Water is a crucial element to human survival. It keeps us clean, it keeps us alive, it can cool us down on hot, parched days and it can keep us going in even the most adverse conditions.

So, it is little wonder, then, that human civilization has spent a considerable amount of mental and physical energy in attempting to optimize water to best suit its needs. One of the latest (and perhaps most important) is the current technology to filter water.

Why Filter Water?

Water comes naturally in its “hard” form, meaning that it contains minerals, metal and calcium deposits that, while not necessarily dangerous, can make water taste bad and hinder its abilities as a cleaning solvent.

Many people simply prefer the taste of filtered water, which most describe as “clean” and “refreshing.” Hard, unfiltered water also presents problems for people trying to use it to clean windows and other things. The mineral, metal and calcium deposits in hard water leave calcified rings and stains on a variety of materials, including porcelain, tile, glass, and stone.

There are lots of different types of filtration systems, each with their own strong points and drawbacks, but each is best suited to a particular use. With a little research, it will not be difficult to find the water filtration system that best suits the needs of you and your family.

Quick breakdown the types of water filtration systems.

Charcoal Water Filters

Charcoal water filters are at the top of the heap of filtration systems. They are by far the most popular, most widely available and the easiest to use. There are two subsets of charcoal water filters.

Carbon block filters employ a solid series of layers of carbon and charcoal, patterned into the shape of a honey comb. These types of filters are considered the best in the industry, but they are very slow in filtering water.

Silver-impregnated charcoal filters works like a standard charcoal filter, but it has a far superior ability to kill microbes and bacteria.

Remember, carbon filters do not affect the pH balance of the water that passes through it. For homes that have hard water leaning toward either the acidic or the alkaline side of the pH scale, a carbon water filter will not bring it into balance.

Ceramic Water Filters

A ceramic water filter is a cartridge-based system that use diatoms, tiny algae fossils, to filter the water through. These types of filters are incredibly reliable at filtering water fine enough to prevent microbial and bacterial infection.

The two drawbacks to ceramic water filters are that they are really slow in filtering water, and that they are very expensive. Whereas charcoal filters can be had for relatively cheap, ceramic water filters may just break your budget.

Reverse Osmosis Water Filters

Reverse osmosis is a type of filtration that pulls water upward through a membrane that is so fine that it can separate salt from seawater, making it perfectly drinkable. The key to using a reverse osmosis water filtration system is generating the proper amount of pressure, to pull unfiltered water upward through the membrane, and then allowing it to percolate downward into a fresh water reservoir. The principle is the same one that many plants use to extract water from beneath top soil. It is a slow process, but incredibly potent.

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