- Home water purification systems can clean your drinking water.glass of water image by Bube from Fotolia.com
Although water that enters homes from a municipal water supply runs through a cleaning system, contaminants such as metals can remain. Water companies supply customers with annual water reports. The Natural Resources Defense Council recommends that you examine your annual report before purchasing a filtration system, because each type removes a different set of contaminants. The council also recommends testing your water for lead, high levels of which can harm children. - One of the least expensive methods of making sure you have clean, good-tasting tap water to drink is to purchase a pitcher with a water filtration system. You can also mount a carbon filter on your sink.
These filters can reduce levels of contaminants such as copper, mercury and chlorine. Pitcher filters usually rely on carbon, which attracts other minerals like a magnet, to clean the water. Filters in these systems last a few months, depending on use, and must be replaced. To use, pour water into the top of the pitcher. The water will flow through the filter and into the bottom part of the pitcher. - By upgrading to an under-the-sink water purification system at home, you can put reverse osmosis to work. Much of the bottled water sold in stores undergoes reverse osmosis for a thorough cleaning. Reverse osmosis can clear more contaminants from your tap water than a pitcher filtration system. Specifically, a reverse osmosis system can remove lead, which not all carbon filters remove.
The system can clear bacteria and metals such as arsenic, mercury and zinc. The process works by pushing water through a filter that has pores smaller than the particles of metals and other unwanted substances. Clean water continues through the system while the unwanted water stays behind the filter. The filter should be replaced every couple of years. - Your skin is your largest organ and filtering your shower water can reduce the amount of water contaminants that enter your skin. Most shower filters use a system known as kinetic degradation fluxion, which uses copper and zinc to decrease the amount of chlorine and lead in your water. Because hot water can disintegrate carbon, KDF may work better for shower heads.
You can buy these systems and fit them over your shower head. The technology leverages the natural properties of copper and zinc. The electrical charges of the two substances react with the contaminants passing through the filter to clean the water. - If you want clean water to come directly out of your faucet, you can invest in a point-of-entry cleaning system. Hire a professional to hook up your whole-house filtration system directly on the main water line.
A water softener is an example of a point-of-entry system. A water softening system reduces calcium and magnesium in the water, which can cause soap buildup on appliances, showers and in plumbing.
