To keep your family healthy, it’s important to have clean drinking water. There are different types of water filters for the home, each with its pros and cons. The filter that’s right for you depends on your budget, personal preferences, and the contaminants in your tap water.

Activated Carbon Filter

As one of the most widely used types of water filters, activated carbon filters purify water by trapping impurities in the carbon’s pore structure. Carbon filters remove chlorine from water and can be found in most portable filtration systems.

While these filters are affordable and do not use any electricity, they do not remove some minerals, salts, or metals from your water.

Reverse Osmosis Water Filters for the Home

Reverse osmosis filters work by pushing water through a membrane made up of small pores to filter out contaminants. This process does not require electricity, and it is effective at removing pollutants, viruses, and parasites.

Though effective, reverse osmosis filters tend to waste a lot of water and require a lot of water pressure to work.

Ceramic Filters

Water passes through ceramic filters relatively slowly. While they aren’t as effective at removing viruses from your water, ceramic filters will remove protozoa and bacteria.

Ceramic filters are also inexpensive and last for quite a long time. They’re easy to set up, are usually gravity fed, and do not require electricity to operate.

Ultraviolet Water Purifiers

This type of filtration system uses UV light to treat water as it runs through the system. While passing through, parasites, bacteria, and viruses in the water are killed.

This system is very effective but can be more expensive as it requires electricity to operate. UV filters do not remove contaminants such as fluoride or minerals and are best used in conjunction with another type of filter.

Water Filters for the Home Include Distillers

With water distillation, it takes some time to produce a small amount of purified water. A water distiller cleans water by boiling the water until it forms steam. From there, the water is cooled into liquid form and collected for use. This process removes most of the contaminants and bacteria found in the water and also makes it taste better.

Filtering the water in your home is important to prevent harmful contaminants from affecting your family’s health. These filtration systems vary from simple pitcher versions to more thorough whole-house systems. Order a water quality test to determine which filtration method is right for you.

Mark Fix Home Inspections provides inspection services, including water testing, to customers throughout North Georgia. Contact us to schedule an appointment.