Lesley Pinkett asked:




Have you read the newspaper today? Did you notice that many of the diseases that are mentioned there are waterborne? It’s a sad fact that of all the diseases in the world the most widespread are waterborne diseases causing many thousands of deaths every day.

Now is the time to be more concerned about you and your own family’s health. And, one way to ensure they stay safe is by using home water purifiers and filters to reduce or avoid the risk of acquiring water-borne diseases.

But do you know how to distinguish a water filter from a water purifier? Do you know which of the two you need? This article will help you determine which is best for your family:

Water Filters

Water filtration is the most basic way of creating the best drinking water. It involves two common methods – boiling and use of chemicals.

Boiling Helps in Eliminating Most of the Microorganisms

Many people are used to boiling water to get rid of most of the harmful bacteria. When I was a child my mother did this regularly as our home was supplied with water from a well.

According to health experts, protozoans and bacteria are killed at the first boiling bubble. Then, after approximately three minutes, the rest of the microorganisms will follow.

The main disadvantage of boiling is that larger particles may not be removed so further filtration might still be required. If you’re camping then it’s a good, if crude method of purifying water. However, if you’re at home, there are much more efficient methods you can use.

Chemical Treatment to Kill Bad Bugs

To get rid of the microorganisms, another option can be employed – the use of chemicals such as iodine and chlorine.

What are the advantages of using chemicals in treating water? The main one is that it’s inexpensive and easy to use. But take note that if the water is cold, it will take more time to clean it with iodine. There’s also a tendency for iodine to be absorbed by the dirt and debris in water, which should be considered in deciding the dosage to use.

Chlorine bleach can be used instead of iodine if you need a longer-term solution. The good thing about chlorination is that it causes dirt and debris to go to the bottom of the container of the water making it clearer to look at.

However, before using chlorine to purify water, make sure that the chemical you are using is not more than six months old because it can be less effective. Also, since chlorine as a disinfectant is also very poisonous, overdosing the water with chlorine can be harmful to one’s health.

These two methods of water filtration can be considered as traditional filtration methods. The increasing number of contaminants has led to the need for more advanced filtration systems which can be considered home water purifiers and filters.

The basic idea is that water filtration involves taking out the bigger particles that make water impure, while water purification requires the use of more highly technological ways of getting rid of even smaller particles and microorganisms.

What are the more advanced home water purifiers and filters?

Activated carbon filters. This is the use of either granulated or block activated carbon to remove unwanted particles. Aside from that, carbon also aids in reducing chemical levels, bad taste and odors.

Reverse osmosis. This is the more sophisticated way of purifying water. It uses a semi-permeable membrane filter in separating the water from pollutants. Water is forced through the membrane under pressure and the debris and chemicals are removed in several stages.

Whether you need water filters or water purifiers depends on the water quality and your budget. It’s important to note that the more contaminants, the more expensive the water purifying system. To find out which are the best home water purifiers and filters, please visit my website.

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Lesa Bolt asked:




If you have thought about getting a water filter but do not want the expensive costs associated with it all I have compiled a list of them and their average cost which may change your find.

Keep in mind the cost you are spending right now to buy bottled water whether it is from your local grocery store or wholesale food chain store can be expensive. If you purchase water on the go it is usually $1.00 per bottle and the case can run you anywhere form $.30 to $.40 per bottle depending on what kind of water you get.

Here are my recent price reviews from a local store:

There are some people who complain about the faucet mounted water filter because they have to go to the hardware store to install the models. This is not the case. You need to read the box. I bought two and brought them home and installed them in a matter of 15 minutes for one model to 5 minutes for the other without any extra tools needed.

Here are my reviews:

PUR – faucet mount water filter – average price $40 – This comes in a variety of colors, including white, chrome which is brushed or stainless steel with plastic. Meaning it looks like stainless steel but is plastic underneath the color exterior. The water tasted good. I did have a problem with a leak where I connected the unit to the faucet but I found that same problem with many of these filters systems.

Brita – this one cost about $30

The Aquaview Brita runs a little more at $35

I found both about the same with taste and installation. After a little tweaking on my part neither model had any leak from the faucet.

I would get a water filter and fill my own bottles for on the go travel considering I would have the filter paid for in a short amount of time versus the bottled water i am buying.

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Charles Welf asked:




If you are like me, you probably will spend a bunch of time searching the internet for the best faucet water filter. I don’t blame you, when I went looking for a faucet filter I was amazed at the quality and cost differences I found. So I thought it would be good to give you a head start and recap the top 3 things to look out for when looking for the best faucet water filter.

#1 – Checkout what contaminates get removed

I was surprised to find out that not all filters are created equal. I reviewed products from 10 different faucet filter companies. On each companies websites they have listed all the different contaminates their filters will remove. I was expecting them to be all very similar but was I wrong. The range of contaminates that each product removes is astounding, even though the faucet water filter prices are all about the same. Some units only remove the basics like chlorine and lead. While the best faucet water filters also remove up to 10 other contaminates from Cysts to Benzene.

#2 – Effectiveness of the Filter

Here’s another area I was shocked to find out was an issue. You can take two filters that on the surface remove the same contaminates but their effectiveness will vary wildly. For example lets looks at an element that would seem simple to filter out, Chlorine. I looked at the top 10 filters and the percent of effective removal ranged from 75% to 99%. Pretty shocking, I fact this kind of range holds true for all the different contaminates one would like removed from their drinking water.

#3 – Cost per Gallon

A faucet filter can be a significant investment, so you’ll want to check out the cost to operate one. There are a couple of cost measurements you will find quoted, they are “cost per 1000 gallons” and “cost per gallon”. These two measures gives us a benchmark that we can compare the on-going cost of different water filters. Here again the costs are at both ends of the spectrum, and they don’t seem to correlate with the effectiveness or numbers of contaminates removed. I found on a “cost per gallon” basis a range of 9.8 to 25 cents per gallon. This means some filters cost almost 3 times more to operate but they don’t always provide 3 times cleaner water.

It’s now up to you, I’ve given you 3 specific things to look at to help you decide on the best faucet water filter. Take these 3 faucet filter tips and start you own research, you will be amazed at the difference between each of the water filters you research. I’m sure this will help lead you to to the best faucet water filter for you.

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