contaminants removed reverse osmosis filters

Contaminants Removed by Reverse Osmosis Water Filters

For those with water filters installed in their homes, the benefits are vast and significant. From improved taste and removal of impurities to limited maintenance needs and related cost savings, there are several great reasons to consider water filtration within your home.

At Action Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electrical, we’re proud to offer reverse osmosis water filter installation to provide quality filtration services to your entire home. Reverse osmosis is a technology that removes water contaminants using a porous membrane and pressure, and it’s been proven effective at removing several specific risk materials to achieve better taste and water quality – what are some of these impurities that are removed, and why are they a risk to you if they are left in water? Here’s a quick primer.

Sediment

Unfortunately, most standard tap water found in homes will contain some level of sediment, which is a broad term referring to dirt, clay, silt and other debris formats. It’s important to note that sediment generally isn’t a health risk in the amounts that it’s found in.

However, if you’ve found that the water in your home has a poor taste that makes it undesirable to drink, the culprit is often this same sediment. But if you have a water filtration system, sediment will be one of the simplest contaminants to remove, making your water taste and even smell better for every drinker in the home.

Lead

Lead, on the other hand, is a very dangerous and possibly even toxic material when it comes to human health, particularly if it’s found in a water supply. There are two common ways for lead to enter your drinking water:

  • Old pipes begin to rust and decompose, causing small pieces to break off and bring their attached lead into the water system. Luckily, reverse osmosis systems can filter out any such lead in your water.
  • Well water: If your home gets its water from a well source, it’s possible there’s a concentration of lead here as well. If you use such a system, have our plumbers test your well water at least once a year for lead and other contaminants.

Pathogens

Finally, our filtration systems will remove not only the above, but also a few harmful pathogens. These include:

  • Giardia Intestinalis: This is a parasite that’s found in water, usually as a result of contamination from animal feces. It can stay in water for months, and will cause a condition called Giardiasis, which leads to severe and prolonged diarrhea.
  • Cryptosporidium: Similar to Giardia, but also resistant to chlorine that’s sometimes used for purification. This parasite requires more significant filtration like reverse osmosis.

For more on how reverse osmosis filtration systems and the kinds of contaminants they remove from your water, or to learn about any of our plumbing or HVAC services, speak to the staff at Action Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electrical today.