Maintaining Household Water Quality: Under Sink Water Filter

Every household needs to remove contaminants from tap water. Drinking water straight from the tap can not be as clean and refreshing as it seems to be. Your taste buds and nose might not feel good about the taste, and you are clueless about the harmful substances that can be present through your water pipeline. 

While many would opt to get that bottled water from a spring or purified, its impact on the environment can be damaging or even costly.

Each purification stage entails equipment maintenance costs. This includes pre-treatment processes wherein the removal of dissolved solids and minerals in water such as Calcium can incur additional expenses for the equipment. 

For instance, in the water softener maintenance checklist, not only the equipment maintenance requires cost, but even the chemicals used in treating the water can add to the overall purified water production cost. What then is a better alternative?

Household owners may consider using a water filtration system installed in their homes. But before deciding to buy which filter system to be used one must know the types of filters available in the market for use.

Types of Water Filtering Methods

Contaminants from water that are removed by these water filters should make water potable. There are two commercial processes used for filtration systems. These filters are Activated carbon and Reverse Osmosis. 

Activated carbon filters utilize finely processed charcoal. Under a microscope, the surface area of carbon is thousands of times larger than a single piece of charcoal of the same size. This large surface allows it to act as a filter and absorbs chemicals that are present in water. 

On the other hand, Reverse Osmosis is a process that uses a semipermeable membrane that traps certain particle sizes as water is allowed to pass through it. It can require several passes before the water becomes potable, making activated carbon filter systems more efficient than the RO filtration process. 

Popular Water Filters

Water filters vary in shapes and sizes, and filter methods can be made to fit any lifestyle. 

Water Pitchers

These are a popular option since they are available in most retailers in the market. These pitchers use a carbon filter that is rated to eliminate contaminants in water such as chlorine, lead, mercury, and other common minerals found in water. A filter cartridge is inserted, then the pitcher's reservoir is filled with water, and it's ready to drink. 

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Sports Bottles

These are inexpensive alternatives. Some types of sports bottles remove the same contaminants as water pitchers. The only difference is the convenience of it being portable, so it can be used by people who are on the go. 

Faucet Mounted filters. These types of filters are directly attached to the faucet's spigot and filter water at the point of delivery directly from the faucet. The convenience of this type of filter is that its filtration capability can be switched on or off. 

For instance, you just have to wash the dishes or clean the sink. Then you can turn off the filtration system and switch it back on when you need to drink water. Although this is economical, not all faucet-mounted filters are compatible with all faucet designs.

Under Sink filters

These filters involve installing an attachment to the main water supply beneath your sink before the water supply comes up the pipeline and out of the faucet. This type of installation can be a good option because, aside from being discreet, it saves space and the kitchen looks aesthetically neat. The installation of this type also requires good plumbing expertise. 

Countertop filters

This type of filtration system connects to the faucet and is usually installed on top of the sink. These are separate units that also allow you to choose between filtered or unfiltered water. Like under sink filters, this also requires plumbing knowledge for installation. 

Now that you have several options, you also have to understand how water filtration systems can help your home? 

Water filters:

• Sustains a healthy lifestyle for your household members. 
• Remove the contaminants in water that can be threatening to your health.
• Reduces generation of waste such as disposable plastic water bottles.
• Reduce expenses on commercial water bought from grocery shops.

Among these types of water filters, experts recommend under-sink water filters because of their advantages over faucet-mounted or countertop filters. Now, because it takes the space underneath the kitchen sink, they are aesthetically presentable when compared to countertop water filters. 

This is an advantage if the home kitchen has a limited amount of space and it cannot accommodate the desired water filter. 

Advantages & Disadvantages of an Under-Sink Water Filter

Despite giving a plain view of a countertop, here are other advantages and disadvantages of using under-sink water filters. 

Since it uses a large filtering system, the device can quickly filter water because its volume is larger and faster. It also has a large holding tank for filtered water. Therefore the availability of treated water can be ready at any time. That being said, a disadvantage of this under-sink space is that some sink bottoms are designed to be small, and mostly plumbing is necessary to adjust for the system. 

If this is a risk, then a homeowner should already consider the space requirement of an under-sink water filtration system. Also, installation is challenging once the plumbing system is already in place. So, if there is a need to have treated water, consider including its design and installation to maximize construction and installation costs. 

Another advantage offered by this filtration setup is its overall effectiveness in treating water. The by-product from this process is free from contaminants, so there is no need to purchase purified water. It can remove over 99.9% of waterborne contaminants, including fluoride and lead. 

It has ultrafiltration that uses a filtering membrane that is 0.01 micron that gets rid of 99% contaminants and sediments. Such filters are also easy to replace. It also uses an activated carbon filter that filters out bad odors and tastes, chlorine, and other heavy metals. 

Suppose you know the benefits of treated water. In that case, buying the best under-sink water filter can be the best decision that will change and improve your health, and that can also give you savings on the amount you spend on buying those available at the market.