Do You Really Need Whole House Water Treatment?
Whole house water treatment seem like a obvious choice anywhere the water is less than ideal, but because buying and having one installed can be fairly pricey. It's smart to make sure you really need one before you buy one. With all the conflicting information on water quality out there, though, it's hard to get straight information about what type of water treatment equipment is most effective and efficient. If you're struggling with this question, here are some reasons you might want to invest in a whole house system.
You're on a private well
If your home gets water from a private water well, you should know that you alone are responsible for making sure that water stays free of contaminants. The EPA recommends you have your well tested bacteria and other contaminants once a year.
The first thing to find out is whether your water is chlorinated or not. If it is, that will get rid of the bacteria, viruses, and algae for you. Since it won't eliminate other contaminates - and chlorine itself can be damaging to your health - you'll need something to filter those out, too. This is where a good whole house water treatment system comes in. With this in place, your drinking, bathing, and utility water will all be free of most contaminants, including chlorine.
You don't want to settle for national water quality standards
If you get your water from the municipal supply, then you can be fairly certain it meets national quality standards. That doesn't mean it's completely free of contaminants, though. First of all, these standards allow for a certain minimal level of contamination which you might find unacceptable.
What's more, some cities can't even meet these basic standards. Several years ago, a study by the Natural Resource Defense Counsel (NDRC) found water supplied in 19 cities around the U.S. were in violation of national water safety standards. The danger of this is even greater where the water supply comes from surface sources instead of groundwater sources. Surface water is more likely to be polluted than groundwater.
You appreciate efficiency
While you could install point-of-use filters on all the taps and showerheads in your house, if you want clean water throughout the house, it's more efficient and cost effective to install a whole-house filter. Point-of-use filters require more upkeep, which means more expense, and if you need more than a few you could end up spending as much on several small filters as you would on one whole house filter.
You want clean utility water
While the quality of your drinking and bathing water should be your primary concern, don't forget about the water you use to wash your clothes in and use for other household needs. Using filtered water for your laundry will stop problems with dingy whites and brown spots on your clothes. It will also improve your air quality since showering, washing dishes and flushing toilets with heavily chlorinated water releases harmful chloroform gas into the air.
While your city officials are trying to assure you your water is "perfectly safe," door-to-door sales people are going around selling stories of water laced with lethal contaminants. The truth is somewhere in between. Most city water won't make you sick, but it's not likely to help your health either. If you want truly safe water, a whole house water treatment system is an efficient, cost effective solution.
About the Author: Discover the best water purification products and home water filter today.
Tyler Waterman is a health enthusiast and enjoys sharing his experience and research with others on the internet. Visit his site for additional information on this important safe and healthy water topic.
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Print Article | Download PDF | 96 views | Aug 21 2008
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