Look at all of your options when you compare water treatment systems. You can filter the water for you whole house, just what you drink or just what you shower in. There are benefits to each and there are, of course, some "pretenders" on the market.
I see more advertisements for Brita and PUR than for all of the other brands combined. They advertise in the Sunday paper. They have television commercials. They are sold in practically every department store and membership club. They aren't all they're cracked up to be.
Brita faucet filters do a little better job than the PUR equivalent, but if you compare water treatment systems for the kitchen, you will find that there are better options that cost less to use. Both Brita and PUR filters have a short life span, so the cost of use is about 20 cents a gallon.
You can cut that cost in half if you buy the right system.
Neither of the popular brands removes THMs or VOCs. THMs or trihalomethanes cause cancer.
VOCs are volatile organic compounds. Exposure causes a variety of health problems. VOCs are common surface and groundwater contaminants, but THMs are always present whenever chemicals are used for disinfection. To provide a system that removes chlorine and does not remove THMs is illogical, but there are a number of different brands on the market that do just that.
If your water is chlorinated, you should know that THM exposure occurs in the shower. The chemicals enter the bloodstream at a higher rate than they do if consumed. So, you need to also compare water treatment systems for the shower.
When you do, you'll see that the price difference is truly amazing. Most cost less than a hundred bucks, but one costs over two hundred. What's the difference, that's what I wanted to know?
The most expensive shower filters are made by Wellness Enterprises. They claim that their products are the best because they use "rare Japanese stones" to "imbue your water with health giving qualities". If you think that sounds a little silly, you're right. Running it over a bunch of stones does nothing to imbue a liquid with anything.
On the other hand, running it over granulated carbon and a multimedia block removes chlorine, THMs, VOCs and a variety of other chemical contaminants. You may want to compare water treatment systems for the whole house. It could be more cost effective in the long run.
They cost more initially than say one purification device for the kitchen and another for the shower, but if you have a big family or a large home, you may end up needed three or four showerhead filters. That can become expensive to purchase and replace the filters. Plus, keeping up with a replacement schedule for all of them could get difficult.
Hopefully, the information above will help you compare water treatment systems and make the right choice for your family.
