How I Came to Love Construction

How To Get A Good Drink Of Water At Home

by Wade Black


Filtration Pitcher

If you're just after an occasional glass of water, try a filtration pitcher. These use a carbon filter to remove large particles, chlorine and pesticides from the water. Carbon filters do not remove bacteria, viruses or parasites. Simply fill the top reservoir with tap water. It flows down through the filter into the bottom container where it is ready to drink. Change the filter based on the manufacturer's recommendations which depends on how often you use the filter.

In-Line Carbon Filtration

The complexity of some filtration systems depends on what you want to do with the water after it has been filtered, and how much water you use. For example, if you just want a glass of pure water out of the tap, you can install an inline carbon filter under your sink. The cold water line runs into the filter chamber and out through another line to your sink. Each time you turn on the faucet, you get filtered water.

If you want to filter the water that goes throughout the house, for taking baths, doing laundry and drinking, you'll need a large carbon filtration system installed by a plumbing service. This connects with the water line that enters your house, filters the water, and sends it back out to the water heater and all of the other faucets in the house.

Ceramic Filters

When water is forced through the tiny pores in ceramic, small particles, heavy minerals and parasites are removed. Small units are available that you can connect to a faucet yourself. It takes time to filter water through the ceramic material so the flow of these units will be slower than straight through the tap.

Inline ceramic units are available for whole house water filtration. To get past the slower flow, some units use a holding tank in which filtered water is stored until you need it. Both inline units and units attached to the faucet often are used in conjunction with carbon filters to remove more materials from the water.

UV Filters

Ultraviolet light kills bacteria and viruses. These filters use UV light tubes around which your tap water flows, killing harmful organisms. These are more expensive systems and installed by a plumber to do whole house water filtration. Since the UV filter does not do physical filtration, it is used with a carbon filter to remove chemicals and particles in the water.

Zinc and Copper Filters

These whole house filters use zinc and copper granules to remove particles, heavy metals, pesticides and chlorine from the water. A chemical reaction occurs in this filter making it effective against bacteria and parasites. Some softening of hard water also occurs by removing various minerals.

If you're only interested in a glass of water now and then, try one of these do-it-yourself units that give you filtered water on demand. When you decide that you want the filtered water all through the house, talk with a water treatment company like Always Pure Well Drilling about a whole house system.