The best water filter will have:
When you buy a water filter you must make sure know:
A good place to start is to ask the sales rep for these figures. If they are not stated in their marketing information then they are probably an inferior product that do not want to admit it!
Micron Rating
The micron is a unit of measumerment. The micron rating describes the size of a particle that will fit through a filter medium. For example bacteria are 0.004 to -0.1 microns, therefore they will not pass through a filter of this rating or less. The lower the number in the rating, the cleaner the water will be. The micron rating shows how effective the filter is.
Unfortunately, normally the lower the micron rating means a denser filter. This will often slow the flow rate.
Flow Rate
Flow rate describes the amount of water that can flow through the filter. A good flow rate is usually between 7.5lt/min-9.7lt/min. A good way to consider the flow rate, is it is the rate at which the filter can rid the water or solvent of chlorine. Basically a faster flow rate requires a larger filter.
A good filter will have an effective micron rating, with a reasonable flow rate.
Eg. Micron rating with 0.5 and flow rate of 7.5-9.7lt/min, accredited by the NSF, is a really good quality filter
Information you need to know when choosing a water filter
To get the right water filter for you, you need to know:
First of all, you need to know what is in your tap water. Does it contain any dangerous and unregulated chemicals? You can find out by doing a simple test at home, find out more HERE.
Some at home tests are not incredibly accurate. You can back up your knowledge by consulting your local municipal water report, you can look online or ask your local council/commune or government department. We have many available HERE.
Knowing exactly where your water comes from is also important. The Nature Conservacy has a brilliant resource, where you click on the map where you live and they provide you with your local water sources, find out more HERE.
Once you know what contaminants there are, you can consult this chart and look at what organisms and elements the different water filters can remove. Check out the water filter comparissons table HERE.
Find out what contaminants are and what health effects they have HERE
Make sure the water filter you intend to buy is certified. Water filters are certified for a good reason, they are tested properly and you know what you are getting. Find out about the certification bodies HERE.
Need to know how they rate and certify water filters, find out HERE.
Find out who is responsible for monitoring your water, HERE
For any more information, or if you are simply too busy to do this yourself CONTACT US for more information or a recommendation on the water filter that is right for you, HERE