Do you need a water purifier for your home?
There are lots of reasons to buy a water purifier system for your home. A water purifier machine is both an investment in your health, and the environment as a smart way to reduce your spend on bottled water.
Here are five common reasons for installing home water purifiers:
- Taste and odor
Nobody wishes to drink water that leaves a bad taste, looks dirty or smells horribly. Water purification not only helps remove harmful containments. It also improves the taste and smell of the drinking water at your home. Trace amounts of chlorine or hydrogen sulphide can leave an unpleasant taste or smell in your water, tea or coffee. Get rid of them with a home water purification system. - Health concerns
Diarrhea, dysentery and cholera are just some of the waterborne diseases that might raise health concerns. If your drinking water is contaminated, the consequences could be serious. But these bacteria and viruses can be removed from the water by using reverse osmosis water purification or other types of water filters. - Sustainability
Home drinking water purification can provide a good alternative to bottled water. Pollution associated with the manufacturing of plastic and the subsequent transportation makes bottled water an unsustainable choice compared to tap water. By installing a home water purifier system to improve the quality of your tap water, your drinking water habits become environmentally sustainable. - Extra security
Public water treatment is reliable in many areas, but not always. Pollution, from aging water infrastructure or residue from the use of pesticides is increasingly finding its way into the tap water of homes around the world. Water purifier systems can remove a wide range of impurities from the water and help ensure safe water in your home. Including lead which is an increasing problem in certain parts of the world. - Remove unwanted contaminants
National regulations dictate the tolerance levels of most known contaminants. From then on, it is up to the local authorities to test and verify that the levels are being met. Therefore, citizens are bound to trust the test samples and that action is taken in due time when new contaminants appear. A water purifier at your home allows you to decide the level of contaminants that your water can contain. You simply get to set your own limits.
Benefits of home water purification
Many public water systems use chlorine to disinfect their water supplies. The taste of chlorine makes tap water unattractive and paves the way for a high consumption of bottled water. This is at odds with the increasing global awareness of sustainability, including the need to reduce the use of plastic. The combination of declining trust in water safety and increasing focus on sustainability leads to a rising demand for new solutions that solve the need for tasty, safe, inexpensive drinking water solutions.
First and foremost, household water purification puts control of the drinking water back into the hands of the consumers.
Water purification is not only used for disinfecting your water, but it can also soften your water in order to put less strain on your washing amenities.
If you are relying on bottled water to cover your drinking water needs, private water purification will let you significantly reduce your impact on the environment.
Considerations before getting water purification for the home
Know your drinking water source and quality
Your ideal choice of household water purification depends on the quality of the water you need to purify and what type of contaminants and impurities you need to remove. Check your local water source to make a more informed choice. Are you getting your water from a private well or cistern or through the public supply?
If your drinking water is supplied from a municipal water treatment facility, annual reports about the water quality are usually available. If that is not the case, you can get your own tests done by a certified lab or by using commercially available water testing equipment.
One of the factors to pay attention to is level of total dissolved solids (TDS) in your drinking water. The TDS level is used to measure different types of impurities, salts, minerals or metals and is usually stated as parts per million (ppm) or milligrams per liter (mg/L). Refer to your local health authority for acceptable TDS levels for drinking water in your area.
Reverse Osmosis water purification is the most effective way to reduce the TDS level of your drinking water, as ultraviolet (UV), ultrafiltration (UF) and other conventional filtration methods will not affect TDS.
Do you need to deal with known contaminants or risks?
Investigating the quality of your drinking water supply will alert you to any contaminants or risks that you may have to deal with. These can range from trivial and harmless to quite severe.
Some naturally occurring contaminants like sulfur-containing compounds are not harmful but can affect the taste of the water. They can be removed by several different types of water purification technologies, like activated carbon filters or reverse osmosis systems.
Other more harmful contaminants cannot be detected by taste, scent or sight. This includes volatile organic compounds, lead, arsenic, nitrates and pesticide residues. Boiling and filtration do not remove many of these contaminants, so you may need more effective water purification methods such as a reverse osmosis water purification system.
Where do you want to place your water purification system?
When considering a water purification machine for your household, you should give some thoughts to where you want it located.
Point-of-use water purification systems are available as both countertop machines and under-the-sink purifiers. Wall-mounted or tap-mounted options also exist. Which one is the right choice for your home depends on the available space on or below your kitchen or bathroom counter.
Some under-the-sink systems require extensive modification, such as removing cupboards or cutting holes in the countertop, while other are more hassle-free to install. Some systems require electricity, while others are powered by gravity or water pressure.
If you opt for a countertop water purifier, the size and aesthetics can be a factor, depending on how concerned you are about avoiding clutter in your kitchen.
How much purified water do you need?
Be sure to take your households average water consumption into consideration when choosing a water purification system for your home. You do not want to run out of clean water in the middle of cooking or entertaining guests, so make sure that the capacity of your water purifier is sufficient to meet your needs.
How much time does the purification process require?
How fast your purifier can treat and dispense clean water depends on the technology and design of the system. If your purifier includes a tank, you should consider both the dispensing time, the tank size as well as the time for the tank to fill.
Are you concerned about wasting water?
When drinking water is purified, a portion of the water is wasted during the treatment process. If this is a concern for you, choose a water purification system with little water waste, often referred to as low water recovery rates.
What is your water purification budget?
While you should never have to put a price on your health, safety and peace of mind, water purification systems for home use are available in a wide price range. Balance your needs and budget with the quality, capacity and extra features of the water purification machine.
Maintenance and ongoing costs
The price tag on your new household water purification system is not the only thing you need to consider. A water purifier needs regular cleaning and maintenance, such as changing the filters or rinsing the system. Be sure to factor in the ongoing costs of replacement parts and follow the instructions for maintenance from the manufacturer.
Do you have more questions about drinking water purification?
We are always uplifted by entering dialougues around drinking water purification, so feel free to contacts us here. You can also find out more about the topic here.
