How Does a Water Purifier Work?

No single substance is quite as important to your body as water. It makes up over two-thirds of your body, and it's necessary that one consumes water daily to remain in good health. For that reason, a clean water supply is vital to human survival. Water filters can save plenty of money by removing contaminants from your tap water, allowing you to safely drink it.

Although most tap water isn't dangerous, trace amounts of harmful substances can be found in tap water across the country including lead, pesticides and even pharmaceutical drugs.

The basic concept behind water purifiers is filtration, which is the process of removing all of the contaminants by sifting them out. After the sifting has taken place, the result is clean water. This can be done in a variety of ways, but the essential component is the filter because this object is the one that allows only the clean water to pass through.

A common design for a water filter is one that incorporates gravity as the powering element. Tap water is held inside the water purifier atop a filter, allowing gravity to pull the water through the filter. As the water is pulled through, the contaminants remain on the top side of the filter. Modern improvements on home water purifying systems add aspects such as additional metal strainers that help ensure that virtually all contaminants are blocked.

The drawback to gravity-based water filters is that they produce drinkable water at a very slow pace, which is often impractical for a large family that has a high water intake. A quicker way to purify water is to use an activated charcoal filtration system. These use activated charcoal, which is basically carbon that is full of pores, to absorb contaminants from the water.

Studies have shown that activated charcoal is very successful in blocking contaminants; however, this version, too, has drawbacks. The main drawback is that the charcoal filters must be replaced periodically in order to maintain filtration, which can lead to a charcoal filtration system costing much more in the long haul than a gravity-based system.

While independently the two main types of water purifiers may not be prefect, a combination of the two concepts is a good way to keep you and your family safe from pollutants in the water supply. As such, they are often bundled together in large water purification systems that are ideal for family use. When compared to the cost of purchasing bottled water, water purification systems are almost always a much cheaper and efficient means of supplying a home with clean drinking water.

Resources

• Get information about home water purifiers.
• Find out about water purifiers from Culligan.