Is it necessary to install a “water purifier” for municipal tap water?

Recently, the topic of whether to install a water purifier for tap water has caused a lot of discussion on the Internet. Some people feel that the tap water has been filtered and disinfected, no problem to drink directly; some people firmly believe that the tap water is seriously contaminated, do not install a water purifier can not be assured of drinking. In the end, who should listen to? An engineer working in the water supply industry for 30 years of a sentence, so that many people suddenly realized: “You can not install, but you have to know why.” This sentence seems simple, but hides a lot of doorways.

Is tap water really clean? You'll have the answer after reading this!
First of all, a common scene in daily life - home boiling tap water kettle, used for a long time will find that the bottom of the kettle has a thick layer of white or yellow sediment, which is known as “limescale”. In fact, these deposits are mainly calcium and magnesium ions, and will not cause direct harm to the human body. But if your home pipeline is old, the roof cistern has not been cleaned for many years, that remains in the pipeline rust, sediment and even microorganisms, may be with the daily use of water into your cup. Although China's tap water will undergo rigorous testing before leaving the plant and meet national standards before being delivered to millions of households. But the problem is, from the water supply plant to your home faucet, the middle to go through a long delivery pipeline, these pipes are less than ten years, more than a few decades, whether there is corrosion, deposition of impurities or secondary pollution, is a problem that can not be ignored.

Revealed: these cases are best to install a water purifier! Not all families must install a water purifier, but if your home meets the following circumstances, it is still recommended to consider as soon as possible:
1. live in old neighborhoods or high-level secondary water supply users many old neighborhoods are used decades before the laying of water supply pipes, the interior may have long been rusty, and high-level residential usually rely on secondary water supply pressurization system, if the storage and management is not in place, but also prone to secondary contamination problems.
2. home often found “yellow rust color” or odor of the tap water if your home tap water out of the obvious yellow, rust, bleach or other odors, then it is likely that there are impurities inside the pipeline or disinfectant residue too much. In this case, even if boiled, can not completely remove certain chemicals or heavy metals.
3. home with the elderly, children or pregnant women and other people with weaker immunity for the weaker people, with cleaner, safer drinking water, can reduce the burden on the stomach and intestines, reduce the risk of disease. Moreover, compared to buying bottled mineral water, the daily use of purified tap water is more economical.
4. Long-term reliance on purchased barrels of pure water crowd now many people in order to drink clean water, will choose to buy barrels of pure water, but the market barrels of drinking pure level of uneven, some black hearted vendors and even directly filling ordinary tap water posing as branded barrels of mineral water. If long-term dependence, and afraid of stepping on the pit, it is better to install a suitable purification equipment directly at home, more worry and safety.

What to choose between different types of decontamination equipment?
If you decide to install, a suitable purification equipment for you is particularly important. The mainstream household cartridges currently on the market can be broadly categorized into the following types:
-Activated carbon filter: mainly used to improve taste, adsorption of odors and some organic matter, but can not remove heavy metals and bacteria.
-Ultra-filtration membrane filter: can effectively intercept bacteria, viruses, large particles of impurities, but can not completely remove dissolved pollutants, such as heavy metal ions.
-Reverse osmosis (RO) membrane filter: very high precision, can filter out almost all the impurities, including heavy metals, pesticide residues, etc., but at the same time will remove some of the minerals needed by the human body, so some people believe that it will lead to “demineralization” problem.
-Softening resin filter: used to reduce the hardness, to prevent scaling, more suitable for some of the hardness of the northern region.
Different families have different needs, if you just want to improve the taste, you can choose the activated carbon + ultrafiltration combination; if the security requirements are higher, such as the hope that the complete removal of heavy metals, scale, etc., you can consider RO reverse osmosis models. However, it should also be noted that once you choose the RO model, you need to replace the filter cartridge regularly, otherwise the effect will be greatly reduced, and may also become a breeding ground for bacteria.

About the cost, you need to know this!
Having said that, I believe many of you will be concerned about the cost of installation and subsequent maintenance. Entry-level pre-filtration devices on the market today cost around $100, while reverse osmosis RO models typically range from $200-$500. If a family of three drink 10 liters of pure drinking water every day, compared to buy bottled mineral water every day, a year down can still save a lot of money, but also to protect health.
Therefore, for the need to install, in fact, there is no uniform standard, the key is to look at your living environment, their own needs and economic budget. If the local tap water is smooth and reliable, good water quality, then there is really no need to spend money on tossing; but if there is obvious high hardness in the region, serious odor or secondary pollution problems, then invest in a reliable purification equipment, is undoubtedly a guarantee of health.
Finally, recall the classic phrase - “you can not install a water purifier, but have to know why.” I hope that this article can help you, to know more about their level of attentiveness, so that every drop of drinking in the entrance is more at ease!