Do you find the taste or odour of your tap water unpleasant?

Or are you concerned about the chemicals in the water?

Water comprises around 70% of the human body and is essential for tissue integrity and function. While our municipal water supplies are tested to ensure that they are safe, some people may experience adverse reactions to either chemicals added during water treatment processes or substances which enter the water from distribution pipes.

The use of an appropriate water filter may help you overcome health problems associated with your water supply. To help you choose the filter most suitable for your needs, the table below details the drinking water contaminants removed by the filtration systems available from our online shop . The 3 step drinking water filter selection procedure described below the table may also be of assistance to you.

Drinking water filter selection procedure - Step 1

When considering which water filter to use, it is first necessary to decide what it is that you want to remove from your drinking water.

If you want to remove pipe contaminants, the main materials you will probably be concerned about will be either rust or copper. If problematic water pipes on your property cannot be replaced, the use of a filter may help you avoid potential adverse health effects.

(a)   Rust

Water that has travelled through rusty pipes often tastes rusty and may have a very pale yellow, orange or brown colour, particularly first thing in the morning or after the tap has not been used for a while. A sediment filter (e.g. micropol 5 , micropol CC ) may be used to remove rust particles from the water. While other filters (e.g. carbon filters - see below) will also remove rust particles, the accumulated rust may shorten the effective life of those filters.

(b)   Copper

Copper from copper cold water pipes on private properties may contaminate drinking water. Excess copper may result in health effects including fatigue, irritability, headache, depression, muscle twitches, joint pain and abdominal pains that come and go. In some instances, the presence of high copper levels is indicated by "blue water" either first thing in the morning or after a period of no water usage, such as after you have been away for a period of time.

The preferred way of dealing with contaminating copper cold water pipes is to replace them with either polyethylene or polypropylene pipes. If this is not possible, then an ion exchange filter or reverse osmosis unit may be used to remove copper from the water.

If you want to remove water treatment chemicals, then you will probably want to remove either fluoride or chlorine and chlorinated compounds.

(a)   Chlorine and chlorinated compounds

Of the chemicals added during the water treatment process, chlorine is the substance most likely to cause adverse health effects. It can combine with other substances to form chemicals which may result in skin irritation, dermatitis, eczema, asthma or breathing difficulties. Activated carbon filter cartridges (e.g. Aquifer jug and cooler cartridge , chemsorb , chlorimax , micropol CC , microshield ) are generally used to remove these compounds from drinking water, although KDF (e.g. Aquifer jug and cooler cartridge, bathesafe bath and shower filter ) may be required to remove chloramine.

(b)   Fluoride

There is some controversy regarding the desirability of adding fluoride to our water supply. Should you wish to remove this substance from your drinking water, reverse osmosis is the most suitable household filtration system.

Drinking water filter selection procedure - Step 2

 Once you have decided which contaminants you wish to remove from your drinking water, you need to decide whether you want a bench top filtration unit or an under sink unit.

A bench top unit will require bench space. If your bench space is limited, an under sink system may be preferred.

Should you decide to choose a bench top unit, either a jug, a cooler, or a unicore unit (which uses a standard 10 inch cartridge) could be used. The jugs and cooler have only a small filter cartridge. As the small amount of filtration media becomes exhausted more quickly than the larger 10 inch cartridges, you may need to replace them every 4 - 8 weeks, depending on the volume of water being filtered each day. In comparison, a 10 inch cartridge may last 6 - 12 months, depending on the amount of water being filtered each day.

Drinking water filter selection procedure - Step 3

Once you know what you want to remove from the water and whether you want a bench top or under sink system, refer to the table above to determine which system best meets your needs.

Should more than one system be suitable, consider whether or not all are within your budget. If they are, consider whether one has more advantages than another e.g. if one remineralises the filtered water, but the other does not, consider whether or nor remineralisation of the filtered water is important to you.

Bath and Shower filter

 Cases of eczema which have not responded to treatment may resolve if a shower filter is used to remove chlorine-containing chemicals which may act as skin irritants. The Bathesafe filter contains a total of 6 filtration media to both filter and remineralise the water.

To further enhance the quality of your drinking water when you are not at home, a range of safe plastic drinking water bottles is also available from our online shop.