Cheap Water Filters Are Bad For Your Water

How a cheap water filtration system could spoil the quality of your drinking water

You can find cheap water filters at any grocery stores. Lots of water filter manufacturers will claim their treatment systems can remove chlorine or bacteria in your drinking water. Any hardware store will carry water filter of a variety of brands.

If your water taste bad and you are desperate for clean drinking water, any treatment system may be better than none.  Also, when you are on a tight budget, it is even more convenient to buy a cheap filter at the expense of water quality. However, it is at the expense of quality water!

The first step? . . .

  • Before you even decide on a home water filtration system, find out what makes your water taste or smell bad. Self testing kits are very affordable for as low as $20. After you have confirmed what's in your water, you can research the best filter that's certified to remove or reduce the specific contaminants.
  • Determine where you want to treat your water: only where the water is used such as the tap or the whole house.  The point-of-use filters are generally less expensive than the point of entry (whole house filtration). This could make a difference as to how much you want to spend on a home filter system. If you simply want to reduce chlorine in your shower water, a certified showerhead filter will be adequate. 
Multi-Pure  Whole House TO30000  Water Filter
Multi-Pure Whole House Water Filter

Countertop Water Filter

Aquasana Showerhead Water Filter, chlorine removal, shower filter, healthy shower, contaminants removal
Aquasana Showerhead Water Filter

So, what makes a cheap filter bad for your water?

  • It’s probably not been tested by a third-party making it less reliable. No one else other than the manufacturer can attest to the performance claims.
  • Customer complaints on Amazon or other online outlets show significantly low ratings. Strong complaints could be about leaking or other structural problems.
  • Replacement filters are either hard to find or clogged too quickly (i.e. clogging due to poorly designed filter media)

What’s the mark of a good water filtration system?

  • The number ONE mark of a good water filter is the NSF certification mark or third-party certifications like the Water Quality Association (WQA) or Underwriter Laboratories (UL). Check the description of the filtration device to see if it has the NSF certification mark.  For instance, NSF/ANSI Standard 42 is a mark that the filter is certified to reduce aesthetic conditions. NSF/ANSI 58 certified filters are for reduction of several metals including pentavalent arsenic.
  • Easy installation. If your installation cost plus the cost of the filter over the next five years is more than the cost of bottled water, then you may be spending too much.
  • How long the filter company has been in the home filtration business could be a factor.

 Don’t rely on a cheap filter. A cheap filter should be a temporary fix.  If you are really concern about the quality of your water, it’s worthwhile to spend a little more for a reliable certified filtration system.

Recommended water filtration system

Multi-Pure filter brands, water contaminants, nsf-certified, cheap filters, arsenic removal, home water treatment, best water filtersThere are several certified water filter brands on the market.  But a company with a 38-year history in the business is Multi-Pure.  Multi-Pure has a variety of NSF-certified filters for showerhead, undersink, and countertop. Although their prices may not be the same as the popular brands in your neighborhood hardware stores, you can be certain that you will be getting an effective, long-lasting filter system.  The annual NSF certification shows that Multi-Pure is constantly providing quality water filters that deliver clean and refreshing water through your tap.

If you are in the market to buy a water filter today, remember a cheap filter may ruin the quality of your drinking water. You can also order directly from the Multi-Pure website. You may use my promotional code for a special discount; simply enter discount code 421896-disc at checkout


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