Compare Water Treatment Systems - 4 Factors to Consider

What's the best way to compare water treatment systems? There are several factors to look at. Here are four things to consider:

1. PRICE

If you compare water treatment systems according to price, you have to also remember to look at the "cost-of-use". That's a term that refers to how much per gallon, per month or per day; it will cost to run the unit.

The least expensive systems are the ones that attach directly to your kitchen faucet. I would suggest that you forget about the pitchers. They are very inexpensive, it's true, but they just aren't effective.

The best kitchen purifiers cost around $125. The cost of use is less than a dime per gallon.

The most expensive choice is reverse osmosis. The systems can cost thousands of dollars for the whole house. For the kitchen sink, you'll pay three or four hundred. The cost of use is about a quarter per gallon, depending on the model, but you have to also figure in the cost for electricity and disposing of wastewater.

2. PERFORMANCE

In order to compare water treatment systems by performance, you should look for certified independent laboratory reviews. Some companies provide the information. Others don't.

I can tell you that certain products are more prone to leaking and are difficult to install. Some companies make the cheapest products on the market and believe me, they are very cheaply constructed. The major drawback, though, is that some only remove chlorine. That's important but not enough.

3. CONTAMINANT REMOVAL

You should look for a system that removes chlorine, lead, cysts, THMs, VOCs, pesticides, herbicides, industrial solvents and other common groundwater pollutants. Sound like a lot to look for? It can be hard to find one that removes 99% or more of all of these impurities. But, if a system includes enough steps, it can be effective.

You should compare water treatment systems that include ion exchange to remove lead and submicron filtration to remove cysts. Granular carbon removes the majority of the chemical contaminants, but an adsorptive multi-media block is necessary to remove all of them.

You can find all of these steps in a kitchen purifier that costs around $125. That's the one that I mentioned above.

4. TASTE

The water from a reverse osmosis or distillation device tastes stale. If your system does not remove chlorine, you will still be able to taste that. RO does not remove chlorine. Many of the hazardous chemicals cannot be tasted, but taste is still important.
In order to be healthier, we need to drink more pure water, but if the taste is not pleasant, most of us will choose a different beverage. The ion exchange step that removes lead and traces of other metals, also improves the taste. The metallic ions are exchanged for good tasting sodium and potassium.

Hopefully, this information will help in making the right decision when you compare water treatment systems.

Larry L. Taylor is a dedicated advocate of living a healthy lifestyle and diligent researcher of water purification systems. Visit his site at: http://www.CleanWaterPure.com to discover which water filtration system Larry recommends.

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