes under NSF/ANSI 62. In this simple water filter system, the liquid is boiled and then the vapor of the same is collected, then it is condensed. This water filter helps in removing most of the heavy metals. Some of the pollutants will be converted into gaseous form.
6. Shower Filters:  This comes under the NSF/ANSI standard number 177.  The water filter system is used in residential areas and is mainly designed for reducing the chlorine quantity in water.
7. Treatment options for the increasing contaminants: This water filter process comes under NSF/ANSI standard number 401. This system is covered in many of the point-of-use and point-of-entry and has been proved that almost 14 pollutants remain back in the solution after the water perform this process.

So here we are at the end of our topics Water Filters. Consider the water filters reviews according to the need, for example, if you need a filter for drinking water, a tap filter or any other simple filter is recommended. Don’t waste money on the filters which you don’t need, so find the need and make a good choice. If you have got any questions regarding any of the water filter mentioned in the post or you can go from here, to clear them out by saying it in the comment section of WaterGadget!