The importance of water filters on your house, and ensuring a safe and potable water supply.
Access to clean water is exceedingly important. It could be posited that the increase in life span, and reduction of chronic disease over the past 100 or so years has a lot to do with the rise of contemporary water treatment and plumbing systems.
Auckland’s water
Auckland water is collected from dams, rivers and aquifers across the region, the same rivers and dams that fish and swans poop in. Notwithstanding, Auckland Council meets the requirements of the Ministry of Health’s Drinking Water Standards for New Zealand 2005 (revised 2008). It is their mandate to constantly monitor and test water quality. However, things can go wrong, as it did in Hawkes Bay in 2016.
In these systems there are still issues with water quality. Aging infrastructure, lower quality fixtures and illegal plumbing can introduce unwanted ‘substances’ into the water system. On top of these man made issues, extreme weather conditions can result in a mixture of these unwanted substances in your drinking water.
We’ve all had brown water come through the tap, but this is happening on a micro scale every day. Take a look in your toilet cistern to see the particulate that runs through the municipal water mains.
What is the solution?
You can buffer yourself from these issues with a few safety stops on the way to your tap.
First stop should be an incoming water main sediment filter. These filter out particles in your water to 5 microns, between 50 and 1 micron sediment filters are available too depending on your needs. Starting with a 1 micron filter as a first line of defence will filter out a lot, but this can lead to your filter’s lifespan being reduced as it will be getting clogged with the way bigger debris.
How big is a micron??
A micron is 0.001mm. For scale a human hair is between 10 and 100 microns wide.
What will 5 micron filters remove?
Some bacteria
Some types of cysts
Asbestos and dusts
Sand and silt
Moulds
What will a 1 micron filter remove?
More bacteria
More cysts
Clay
Lead (but not lead dust)
Plant spores
Paint pigments
Your water is now filtered into the house supply piping. This has another positive effect on ALL the fixtures, fittings and piping in your house. Filtering water will add to the longevity of not only your fittings, but also the piping as there is less sediment micro scoring the insides of your pipe, which gradually wears it away.
No sediment…..what next?
The next step should be to add a filter for your drinking water. These filters take out anything down to 0.1 microns.
What will 0.1 micron filters remove?
A carbon-based filter will remove
Most sediment
Chemicals including chlorine and fluoride
Heavy metals
Bad tastes and odours
Most cysts
Most bacteria & E. coli
Higher quality filters will leave the essential minerals for your body’s needs.
Bottled water
With great water from your tap you will be saving the environment too. Bottled water is an environmental disaster. Just look at the garbage patches filling our oceans. Be part of the solution by using reusable bottles and your water filter.
Optional extras
UV filter
If you would like to go to the next level, a UV filter will kill harmful bacteria and microbes, and will also inactivate viruses in your water. In fact they kill 99.9% of dangerous organisms in your water. The great thing about a UV filter is that it’s easy to maintain, and does not add any chemicals into your water.
UV filters can be used as a standalone system, but to make them last longer, a combination of a sediment filter and the UV light is a winner.
UV bulbs need to be changed every 12 months to ensure optimal operations. Most filters have an alarm to remind you to change it.
Water softener
How do you know if you need a water softener? Do you suffer from any of these issues in your home?
Build up of limescale on your fixtures
Hard to rinse soap away
Redish, brown stains on baths, basins or in laundry unit
Hard water comes from an increased level of magnesium and calcium in your water. This water can be hard on your fixtures and fittings, so it may be worthwhile adding a water softener.
What types of filters are available?
Underbench
Whole house sediment
UV only
Combination sediment and UV
And many more
The best option is to contact us here to discuss the best option for you.
All our staff carry a particulate/water purity tester with them, so you can see how much is in your water.
With regards to cost. We can start a filter installation package under $500, but let’s talk and find the option that is right for you.