The Different Water Filter Cartridge Types
Last year, Americans spent $39.3 billion on bottled water.
That number is going up every year. Why? In large part, thanks to great advertising. We all are concerned about our health and drinking clean water is a big part of that.
Drinking bottled water often isn’t as pure as the bottling companies want you to believe. Add in the environmental impact from all the plastic bottles tossed away, and filtering your own water makes a lot of sense.
Let’s take a look at the six water filter cartridge types.
1. Activated Carbon Filters
These filters use charcoal to remove pollutants from water. Though thy are inexpensive, they are very effective at removing water contaminants like chlorine, lead, and copper. Widely used as a fridge water filter, they also do an excellent job of removing bad tastes and odors.
On the plus side, activated charcoal filters don’t remove any of the natural elements we need to get from water. They are cheap, and they usually use organic, environmentally friendly materials. Add all that together, and it’s easy to see why activated charcoal filters, like these from GE, are at the top of the list for home water filtration.
On the downside, activated charcoal filters don’t filter out solids like sediment, salts, or dust, and they do need replacing frequently.
2. Sediment Filters
If you’re worried about filtering solid particles out of your water, add a sediment filter as the first step in your filtration system. These filters come in various levels of filtration (i.e., the finer options removes more).
All sediment filters will remove what would be visible if you held up a glass of unfiltered water. Sediment filters won’t remove microorganisms, chemicals, or bacteria.
3. Ceramic Filters
These filters work two ways.
First, small pores capture debris as the water moves through. In the second stage, an internal silver lining uses positive ions for destroying bacteria. While they don’t remove dissolved solids or viruses, they are long-lasting and friendly to the environment.
4. Reverse Osmosis
These highly effective filters block microorganisms and contaminants as small as 1/10,000th of an inch!
Filtered water from a reverse osmosis filter is among the cleanest, sweetest tasting water you can get. On the negative side, they are slow and waste a fair amount of water.
5. Alkaline Ionizer
These filters adjust the PH level of water and remove limescale. As the last step in a multi-filter system, they also boost oxygen and electrolyte levels in water.
6. UV and Infrared
Using infrared and ultraviolet light, these filters kill bacteria and microorganisms in a glass or stainless steel chamber. They don’t remove sediments and do require electricity. That means their life is measured in hours, not gallons.
Picking a Water Filter Cartridge
Now that you know more about the six kinds, choosing the correct water filter cartridge for your home is simple. Start filtering at home and say goodbye to expensive bottled water.
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