Is Home Water Filtration Necessary?

We are fortunate to live in a time where most people don’t have to worry about the cleanliness of their water. During the late 19th-century the introduction of modern water treatment facilities from small towns to major metropolitan areas ushered in an era of public health victories. Whatever the source, municipal water treatment plants cycle water through chemical processes that remove contaminants like pesticides, pollution, bacteria, and viruses and provide a safe product for drinking, cooking, cleaning, and bathing.

 
As our society is inundated with multiple information resources about the water we put in our bodies and use in our homes, the question often arises if this system is enough. Is our water sufficiently free from components that can possibly contribute to sickness or damage? 

One answer that is evident from this question is quite obvious when assessing the amount of single use water bottles and filtering systems we see as daily features in our lives. Whether overt or somewhat hidden, a distrust of water quality has permeated our collective psyche causing a shift in our behavior. Examining this shift from trusting the quality of our water supply to taking action by utilizing a variety of water filtration systems is indicative of the current state of consumer awareness and initiative. 

Water Filtration: Clarifying the Benefits

You know you want clean water to flow from your pipes to your taps to each individual in your household. And you know that the water you perceive as properly treated and purified by a public water treatment facility might not reach the standards you want and expect.

 

Rather than just assuming there is a problem, take a hard look at where your water comes from and where it goes. Check out your kitchen and bathroom faucets and fixtures. Do you notice a rough, gritty scale on the handles or other parts? This is evidence of dissolved minerals like calcium and magnesium suspended in your water and deposited in your sinks.

  
This is visually problematic, but the issue goes quite literally much deeper. These same deposits can build up in plumbing systems and appliances that are dependent on water for their use. Your pipes as well as water heaters, washing machines, and dishwashers could be accumulating this scaling causing pipes to clog and appliances to malfunction. This scale from calcium and magnesium is not something a city’s water treatment plant will remove for you.

 
A water softening system installed in your home could easily tackle this problem by eliminating this sediment, so it isn’t able to collect and cause damage, thus keeping pipes clear and appliances running efficiently and lasting longer.

 
But this isn’t the only issue found in water provided from a municipal treatment plant. They also add chlorine to the water to act as a disinfectant. During their purification process, they remove any bacteria and to make sure that it stays that way after it leaves their building, they have to include chlorine to make the water immune to additional bacteria it may encounter along the way. They do this to ensure the water you drink doesn’t make you sick.

Unfortunately, chlorine has a strong smell and taste of its own which may mean you don’t like the taste of the water from your tap. Chlorine will also dry out your skin and hair, making it prone to damage. Once the water is in your home, this protection from bacteria is no longer necessary, so many people opt for a water filtration system in addition to a water softener.

A carbon filter would reduce the chlorine chemical content of your water before it comes out of your faucets and showers. Our CareSoft series water softeners are also available in a split-tank design that includes this kind of water filtration benefit in the top half of the reservoir. It will soften your water and filter it at the same time. 

Can You Save Money and the Environment?

Sometimes answers are easy, and this is one in which you can do the math. The installation and use of a water filtration system that can also soften the water for your home has direct benefits to your financial well-being as well as preserving the environment. 

Any home repair can be enough to warrant concerns for extent and cost. Water that has not been treated with a home filtration system has the potential to, over time, damage your plumbing system with a buildup of mineral deposits as well as possible corrosion from water that has a pH level leaning toward acidic. The constant costs of buying bottled water because you don’t like the taste of your tap water compounded with all of the added moisturizers and conditioning products purchased means that selecting a filtration system for your house also leads to less plastic waste that ends up in our landfills and oceans over time.

High-ticket household appliances like hot water heaters, washing machines, and dishwashers can have the duration of their lifespan extended and maintain efficiency when not burdened by unfiltered water damaging their mechanical components. Repairs or replacements are both expensive but can be avoided. 

The beneficial environmental factor of a home water filtration system can’t be ignored. There are multiple points of having a favorable impact that include reducing the amount of single use plastic water bottles, because your home water is that much more delicious. Waste is also lessened by keeping damaged appliances out of landfills. They now have a longer lifespan and use less energy because of the calcium-free water moving through them. 

What Are Your Next Steps?

Take a good look at the plumbing system and appliances in your home. They would benefit from having water devoid of any harsh minerals or other contaminants coursing through their working parts.

 

Most importantly assess your family’s physical needs. Does the water from the tap make them cringe? Optimal health can be achieved when the water that goes in your bodies and on your bodies is free from the various additives and contaminants it comes in contact with before it reaches your home.. Our society is savvier than ever about knowing what is healthy and what can impede that state of being. The continued good health of your family will ultimately guide your decision to choose the water filtration system that is right for you. 

Let our water experts give you the information you need to select the best option. Call now for a free consultation!

Clean water. Healthy family. It starts here, right now.