You can read other articles about why we need these, and I wrote them myself!  I was convinced then, but now I had mine installed, and it's hard to believe but my hands feel like I have put on lotion, and my normally dry arms and legs have improved so much. 

With the increase in demand for pure water, beverage industry has hit the jackpot by manufacturing bottles to supply pure and natural water. This is right now one of the hottest and most selling products with over multi-billion dollar market segment worldwide. 

Ever year millions and millions of dollars are spent in running advertisements campaign to educate customers to drink bottled water which is prescribed to be pure and have come from the mountain springs or underground aquifer. In reality bottled water is a little over the tap water in a bottle.  (There should be as big a ad campaign for water filters!)

UNTIL TODAY, THERE ARE NO STANDARDS INTRODUCED BY THE GOVERNMENT WHICH DIFFERENTIATE A BOTTLED WATER TO BE PURER OR SAFER OR BETTER THAN TAP WATER!

Maximum number of bottles are packaged and sold in same state to avoid any regulations. There is absolutely no guarantee or assurance or government requirements which states bottle water should be of any higher quality that the ordinary tap water.

NRDC or the Natural Resources Defense Council did release a report in March 1999 called “Bottled Water, Pure Drink or Pure Hype?” as per this report, almost 60 to 70 percent of the bottles water does not qualify on the water standards defined by FDA due to the fact that the bottled water is sold within the state itself. The standards made by the federal government would apply when the packaged bottled water is transported outside of the state.

Following are the examples quotes from the NRDC report:

* It’s not confirmed that city tap water contains fecal coliform or E.coli bacteria. FDA bottled water rules do not have any restriction or prohibition which says bottled water can have either a certain amount or any type of coliform bacteria.

* City tap water arriving from surface water to be disinfected and filtered. Whereas bottled water does not have to go through federal disinfection or filtration requirements.

* Two common tests are conducted in most cities for Giardia or Cryptosporidium which are famous water pathogens primarily responsible for diarrhea and various other intestinal problems. Bottle water companies don’t even have to go through this test.

* City tap water still has to undergo standard check to indentify certain levels of toxins or chemicals like phthalate that could lead to cancer like problems. Phthalate is chemical mostly leached from plastic including plastic bottles.  Bottled water companies are exempted by FDA from undergoing this test for chemicals.

The NRDC reports concluded that “Therefore‚ while much tap water is indeed risky‚ having compared available data‚ we conclude that there is no assurance that bottled water is any safer than tap water”

Therefore, now it is very clear that the amount of money we pay per gallon thinking the water is pure, clean and safest of them all is in fact not so sure to be judged as ‘unknown’ on its actual quality.

Is there such thing as pure water?

Water filtration, put simply, is the method of using a device or appliance that can help to physically remove harmful contaminants from water.  Water filtration, unlike other forms of water purification, will not alter the chemical make-up of matter in the water.  It will simply separate small, solid matter from the water itself.

The very first water filters were crude makeshift devices made with cloth, which, when placed at the water source, could act as a fine sieve to separate contaminants from the liquid itself.  They have since evolved into more efficient methods using a variety of materials and techniques.

How water filters work

The process of water filtration requires the use of a filter medium which blocks the passage of harmful matter and contaminants.  Depending on the type of water filter used, filtration may involve plain physical obstruction of contaminants or it may also involve a chemical process.

The materials used for the filter medium vary, although the most commonly used these days are filters made with carbon materials.  The filters are made in such a way that water passage is slowed down as they go through the media.  The presence of carbon in the filter helps block more contaminants and can even bring about the process of adsorption.  This breaks down the bond between water and contaminants and encourages the contaminants to stick to the filter instead, leaving the water pure and safe to drink.

The ideal water filtration method is for water to go through several filtration stages, each one with a filter medium with holes that gradually grow tinier, ensuring that even minute contaminants will not pass through and be poured into a drinking glass.

Advantages of water filtration

Advocates of water filters say that filters are better at blocking and removing more contaminants than other methods of water purification.  Since water filters encourage adsorption, they do not remove trace minerals that are essential for the body's health.

Water filtration is also very effective in removing cryptosporidium and protozoa giardia, two of the most dreaded organisms that have caused gastrointestinal diseases and epidemics in the past.  Water filters can also remove chlorine, its byproducts and VOCs or volatile organic compounds.  These are considered as the most health-threatening contaminants present in drinking water. 

On top of it all, water filtration is also the least expensive of all purification methods and does not require the use of extra sources of energy as distillation or reverse osmosis does.  Water filtration also does not waste a lot of water in the process of water purification.

Disadvantages of water filtration

Water filters are not created equal and while chemical adsorption is a feature in many water filters, not every unit has this capability.  As such, some granular filters may not be able to block certain contaminants from passing through the media.  There may also be water filters that allow rapid passage of water and not enough contact time with the media.  This reduces the number of contaminants that are removed.

The disadvantages, however, are easily remedied.  By adding extra devices such as a carbon block to the water filtration system, the contaminants that escape the filtration process may be stopped.

The need to filter water