Public water filtration cannot accomplish everything. They safeguard people from illnesses such as typhoid. Unwanted and undesirable items such as soil, sewage and animal carcasses are cleaned out of the lakes and reservoirs. They eliminate minerals, including stones and potentially toxic heavy metals. The water is tested to ensure there are no toxic contaminants. Since there are problems in the public water supply that are not corrected by the system's filtering system, additional measures must be taken at the tap.



In the first place, many of these utilize chemicals for the purposes of disinfecting and destroying bacterium. Although the use of others is permissible, chlorine is most common. The chemical disinfection process releases by-products that are hazardous to a person's health. Chlorine produces by-products called THMs. Cancer is known to be associated with these chemicals. They are carcinogenic.

The regulations put in place by the Environmental Protection Agency require that the THM content or total trihalomethanes be restricted to 80 parts per billion. THMs are considered hazardous to your health above that level, due to their potential to bring about nerve damage and other disorders. The water filtration system used in public is not adequate enough to counteract the by-products. They can only test the water to see if their level is too high.

We now arrive at the second issue. Just because something is tested by our public officials doesn't always mean that things are good. They test the water in homes so our water should be safe and we shouldn't need a home water filtration system, right?

Well, the "safe" level does not take several things into account. The standard toxicity measure is for a grownup weighing 175 lbs. Those who do not weigh that much are under more of a threat. Two, while most facilities are surely doing their job correctly, there have been reports of inaccurately reporting the test results in order to pass. Third, the test may underestimate the levels of by-products in your tap water because the water may pick up additional impurities before it enters your home plumbing system.

Does this sound frightening? particularly if you have kids, there is no way that you can go without a good point of use water filtration system that removes chlorine and blocks THMs. Be sure that the purifier you are interested in does more than block chlorine and odors. If that happened, there would be no way to guard against THMs.

Industry standards and performance certifications are two important factors when looking for a water filtration system. Better companies have certifictation done, but it is not necessary. An information printout listing THMs and other polluting materials, including VOCs and cysts, should be available. Although the names may not be familiar to you, pestisides and herbisides should also be listed. Benzene and lindane are the most common in the United States. The best value for your money is one that removes everything. Completing the entire task is not accomplished by many.

Hopefully, this article has described how water filtration systems operate and why every home needs one. Have fun selecting a product!