By Diane Kuehl
Many of us use a counter-top water filter or maybe we’ve got a water filter placed directly on our tap.
Seems like a pretty good plan for purifying your water, right?
Yes, your drinking water certainly benefits for these types of water filters, but only in small doses. There is so much more that you need to consider, though, when it comes to, not only your drinking water, but the rest of the water in your home.
The rest of the water in your house is just as important as your drinking water. That’s where a whole house water filter (also known as a point-of-entry filter) is the best choice for your home.
REMOVAL OF HARMFUL CHEMICALS
First of all, using a whole house water filtration system brings clean water to every water source in your house. That includes your shower, your tap water, the dishwasher, washing machine and anything else you can think of.
Any water source is bound to have some contaminants, no matter where it comes from. Some of these contaminants, like sediment and hardness minerals, are mere nuisances. But many of the chemicals being brought into your home can be much more harmful.
The municipal water plant or sanitation system in your area is no stranger to these contaminants, and in many cases, these contaminants can have serious effects on you and your family’s health. In fact, a whole house water filter is the only way to protect against breakdowns at your municipal or sanitation plant.
A whole house water filtration system will remove these harmful contaminants as they are brought into your home’s water system. Here’s a quick list of potential contaminants that the filter will remove from your water.
- Atrazine
- This is a chemical that is a result from pesticide runoff. It’s been banned as a pesticide in the European Union because of its endocrine disruptor effects and epidemiological effects.
- Giardia
- This is a tiny parasite that lives in water and other sources, and causes a painful in the infection of the small intestine.
- Cryptospordium
- This causes the diarrheal disease cryptosporidiosis.
- Chlorine
- Fluoride
Some may be saying, “Well, can’t we just use the counter-top filter or tap-attached filter to get rid of these things?” Yes. But this is just for one water source in your house. You may not be drinking from those other sources, but using the filter will help with cleaning your home, taking showers, washing dishes and cleaning clothes. Your skin and clothes will thank you.
Using a whole house water filter to help with those things may seem trivial, but taking the sediment and chemicals out of water isn’t the only thing to consider when making your choice.
IMPROVEMENTS TO AIR QUALITY
Water may not seem to have a direct effect on air quality, but it most certainly does. And taking care of the air quality in your home is one of the most important things you can do. Counter-top filters and tap-attached filters cannot help you with removing harmful chemicals in the air.
As you see from the link above, chloroform is among the list of air pollutants that can occur from contaminated water. Yes, chloroform – that chemical that the bad guys in movies always put on rags to knock out the hero. It’s bad stuff.
Here is a list of air contaminants that can show up in your water, whether you use a counter-top water filter or not.
- Chlorine gas
- Chlorine gas is usually used to eliminate contaminants in drinking water that can cause harm to humans. While it is supposed to make those contaminants obsolete, it can also cause harm to you and your family. When there is a higher amount of chlorine in your drinking water, not only do you ingest it when drinking, you also release chlorine gas every time you take a shower, wash your clothes or wash your dishes. Chlorine gas is incredibly dangerous in high doses.
- Chloroform
- Chloroform is a byproduct of having chlorine in your water. It will occur in your water as a liquid, but it is similar to chlorine in that it is released any time you flush the toilet, in addition to wash clothes or dishes.
- VOCs and THMs
- Many volatile organic compounds and trihalomethanes are also present that exist not only in the water but in the air, as well.
Using a whole house water filtration system is the only way to ensure that you get rid of these harmful airborne toxins. Not only will the system eliminate the toxins, but you’ll also notice that it reduces the effects of asthma and allergies.
It’s obvious that water filters make your water cleaner. That’s what they are made to do. But the whole house water filter gives you the peace of mind that, not only will you get clean drinking water, but all the water (and air) in your home will be cleaner, safer and better for your family.
Diane Kuehl is a DiY/home improvement professional and co-owner of DIY Mother. She lives in Springfield, Illinois with her husband and two kids.
