Replacement water filters. Is the cost of replacement cartridges a problem?

Are you in need of a good water filter? If you understand the risks associated with drinking water from the regular municipal water supplies then you understand the need for a great water filter, not just a good one. What do you need to know about replacement water filters?

Replacement water filters are water purifiers that have a part that needs to be replaced from time to time. Not all water purification systems have parts that need regular replacement, but some do.

What needs to be replaced is the cartridge that actually holds the filter medium. From time to time this cartridge become clogged with contaminants and won’t work as effectively as it once did, or if left too long can even block up completely.

This is good. This means that the water filter is working and the contaminants that you would otherwise be drinking are now captured in the cartridge. When you throw the cartridge in the trash you’ve just thrown out all the impurities that you would have drunk. You can feel good about this.

But there can be  a problem. The problem is this. Replacement water cartridges cost money and people buy their water filters based not on whether they are buying the best water filter but on what the replacement cartridges cost. And for this reason a customer can end up with a water filter that isn’t the best because of the perception of cost of replacing the cartridges.

There’s a couple of things you need to think about before buying a water filter that needs replacement cartridges. The first is that you are buying a water filter to filter out impurities and keep your water healthy to drink. You need to be buying the best water filter, regardless of the cost of the replacements or you are compromising the quality of your water because of cost. Buy the best, not the cheapest.

But of course for many cost is an issue. So here’s the good news.

The best water filters are not even the most expensive filters. The best water filters are Aquasana water filters, and on a cost comparison they are relatively inexpensive to use, including factoring in the cost of replacement cartridges.

In fact the figures show that the Aquasana AQ-4000 (their countertop water filter) sells for around $100 and with replacements factored in costs 9.6 cents per gallon. Compare that to the equivalent products for Aqua-Pure, 13 cents per gallon, Brita, 20 cents per gallon, PUR at 20 cents per gallon and more.

In fact of 10 drinking water filters tested the Aquasana water filter was the cheapest water filter to buy and use. Good news for anyone on a budget because not only are they the cheapest water filter but also the best. Read the rest of this entry

Popularity: 23% [?]

You may have heard of ceramic water filters. How do they work and are they any good?

Gradually consumers are learning that our drinking water is polluted with many substances. Some are removed by water authorities, but most are not, and so many are turning to water filtration. How do ceramic water filters work, and are ceramic drinking water filters the best way to purify your drinking water?

If it’s news to you that our water supplies are polluted then read on. The Ralph Nader Institute estimates that our drinking water and tap water is polluted with up to 2100 toxic chemicals. Nasty bugs are killed by chlorine, but then chlorine contamination is an issue in itself.

PCBs, heavy metals, pesticides, herbicides, drugs like antibiotics and many many more find their way into our water storages and are not removed before we drink that water or shower in it or wash our clothes in it. Tap water is not healthy to drink.

Modern water filtration systems are very good, and it’s perfectly possible to purify your drinking water to the point that it is way cleaner than any naturally occurring water supply on earth, including bottled water.

One major form of drinking water filter is ceramic water filters. Are these the best form of water filtration?

Ceramic drinking water filters work by forcing water through a filter made of Diatomaceous Earth. This is a substance made up of countless numbers of fossilised shells from millions of years ago. The reason it filters water is that the pore size, or the size of the hole that the water passes through, is very small, so molecules larger than water molecules are caught and removed.

A silver compound can be incorporated into the ceramic filter to counter the growth of bacteria, mold and algae on the filter.

There are some very well known ceramic water filters like Doulton ceramic filters.

Although drinking water systems like ceramic filters are good water purifiers, they have their drawbacks though, and do not produce the highest water quality that good purification can achieve.

What are the drawbacks? Firstly the filter itself is brittle and can be very prone to developing hairline cracks. This of course increases the size of the hole that contaminants can pass through, and some contaminants can remain.

Secondly the colloidal silver method of filtering bacteria does not meet the approval of the FTC who regard it as insufficiently effective.

Thirdly they are not particularly effective against chlorine, one of the major chemicals that you don’t want to be drinking. And they allow volatile organic compounds through.

Finally if you don’t wash or replace the filter regularly they can become contaminated and don’t filter well.

So if you’re looking for the best water filter money can buy a ceramic water filter isn’t it. They’re good, but not the best water treatment.

The best water filters are Aquasana water filters.

And not only are they the best they are also extremely cost competitive, both on initial price and on cost per gallon over time. Read the rest of this entry

Popularity: 41% [?]

If you accept that our water is laced with nasty things, should we be drinking distilled water?

We’ve written quite a bit about some of the contaminants found in water. Lead, chlorine, flouride, industrial chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, drugs and much more.

According to the Ralph Nader Institute there are anywhere up to 2100 toxic chemicals in our drinking water, so I’m sure you can see the need to filter your drinking water, or even using a whole house water filter so that you can wash in filtered water, and even wash your clothes in filtered water. Unclean water even affects your clothes.

But we digress. Back to distilled water.

Surely distilled water has to be the cleanest drinking water?

Distilled water is water that is produced by boiling water, usually contaminated water, collecting the steam and reconstituting it into water by cooling. If you hold a plate over the top of the kettle when it’s boiling you’re collecting distilled water.

Water distillation removes contaminants from water, no doubt. But it has a problem, and for this reason drinking distilled water is not recommended at all, except perhaps in small quantities.

You see distilling water results in all the minerals being removed. Now whilst we want our water filtered distilling our water is not the best water filtration method. The minerals it removes are beneficial to our bodies, and so aren’t getting them drinking distilled water.

And not only that, water that is distilled can attract minerals to replace those lost, and so can leach important salts and other minerals from our body. This can be quite dangerous.

Yes certainly you need the best water filter money can buy, preferably as a whole house filter so that all your water is filtered, but drinking distilled water is not the answer.

There is some suggestion that because distilled water sucks up other substances so well it can be useful as part of a toxin elimination diet. This may be so but is outside the area of this website. Read the rest of this entry

Popularity: 12% [?]