Water bottles seem to be an ongoing trend in today’s busy and active American society. To keep up with our busy lives, whether at work, in our purse at the gym or simply at home, always having a water bottle seems mandatory. For health and taste issues, a majority of people has replaced tap water with bottled water. Hollywood’s hottest stars are always photographed with a water bottle in their hands, whether  on the film set filming or during an afternoon shopping spree. Yet, whom am I kidding, right? We all know that the total added cost of a year’s worth of water bottles is pretty high. This is without even having to feel guilty about the waste of all that plastic!

Are you looking for one easy, smart and cheap solution? Three simple words are the answer: water-filter-system!

While water filters are not inexpensive, they do improve the taste of tap water while getting reducing its impurities and chemicals. If you were to compare a glass of bottled water to a glass of tap water, you would see for yourself a notable difference. After a few seconds, the glass of tap water will appear cloudy and will have a funny smell. The glass of bottled water will be clear and free of any funny smells. Now that this experiment has proven my point, you need to understand that a water filter will bring you the same results as a glass of bottled water,  but at a much cheaper cost.
There are various types of water filtration systems on the market that are meant to fulfill each and every specific need. Depending on the type of filter you choose, some will be more effective in removing certain substances than others. For instance, some filters are meant to remove lead while others take care of chlorine. Yet, in order to get rid of micro-organisms, you will need another type of filter.

Various water filtration methods can be employed based on the specific demand: distillation and basic filtration are the most common ones. Distillation is most likely the oldest and more simple form of water filtration. The procedure consists of “boiling water until the vapor rises to a condenser where cooler water lowers the temperature so that the vapor can condense and afterwards be collected and stored” (Source: http://www.freedrinkingwater.com/water-education/quality-water-filtration-method.htm#Anchor-Microporous-35882). The greatest disadvantage of such procedure is the cost in energy  and the considerable amount of water that it requires.  A small inconvenient  is that often small particles like herbicides remain in the water and are very hard to take out.

Basic filtration consists of using screen filters with specific pore dimension in order to retain and block all chemical particles when the liquid passes through the filter. ” Screen filter are inherently uniform structure which, like a sieve, retain all particles larger than the precisely controlled pore size on their surface. On the other hand, surface filters are made form multiple layers” (Source: http://www.freedrinkingwater.com/water-education/quality-water-filtration-method.htm#Anchor-Microporous-35882). The use of the appropriate filter is very important considering the vary in kinds and that the depth filters will only serve to remove the most obvious particles.

“The chlorine filter and the filter to remove lead are intended for use with water that has already been tested and proven safe” (source: http://www.allwaterfiltrationsystems.com/).  Before buying a filtration system,  my advice to you do  an evaluation of your water in order to better understand your specific needs.

You can purchase a simple water test kit from your local plumbing supply company and test your water yourself, or contact your city hall and request a copy of your town’s annual water report.

With the reckless attitude society has in had in past decades, water sources are becoming more and more polluted with chemicals, toxic metals and various types of bacteria. In today’s world and especially for the future of our children, it is absolutely unacceptable to continue with the degradation of our water supplies. It will take complicated processes and lot of time for water sources to be cleaned up. In the mean time, in order to save time and money and to stop wasting plastic, water filters are a simple and ecological answer.