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Posts Tagged ‘water purification’

Have You Considered An Undersink Water Filter For Your Home?

May 25th, 2009
by Peter Abertoning

Drinking water contains some things that you might not want to drink. Impurities and things that can taste bad and be less than healthy. Maybe it’s chlorine that you need to think about, or pharmaceutical drugs, or lead, any of them are found in your water at time, or all the time. What options do you have for removing them?

Have you considered an under skin water filter?

Here are some of the things that you should know about choosing a drinking water filter that goes under the sink before making the decision to get one for your home.

There are a number of different advantages that undersink water filters can provide you with. One of the main benefits of this type of drinking water filter is that its known to eliminate chlorine taste & odor. If you suspect this to be your main water impurity, then theres a good chance that under sink water filters may be a great option for you.

And I’ll bet getting rid of chlorine is a priority for you if you’re getting seriously interested in water filtration.

And of course an undersink filter will also remove sediment and rust from the water. So they are a great choice for filtering water for you.

And the problems with sediment and rust aren’t just taste, they can also stain your sink giving it a coppery look and you don’t want this. Choose an undersink water filter and you can remove them.

Though undersink water filters aren’t your cheapest option they are a good use of space. They can’t be seen and don’t take up valuable bench space like, say, a countertop water filter such as a pitcher filter.

Before making the decision to get this type of water purification system, its a good idea to make sure that it is the right choice for you! Other types of water filters tend to be easier to install.

And they can be a great choice for other reasons. So you need to do some research and spend some time considering your options before you buy an under sink unit.

Since they do tend to be very effective at eliminating chlorine taste & odor and removing sediment and rust from the water, undersink water filters can be a great choice for many people.

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Peter Abertoning Health , , , , , , , , , , ,

Looking For The Best Water Filter You Can Find?

May 23rd, 2009
by Peter Abertoning

Does the safety of your drinking water worry you? If it does maybe you’ve spent some time thinking about getting a water filter. There’s so many filters to choose from it’s difficult deciding which is the best water filter.

There’s a few things to take into account when you’re trying to work out which water filter to buy.

One of the most popular water filters is a carbon water filter, or what is also called an AC filter, or activated carbon filter.

And you also need to consider what type of system you need for your house. You can get faucet water filters or even water filters for the entire house. A whole house water filter can be ideal for anyone who wants to have clean water to wash in and shower in and to use for the clothes as well as drink. Whole house filters can come in different types, including carbon.

Some of the best faucet water filters include pitcher water filters, which work by filtering water while it is in a pitcher. The way that this type of water filter differs from a faucet-mounted water filter is by filtering the drinking water after it has already come from the tap.

A pitcher filter is known to be an effective method of water filtration, it does have one major problem. It tends to be a very slow process so you will need to pour the water into the pitcher hours before you plan to drink it. This water home purifier tends to be very inexpensive, however.

Those are some of the options available to you. There’s plenty more, you need to do some research. Different needs require different water filters, and budget is always a consideration too. But eventually you’ll end up with healthy clean water to drink.

Remember there are impurities in your water and it’s important to remove them, for reasons of taste and health.

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Peter Abertoning Health , , , , , , , , , , ,

Why you should consider using reverse osmosis filter

May 19th, 2009
by Mary Stone

With reportedly more than 2,000 toxic chemicals in the water that we drink, if you want clean water at home, you must find the right reverse osmosis system to help produce ’safe’ purified water.

A reverse osmosis system is a water filtration system that uses high pressure to force water through a semi-permeable membrane in order to remove minerals, chemicals and toxins. Finding the right reverse osmosis system for cleaner water at home will require you to look at the effectiveness of each system.

It is important to understand that the concentration of toxins, water pressure and quality of membrane used to design a filtration system. There are generally two types of membranes used in reverse osmosis – the cellulose triacetate (CTA) membrane and the FTC membrane – each with their own functions. While CTA membranes are organic and more cost effective, they tend to attract bacteria growth and sometimes may generate a smaller volume of water with a lower quality.

The other type of membrane is the FTC membrane, which is inorganic and more expensive than its CTA counterpart. A great advantage to this type of reverse osmosis system is that bacteria are not attracted to the FTC membrane. Unfortunately, chlorine in the water can damage the membrane and a carbon pre-filter might be required in addition to the reverse osmosis system with a FTC membrane.

FTC membranes, being inorganic in nature, are not as easily susceptible to the growth of bacteria. While these membranes are more expensive than CTA versions, they can easily be damaged by chlorine in water. A carbon pre-filter might be required as an add-on to the membrane in order to ensure its optimal performance in producing quality purified water.

Systems that don’t require tanks tend to be more compact and take up less space as they don’t require space to store their purified water. Unfortunately, this type of reverse osmosis system is more costly to purchase as well as maintain. In addition, they require a pressure of 40PSI in order to be effective. This might mean that you may have to purchase an additional pressure pump to be fitted to your water system.

If you’re looking to finding the right reverse osmosis filter for cleaner water at home, you should also be aware of the disadvantages that accompany a water system. Apart from these systems costing a hefty amount and the purified water also expensively produced, the main drawback from using reverse osmosis is its removal almost all minerals from water, even trace minerals. As a result, supplements must also be taken to counteract the lack of vital minerals like calcium, magnesium and potassium found in normal drinking water.

If you’ve worked out your budget and are willing to spend the time and money in finding the right reverse osmosis filter for cleaner water at home, then installing and maintaining such a system may be a good answer to drinking cleaner water. Bear in mind, however, that there are many other water filters that are cheaper and more apt to serving your domestic needs.

Reverse osmosis filters that are used at home are typically fitted in a kitchen and used specifically for drinking and cooking. If you understand the benefits of using this type of water purification system, then you will understand the need to make your initial investment for a lifetime of safe, clean drinking water. Take your time in finding the right reverse osmosis system for cleaner water at home and you won’t need to spend top-dollar for a good filtering system that will serve you and your family well.

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Alexa Shepherd Gardening , , , , , , ,

How can reverse osmosis filter system benefit you?

May 18th, 2009
by Elizabeth Kong

The reverse osmosis system was originally developed for industrial use in printing and photo processing but because of the need for clean water, systems have been adapted for domestic use. Finding the right reverse osmosis filter system for cleaner water at home is important if you understand that there are more than 2000 toxic chemicals in our drinking water.

Originally intended for industrial use, the domestic reverse osmosis filter system works by using high pressure to force water through a membrane. Minerals and impurities won’t be able to pass through the membrane, leaving the water that flows out, clean. The type of membrane and the water pressure used will influence the effectiveness of an osmosis system. The amount of contaminants in the water also affects how efficient the system is in purifying normal water.

Because there are so many types of water purification systems available, it is important to equip yourself with basic knowledge of their various designs and functions. For example there are two different types of membranes that a reverse osmosis filter system can be designed with. One is the CTA membrane or cellulose triacetate membrane, which is all natural and inexpensive. However, systems that use these membranes may require extra maintenance to prevent the cultivation of bacteria and this may result in a lower quality of purified water produced.

The other type of membrane is the FTC membrane, which is inorganic and more expensive than its CTA counterpart. A great advantage to this type of reverse osmosis system is that bacteria are not attracted to the FTC membrane. Unfortunately, chlorine in the water can damage the membrane and a carbon pre-filter might be required in addition to the reverse osmosis system with a FTC membrane.

When going about finding the right reverse osmosis filter for cleaner water at home, you will find that there are two main types of systems – one with a tank and the other, tankless. Systems that use tanks typically consist of an internal plastic bladder that keeps the purified water before it is dispensed. Systems that are tankless have the ability to dispense their ‘clean water’ directly to taps instead.

Systems that don’t require tanks tend to be more compact and take up less space as they don’t require space to store their purified water. Unfortunately, this type of reverse osmosis system is more costly to purchase as well as maintain. In addition, they require a pressure of 40PSI in order to be effective. This might mean that you may have to purchase an additional pressure pump to be fitted to your water system.

When you’re choosing a reverse osmosis system for clean water at home, you should make sure that you have the budget to support and maintain such a water purification system because it can add up to a costly amount when you look at how much it will cost you per gallon of purified water.

If you’ve worked out your budget and are willing to spend the time and money in finding the right reverse osmosis filter for cleaner water at home, then installing and maintaining such a system may be a good answer to drinking cleaner water. Bear in mind, however, that there are many other water filters that are cheaper and more apt to serving your domestic needs.

If you are looking to use your purification system for a long term, choosing a reverse osmosis system for clean water at home will be an important step in your long-term investment. Your initial payout may be costly but if you take the time to choose the right system, you will be able to find a good quality unit without having to pay top dollar.

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Jason Hew Gardening , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Ins And Outs Of Comparing Water Filters.

May 17th, 2009
by Peter Abertoning

There are so many people how who are concerned about the purity of the water they drink.

It’s scary how many contaminants that can be found in municipal drinking water. So many people, including me, are now choosing not to drink these contaminants. Impurities like lead, chlorine, drugs and way more. And when it comes to choosing a water filter there’s so many to choose from.

If you really want to avoid drinking contaminated unhealthy water you need to do some comparing of water purification systems. You need to choose the best water filter for your needs. Here’s some essential tips to choosing a water filter.

One of the most effective water filters is carbon water filters. They are effective and cheap and have some solid advantages. They are usually easy to use, for example. A carbon filter works by absorbing the impurities as the water passes over a charcoal medium, which attracts and traps them.

So you ought to seriously consider carbon water filters when doing a water filter comparison.

Reverse osmosis filters are also popular. They have a membrane with very small holes in it and the water has to pass through. Anything too small to pass through gets trapped and removed, but not everything that you want to remove is trapped. There are some contaminants that will still pass through. And reverse osmosis filters are also very slow.

There are also various sizes of water filter and when doing your search for the best water filter you need to consider your needs. Whole house water filters, for example, do exactly what they say. Filter the water for the entire house. Perfect except for the fact that they are more expensive than, say, a simple drinking water filter. Great if you can afford one.

You can also distill water to purify it that way. Water distillation is not a recommended form of water filtration. Certainly it removes impurities but it has it’s disadvantages as well. It removes minerals (and everything else) from the water and your body actually needs various minerals found in water, so this can actually be a disadvantage to your health.

So there is really a very wide range of water filters available to the consumer, this is just some. They work very differently and have different costs, and so it can be quite a complicated process choosing the best water filter.

I often talk to people about water filters and find often that the technical aspects of how they work are too difficult. Usually they just ask me to tell them which one is the best water filter available.

The best water filter is actually a modified form of carbon, or charcoal, water filter. As simple carbon water filter is good, but doesn’t remove all contaminants. But there is a modern form of carbon, or activated carbon, water filter that combines the benefits of carbon filtration with a second stage of mechanism to remove the impurities that aren’t removed by the carbon.

And surprisingly these 2 stage activated carbon water filters are very cost competitive as well, which is always a nice surprise.

I write all about 2 stage water filters featuring activated carbon at my website.

About the Author:

Peter Abertoning Health , , , , , , , , , , ,

There Isn’t Really Drugs In Your Drinking Water Is There?

March 15th, 2009
by Peter Abertoning

Could there be drugs in your drinking water? You live in the US, that can’t e can it? When you drink a glass of tap water you couldn’t be drinking drugs? Lets see.

Lets start with a quote from the Ralph Nader Institute. “U.S. drinking water contains more than 2,100 toxic chemicals that can cause cancer.”

Now of course “toxic chemicals” may not include drugs, but it’s a pretty scary place to start the discussion. However there is plenty of other evidence that there are drugs found in drinking water in mainstream water supplies. Particularly antibiotics.

Strangely, some of the evidence for drugs in drinking water comes from a high school student. In 1999 a West Virginia high school student decided to do a science project for school by testing for levels of antibiotics in rivers. Ashley Mulroy tested for the antibiotics penicillin, tetracycline and vancomycin in water by taking samples over a 10 week period from the Ohio river and having them tested. The antibiotics were found in all samples.

So she decided to test tap water for antibiotics, and got the same result.

Now why not consider a quote from the Environmental Health Perspectives website. “Roughly 100 pharmaceuticals have now been identified in rivers, lakes, and coastal waters throughout Europe and the United States.”

How about from the MSNBC website: “Traces of 56 human and veterinary pharmaceuticals or their byproducts ” like the active ingredients in medicines for pain, infection, high cholesterol, asthma, epilepsy, mental illness and heart problems ” have been detected in Philadelphias drinking water.”

Or from USA Today: “A vast array of pharmaceuticals ” including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones ” have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows.”

There are municipal standards that require testing for germs and removal of germs from our municipal drinking water before it is allowed for public use, so it’s safe. But there is no requirement that water for public use be free from drugs.

So you can see from the quotes that it seems clear, there are drugs in our drinking water. The question is, what are the health risks of drinking unfiltered water with drugs in it?

Who knows?

There is no clear evidence either way, however it seems clear that the presence of drugs in drinking water in the US makes us all a part of a huge experiment on the effects of drinking small quantities of pharmaceuticals over an extended period of time.

You need to protect yourself and your family. Drink pure water to protect yourselves from drinking water contaminated with pharmaceuticals.

Bottled water isn’t pure water, in many cases it’s no better than tap water, and can be worse.

But there are well recognized ways to purify your drinking water of drugs as well as those other “2100 toxic chemicals” that the Ralph Nader Institute tells us may be in that glass of tap water you’re about to drink now, or to cook with, or shower with.

But only the worlds very best water filters are good enough to remove such hazards as drugs in drinking water, or hormones, or lead, or pesticides, or herbicides or, well I think you get the picture. So get yourself the best water filter that modern technology can produce and be safe from those drugs found in drinking water that you may be using now.

Visit my website to find out more about the best water filters.

About the Author:

Peter Abertoning Health , , , , , , , , ,

Shower Water Filters. Why Would You Ever Need One?

March 5th, 2009
by Peter Abertoning

Shower water filters. Clearly we need to filter our drinking water, but why in the world would you bother to filter your shower water?

After all, you don’t drink out of the shower do you? You only wash.

Even so there are good reasons to use shower water filters in every shower. Lets have a look at what they are. Heres 4 good reasons to use a shower water filter.

1. Chlorine. If there’s chlorine in your water, (and who doesn’t have chlorine in their water), you really don’t want to be drinking it. Some consider that over time drinking chlorine can even lead to cancer.

But showering in water with added chlorine isn’t good either. It has several problems. Firstly when you take a hot shower your pores open up and let more water in, and as the water penetrates your skin the chlorine gets in too. So you have really just, in effect, drunk chlorinated water.

2. And hot chlorinated water releases chlorine gas into the air, so you breathe it.

A recent report in the American Journal of Public Health linked chlorine ingestion to cancer stating that up to 2/3rds of the ingestion was due to skin absorption and breathing chlorine gas during showering.

And of course when the chlorine gets out of the shower it contaminated the atmosphere in your home.

And theres more nasty effects to chlorine in your shower water. It dries out and damages your hair. Just think back to what your hair felt like after a swim in a pool. Thats chlorine. And chlorine can dry out the natural oils in your skin and make your skin itchy. Shower filtration is especially useful to anyone with excema.

3. And this all applies to more than just chlorine. According to the Ralph Nader Institute there are up to 2100 toxic chemicals in our water, like antibiotics, lead, heavy metals and pesticides and much more.

Many of these are volatile and like chlorine will vaporize in the hotter water of the shower, forming a gas. And you breathe that gas. So youre breathing the very chemicals youve filtered from your tap water so you arent drinking them.

4. A good shower water filter softens your water, and makes your skin and hair softer and healthier. Hair looks healthier and any colors or tips dont fade.

And the good news is that the best shower water filters will remove up to 99.99% of chlorine, so that’s basically all of it. And shower water filters filter out those other 2100 toxins too.

And at a surprisingly low cost per annum compared to what you might be paying for health care. Filtering your shower water costs only a couple of dollars a week. There are some more expensive, but if you compare shower water filters youll find that you can buy the worlds best shower water filter for under $70.

So there you have it. 4 good reasons to buy a shower water filter. You’re actually better to buy a whole house water filter so you’ve got clean water to drink, bathe in and wash clothes in, but if you’re just thinking of a shower water filter make sure you filter your water too.

Visit my website to find out where you get the worlds best shower water filters, drinking water filters and whole house filters.

About the Author:

Peter Abertoning Health , , , , , , , ,

What Use Are Shower Water Filters?

March 5th, 2009
by Peter Abertoning

Shower water filters. Clearly we need to filter our drinking water, but why in the world would you bother to filter your shower water?

After all who drinks shower water? You just wash in it.

But regardless there are still some very good reasons to use a shower water filter every time you shower. Here’s 4 reasons.

1. Chlorine. Now it isnt good to drink chlorine. If you have chlorine in your water (and who doesnt) you need the best drinking water filter you can get. Drinking chlorine is not good for you, and some are even concerned that chlorine in drinking water can cause cancer.

But even showering in chlorinated water is a problem. Several actually. Because when you shower some of the water goes into your skin. And in a hot shower your pores actually open wider and let more in, and if there’s chlorine in the water the chlorine goes in too. So in effect you’ve just drunk chlorinated water.

2. And hot chlorinated water releases chlorine gas into the air, so you breathe it.

There has been a recent study released and documented in the American Journal of Public Health. It links chlorine to cancer and says that 2/3rds of chlorine we are exposed to is by skin absorption and breathing it in the shower.

And the chlorine must eventually waft out of the shower, and when it does it contaminates the atmosphere in your home.

And there’s more than that. Chlorine can damage your hair and dry out the natural oils in your skin, making it dry and itchy. Just ask any excema sufferer. Remember what your hair and skin felt like after a long swim in the pool?

3. And this all applies to more than just chlorine. According to the Ralph Nader Institute there are up to 2100 toxic chemicals in our water, like antibiotics, lead, heavy metals and pesticides and much more.

Many of these toxins will also act like chlorine and vaporize in hot shower water, and form a gas. And of course you breathe that gas in. So even if you drink filtered water you’re still ingesting the same chemicals you’ve filtered out of your drinking water.

4. And the best shower water filters both make your skin feel and look softer and make your hair look and feel healthier. Hair color doesn’t seem to fade like it used to.

The best shower water filters filter out just about any nasties you can imagine, including 99.99% of chlorine. (All of it basically).

And it’s not even as expensive as you’d expect. The worlds best shower water filters cost less than $70 and even though you need to replace filters from time to time it’s extremely cheap compared to the cost (and grief) of, say, cancer.

So there you have 4 good reasons to buy yourself a shower water filter. Or preferably a whole house water filter, then all the water you use anywhere is filtered and clean. But if youre thinking of a good shower water filter make sure you buy a good drinking water filter as well, thats a must.

Head over to my website to find out where you source the worlds best drinking water and shower water filters as well as whole house filters.

About the Author:

Peter Abertoning Health , , , , , , , ,