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We Know That Carbon Filters Give us Clean, Pure Water, But How Do They Remove All Those Impurities From Our Water?
These days many people are concerned about what they are putting into their bodies, after all, our bodies have to last us a long time! In this modern age, hazardous contaminants surround us - in the air, the food we eat and the water we drink. While we can't do much about air pollution, we can be more selective with our food, choosing organic produce, and we can install water filtration systems (known as carbon filters ) in our homes to reduce the amount of contaminants in our drinking water.
Dangers Lurking in Your Tap Water!
Tap water often contains chlorine resistant bacteria such as Giardia and Chryptosporidium , pesticides , herbicides , chlorine , fluoride , heavy metals and a myriad of other harmful contaminants. While water filters can't remove all impurities from your water supply, they can effectively remove over 500 contaminants, ensuring that your drinking water much safer for your health.
Many water filters today are made from charcoal, or activated charcoal which is mostly made up of carbon. Charcoal is the residue of partial burning or destructive distillation of organic material. Destructive distillation means driving off (and collecting) gas from some matter by heating it in the absence of air. When special heating or chemical processing is added to charcoal, it becomes much more able to absorb, and is then referred to as "activated charcoal". So a charcoal filter works on the principle of absorption. Large volumes of gases, including most poisonous ones, stick to the charcoal, which is quite porous and because it has such a large porous surface area, it absorbs a lot of impurities. Charcoal filters are used in icemaker filters, under-sink filters, countertop filters, shower filters and whole house water filters .
Before Purchasing a Water Filter....
Now you know how water filters work, there are a still a few more things to consider before making that final purchase.
- Have your water tested. Ask your local water utility for the Municipal Drinking Water Contaminant Analysis Report. This report will tell you what is in your drinking water and determine which type of filter to purchase.
- Make sure that you have a replacement filter on hand as water filter cartridges must be changed regularly. If you use old filters, you're putting back all the contaminants you took out of the water.
So with this new-found knowledge, you will be able to get on-line and buy the right carbon filter for your life-style, then sit back, relax and enjoy a nice cool glass of pure, clean water!
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