If you are considering a home water filter or a personal water purifier but you unsure which brand or the type to buy, you are in the right place.   On this website we will:

• Describe various drinking water problems and the different home water filter devices to treat or remove water contaminants in your drinking water.
• Help you understand the importance of selecting a water filter or a treatment system that will meet your specific drinking water needs.   It is important to know that an NSF-tested water filter does not mean the filter is certified by National Sanitation Foundation (NSF).
• Feature selected water filter companies that carry assorted water filters.

• Surface Water
• Ground water

Contaminants in drinking water:
EPA regulates hundreds of water contaminants and among them are lead, copper, arsenic, iron, manganese, taste and odor, Cryptosporidium, VOCs, total dissolved solids, disinfection by products, turbidity, and more.

Sources of surface water contamination:

• Point Sources
• Combined Sewer Overflows (CSO): CSO is a mixture of sanitary waste and storm water discharge from the Combined Sewer Systems (CSS) as a result of snow melts or storm water runoff.
• Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSO): SSO is a discharge of sanitary waste to surface water during dry weather.  It’s due to either infiltration and inflow (I/I) or the wastewater treatment plant or satellite pump stations are under designed for the flow it receives.
• Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO): A CAFO is an agricultural operation where animals are kept and raised in confined situations. These operations are generally where farmers congregate animals, feed, manure, dead animals, and production operations on a small land area.
• Storm water runoffs: Stormwater discharges are generated by runoff from land and impervious areas such as paved streets, parking lots, and building rooftops during rainfall and snow events that often contain pollutants in quantities that could adversely affect water quality.





• Non-Point Sources

Non-Point Source (NPS) pollution could come from variety of sources. NPS is when contaminated overland flows - rainfall or snow melt - are discharged to surface waters usually from uncontrolled agricultural farmlands and construction areas. As the runoff moves, it picks up and carries away natural and human-made pollutants, finally depositing them into lakes, rivers, wetlands, coastal waters, and even our underground sources of drinking water.  Sources include:


• Excess fertilizers, insecticides from agricultural activities and street runoffs
• Bacteria from animals
• Failed septic systems
• Waste disposal
• Dirty or Acid rains

Sources of Ground water contamination:

• Failed septic tanks
• Waste disposal
• Oil spills
• Underground storage
• Agricultural activities

Differences between water filters and water purifiers:

Filters are used to remove suspended particulates in water.  They are composed of screens with tiny holes, measured in microns, to remove contaminants.  The smaller the holes the more effective a water filter.  EPA recommends an absolute one micron filter to remove Cryptosporidium.

Most water home water treatment devices are certified by American National Standards Institute (ANSI) using ANSI/NSF standards.  The standards require verification claims of contaminants reduction.  NSF standards require extensive testing of a water treatment device before it is certified. EPA does not certify a water treatment device.  Simply because it has an EPA registration number does not indicate an EPA certification.  Only NSF does the testing and certification.

Water Purifiers are designed to remove, kill, or inactivate bacteria or any other disease-causing organisms.  As noted above, EPA does not certify water filters but it registers some water treatment devices to show that these devices use bacteriostatic agents which slow the growth of microbes within the treatment unit.  EPA simply verifies the bacteriostatic claims on the treatment unit label but not the effectiveness of the agent.

Some water purifiers can be carried in backpacks, and traveling bags. Some portable water purifiers can be used at campgrounds, offices and any other outside events.

Importance of water filters:
Everyone has a desire for healthy and refreshing water.  However, some water may not be fit to drink due to various circumstances mentioned above. For water to be healthy and fit to drink, it should meet certain conditions such as:

• A suitable temperature.
• No turbidity.
• Colorless.
• Odorless.
• Pleasant taste.
• Sightly.
• Pathogens-free.

When drinking water lacks any of these conditions, a treatment device is needed to bring it to a desired taste and beauty.  There are several types water filters or purifiers to remove any possible contaminants in drinking water.  A filter of choice will depend on the specific contaminants that need to be removed.  Different types include whole house, undersink or under counter, counter top or tabletop, pitchers, faucet-mount, and refrigerator water filters.

Water filters and purifiers come in variety of sizes and brands which can give you better quality water than you will get from bottled water – and even at a lower cost than regularly buying bottled water.  Some filters are designed into a cylindrical case to remove sediments and heavy metals, and some to remove taste and odors.  Other devices are portable in form of water bottles, water coolers, and pitchers.

Types of Technologies to resolve drinking water problems:

• Activated carbon filters
• Reverse Osmosis Water Filters
• Carbon Block Filters
• Distillation Systems
• Water Softeners
• Ultraviolet (UV) disinfection

Choosing the right water treatment device and using the right water treatment technology is critical to resolving any water problems. Browse our website for detailed descriptions of the different water filtration and technologies.



Drinking Water Home Guide
How safe is your drinking water? This downloadable ebook gives you the detailed information about the state of your drinking water and how to resolve any water problem issues.

Also, take a few minutes to watch the video below to know how important it is to ensure that your water is safe and healthy to drink.