An Overview of Home Water Treatment Systems
Here’s a big shocker: Humans need water to survive. About 75% of your body is made of water. All of your organs require water in order to do their job. However, when you drink a glass of water from the tap, you are drinking far more than just water. You are drinking all the microbes and minerals and fungi that hitched a ride on the H2O highway. On top of that, the municipal water filtration systems clean the bad guys out of your water by adding chemicals and poisons to kill them off. Those chemicals can have a negative impact on your health as well.
So how do you get yourself the drinking water you need, but not all the bacteria, fungi, hard minerals, and chemicals? We’re glad you asked. Here are a few options you have for whole house filtration water systems, and their pros and cons:
An Overview of Home Water Treatment Systems
- Bottled Water
Rather than drinking the potentially harmful water that comes out of your tap, you can just bring in bottled water that has been filtered in a factory. There are even bottled water services that will deliver bottled water straight to your home, offerin
convenience. These services also recycle the jugs that the water is brought in, which reduces waste.Pros: Bottled water is a solution when you don’t own the home you live in, and don’t have the option of altering the water system. It also involves relatively few up-front costs, and a low monthly fee for the service.
Cons: Even if you use a service that recycles the jugs water is delivered in, the plastic jugs eventually end up in a landfill. Also, the transportation of bottled water makes it the least environmentally-friendly option for filtered water. Not to mention, not all water filtering companies are created equal; some water filtration companies produce water that is worse than what comes out of your tap. - Reverse Osmosis
If you ever took a high school chemistry class, you know that osmosis is the process in which water moves to a place of least density. Reverse osmosis utilizes this principle. The water molecules pass through a fine membrane, which filters out any crud that has hitched a ride with the water. The product of reverse osmosis is pure H2O.
Pros: Reverse osmosis is one of the best in-home water systems available on the market. The water quality is exceptional and after the initial setup costs, the on-going expense of a reverse osmosis system is equal to a few extra toilet flushes per month.
Cons: The initial cost of acquiring a reverse osmosis setup tends to put it out of the realm of feasibility to many people. Also, some people point out that a lot of water is wasted through reverse osmosis. However, many reverse osmosis systems utilize this water in other ways, such as in sprinkler systems, to reduce waste. If you opt to use a reverse osmosis system, make sure to do your research. - Water Distiller
A water distiller works by heating the water to a boiling point, and then collecting the steam that the water evaporates into. The steam is converted back into water in its purest form. Most of the contaminants in the water have a higher boiling point, so only the water molecules make it into the final product.
Pros: Distilled water is an extremely clean option. In fact, many baby formula manufacturers and coffee maker manufacturers recommend using distilled water in their product, because of the consistent quality of the water that is produced by a distilled water system.
Cons: The process of boiling every drop of water that goes through your home uses a lot of energy. If you are an environmentally-conscious person, you might find the amount of energy expended during the water distilling process to be a drawback. It also creates higher ongoing costs than other water treatment options. If you are going to utilize water distilling for your in home filtration, you might opt to use a system in an isolated area, such as the kitchen sink, so that the water that flows through the toilets or the shower isn’t wasting energy.
What do you think? Do you have anything to add to this list? Please share your input in the comment section below!
