Summing Up Water Filtration Reviews
Some water filtration reviews talk only about the most common filtration product, carbon, and its uses in making water cleaner and safer. Carbon operates by adsorption, a process by which gases and dissolved solids stick to the surface of a solid vessel. When water passes through a carbon filter, the unnecessary elements attach themselves to the carbon and the clear water passes through.
However, a more detailed water filtration review will also talk about other systems as well. Although carbon-based systems are the cheapest and most commonly used, there are certain other types of purifiers available. Distillation is an old technique for making salt water drinkable and is used today to make tap water safer. Distillation boils water to the point that it becomes a vapour which removes impurities, and the vapour is then condensed back to water. Reverse osmosis is a complex method by which high-pressured water is passed through a membrane that acts as a very fine filter.
Water filtration reviews will point out that while any filter will make water clear, there are benefits and disadvantages to most of them. Reverse osmosis is very expensive, time-consuming, low yielding, and wasteful. In addition, many chemicals are normally smaller than water and are not therefore stopped by the membrane. Distillation is also slow-producing and needs maintenance. It is also based on the relative boiling point of all components in the water; since many chemicals boil at a lower point than water, they are evaporated along with the water and are therefore boiled away. Distillation and reverse osmosis also eradicate vital elements such as potassium and magnesium from the water.
Carbon filters are generally more efficient in removing hazardous substances from the water. This statement is common in a typical water filtration review, but most carbon purifier systems process only a small volume of water at a time, making them impractical for large families. The cartridges are required to be changed often, and the overall system can be expensive compared to the volume of water they process. In addition, most carbon filters are in the form of a single cartridge to capture and filter out impurities. This one-shot type of system is not the most efficient way of removing contaminants and pollutants from the water, as discussed in most water filtration reviews.
Most water filtration reviews will say that a multi-step system is the best way to make the cleanest, purest and safest water. It makes sense that placing the water through more than one filter or process makes sure that the end product is better than if just one step was involved. A water filtration review of this type of product will usually discuss the different steps that are used in the process. Multi-step purifiers often have an ion exchange where the lead chemicals are exchanged for potassium. Sediment and other larger particles should be separated as well as microorganisms, so that there is nothing in the purifier container but absolutely pure water.
When reading water filtration reviews, be sure to remember that while all purifiers can be helpful, you are best off with a multi-step system that removes everything you do not want to be drinking.
