When comparing different methods of water purification, it’s important to know what a filtration system takes out of the water. But equally important is what each system leaves in the water.
If you want the best water filtration system possible, with the most taken away and the least left behind, distillation is clearly your best option. But what are the other alternatives?
Bottled Water
It may look safe, but most bottled water is simply tap or spring water put through conditioning filters or processes to make it look and taste better. And bottled water only has to meet the same minimum standards as tap water.
Carbon Filters
When brand new, a carbon filter will do a fairly good job of removing certain organic contaminants and is pretty inexpensive. But carbon filters are not effective at removing radioactive particles, nitrates or bacteria. Over time, the filter deteriorates, lose its effectiveness and can become a breeding ground for bacteria. A cartridge that needs replacing is most likely only removing a fraction of what it did when it was new.
Reverse Osmosis
With Reverse Osmosis, water is forced under pressure through a synthetic, semi-permeable membrane. When the membrane is new it can reduce certain contaminants by more than 90%, however it doesn’t remove viruses and bacteria. Over time, the membrane breaks down and gets clogged by contaminants. Bacteria grow through the membrane and make holes it, so the quality of water produced by Reverse Osmosis degrades over time and the quality of the water is not consistent.
Plus, the water has to be microbiologically safe to begin with so it cannot be used with well water. The required maintenance and replacement of membranes can make these systems quite costly.
Ozonation
Ozone generators produce small quantities of ozone gas as a disinfectant. They reduce bacteria without making the water taste like chlorine but water must be treated at time of use and you have no simple way of determining how pure it really is.
Ultra Violet
UV light kills or inactivates most biological contaminants including viruses and bacteria without making the water taste like chlorine. However, used alone, it does not improve taste and
odour.
Distillation
Distillation heats water in a chamber until it boils and turns into steam vapor. All the impurities, such as dissolved solids and unwanted contaminant liquids, are left behind. The cooled steam is then condensed to make pure water. The effectiveness of distillation is over 99.99%. You get water as pure as water can possibly be. Distilled water tastes wonderful, is surprisingly inexpensive, and the quality of distilled water remains consistent over time.
