What Are The Main Types Of Water Filter?
There are several different types of water filters available for use in the home and for other purposes. The type of water filter that you require depends on what you need to use it for.
Filtering ordinary tap water in the home for the purpose of improving the taste is a common practice. Chlorination and excess minerals can drastically change the taste and smell of tap water, but running the water through a filter can eliminate these substances and make the water taste much better.
If you are spending time in the outdoors doing some camping or backpacking, available water sources such as lakes and rivers can be dangerous or even deadly to drink. In this case a slightly more powerful type of water filtration would be needed. Other instances in which you might need to have a much more aggressive method of water filtration is when traveling in foreign countries or in the event of a major disaster such as a flood.
The charcoal based water filter is one of the most common of all types of water filter. This is the type of filter that you would find in a typical water filtration pitcher such as the Brita pitcher, and also in most types of on-the-faucet water filters. These types of water filter usually have a cartridge that contains a combination of charcoal and sand. When water is poured through the filter, the charcoal removes chlorine, chemicals and some other contaminants and the sand filters out any larger particles. The end result is clear looking and clean tasting water.
For filtration of outdoor water sources when camping and backpacking, a portable reverse osmosis system is one option. Reverse osmosis purifies water by passing it through a semi-permeable membrane, which traps nearly 100% of all contaminants, both chemical and biological. Since biological contaminants such as bacteria and viruses are a major threat in rivers and lakes, it is important to have a water filter that is able to safely remove them.
One disadvantage of reverse osmosis is that the process is extremely slow and wastes a lot of water. A reverse osmosis filter can also be a valuable part of any emergency supply kit, because contaminated water is a common hazard encountered in emergency situations. Because reverse osmosis is capable of even removing viruses from water, this type of filter can save lives in countries where there is an extreme shortage of safe drinking water.
Another one of the more popular types of water filter is the ceramic microfilter. Like a reverse osmosis system, a ceramic filtration system also uses an ultra-fine material to filter the water. In this case, porous ceramic is used as a filter. The ceramic is fine enough to trap even most bacteria and some types of virus, so they can successfully purify water in most parts of the world. Many ceramic-based water purifiers also incorporate charcoal and sand into the filters to improve taste while offering maximum filtration at the same time.
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