Water Water Everywhere and not a drop to drink. Review on Choosing a Water Filter

Living in the city with purified city water, you may not think you would need a water filter. However, there are times that the chemical content of the city water is so strong that the water is cloudy and will have a distinct chlorine odor and taste. Like most people I have been purchasing bottled water both in gallon sizes and individual bottles, but over time, this becomes rather expensive, so I decided it was time to look into purchasing a home filtration system.

There are basically 3 types of home filtration systems. 1. portable pour through, 2. faucet attachment, and 3. permanently installed systems. Of course the permanently installed systems will be the most expensive as they are installed into your homes water lines usually under the flooring or in a basement area. The least expensive is the portable pour through container. Several different companies make these containers ranging in size from ½ gal to 2 gallon pitchers. The convenience of these containers is they are easily moved from counter to refrigerator and have handy pour spouts and lids.

The container filters can be several different types, all containing a carbon filter that will have to be changed ever so often depending on the type. The one I have is made by the Teledyne Water Pik company and is a small round disk paper filter that is activated by rinsing the filter under cool water for 20 seconds before placing in the container filter basket. Each paper filter will filter 2 gallons of water. Since I don't use the filtered water for cooking, only for drinking or for tea and coffee I make about a gallon a day. A package of 20 filters costs around $5.00 which will make 40 gallons of purified water. With some bottled water costing well over $1.00 a gallon you can see how the savings will quickly add up.

I also have an faucet attachable water filter system by Brita that has what is called a by pass valve where only water needed for drinking or cooking can be filtered, and dishwashing can be non filtered saving the filter from having to be replaced as often. I won this filter as a door prize at a company dinner a few years ago, but having checked the prices, this type of filter sells for about $29.00 with replacement filters ranging from $8 - $14. I don't use this one as often as I do my pour through because of simple convenience but it is nice to have if a larger quantity of filtered water is needed in a short time.

I don't have any personal experience with the water line filtration systems, but a lot of newer home are coming with them pre-installed as a plumbing package. If you live in an area where you are concerned with the quality of your water, this would be the most costly option, but probably the one that would be the most economic over a period of time.

Living in somewhat of a rural area some people will still drink water straight from a mountain spring, I'm just not that brave. Some of the ''old timers'' will argue that it is the most purified water you can drink, I just find that hard to believe with all the chemicals in the air and streams. There are many homes in our area that still uses well water, there again I'm not comfortable without it being purified.

I've given only a brief outlay of the type of products out there. There are literally hundreds on the market, so do your homework before you buy. Buy consumer wise and choose the lesser expensive brand that will do the work you need to save you the most money. I still sometimes splurge and grab an ice cold bottle of Disanni ® a bottled water by Pepsi, when I'm on the go, but at .79¢ for a 20 ounce bottle it is much more cost savy to save a couple of empty bottles, refill at home with your counter top filter. I like to fill one half full at night then place in the freezer over night, finish filling with water the next morning and I have an ice cold bottle of water on my desk throughout the day.

Which ever brand or model you choose. In the long run it will save you a lot of money and you will always have a fresh supply of crystal clear drinking water.