Eco Waters: Tips for Water Filtration System

You cannot determine the quality a water filter by its price. An expensive water filter may not perform better than a less expensive one. You don't have to spend $5000 or more for a water filter if your drinking water problems are just taste and odor.



If your water smell or taste bad and if you have tested it for the exact problem, you can find an effective filter for just between $90 and $200. There are countertop and undersink water filters good enough to remove taste and odor and other harmful chemicals from your water. If you prefer to treat the water in your whole house, you can also find a less expensive filter for just under $1000.

(From:waterfilters-camping-water-purifier.com)

Bottled water may contain chlorine, according to EPA. Chlorination is one of the methods being used to disinfect most bottled water. You can get the same or better quality water when you bottle your own tap or filtered water.



If you want to remove chlorine from your shower and drinking water, you can buy a good showerhead filter and a countertop or an undersink filter for drinking. Chlorine in shower water is known to cause flaky skin.

If you do prefere to treat the entire water entering the whole house, water filter options include but not limited to activated carbon, reverse osmosis and distillation.

You need to understand that EPA does not approve water filters. According to information on EPA's website, it only “requires registration of home water treatment unit filters that incorporate a disinfectant to inhibit microbial growth” such as water purifiers.

Don't fall for advertising deceptions that a certain water filter is approved by EPA. National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) International and other independent organizations will certify home water treatment units.

NSF performs rigorous testing on the treatment units and filter media to make sure they perform according to manufacturers’ claim. They make unannounced visits to water filter companies every year to make sure the claims are still true.



Water filters may be certified for one or multiple water contaminants. If you are concerned with taste and odor, metals, nutrients, fluoride, lead, or sediment in your water, you can always find an NSF-certified water filter system that meets your need. Some are labeled as NSF/ANSI or UL certified. Read the water filter descriptions for information; but most often you will see a bold NSF logo on the box.
(waterfilters-camping-water-purifier.com)

A water may appear very clear and clean but it's probably not healthy to drink. Harmful chemicals and bacteria that can make you sick may not be visible in water. You may not even taste or smell the contaminant when you drink.

This is the reason you need a camping water purifier when you go on camping or hiking trips. Streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes may look pristine but they may contain invisible but harmful dissolved chemicals.

Using a camping water purifier can help you avoid unnecessary inconvenience. You cannot afford to get sick from contaminated water, it will not allow you to enjoy your camping or hiking adventure. A portable water purifier is also essential if you are traveling to a country where water quality is unknown or questionable.
(From :www.waterfilters-camping-water-purifier.com)

Hiring a water testing lab to test your water is probably a good idea; you will likely get the best professional opinion about the quality of your drinking water. This can be a little pricey for a budget-minded home owner or a small business owner but water testing labs are required follow strict government approved analytical protocols.

Nevertheless, there are certain basic water analyses you can perform without hiring a water testing laboratory. Personal home water testing kits are available to perform some simple testing procedures. Just follow the testing directions and you can immediately find out if your water is good or bad to drink.

Self-testing kits are available for each of the following contaminants: taste and odor, lead, chlorine, nitrates, iron, fluoride, and more. You can also find an all-in-one self-testing kit for multiple water contaminants.

As rainwater falls through the atomosphere, it collects oxygen gas. This dissolved oxygen is not the same as the oxygen in the water molecule. Dissolved oxygen is present in all rainwaters and surface supplies due to contact with the atmosphere. Just how much dissolved oxygen a water supply will contain depends on

Several factors:

1. Under high pressure relatively large quantities of oxygen dissolve in water. When the pressure is reduced, a proportionate weight of the gas escapes (Henry's Law).

Henry's Law. The English chemist, William Henry, formulated a law regarding the effect of pressure on a gas. The law states: The weight of a gas that dissolves in any given liquid is directly proportional to the pressure, providing the temperature remains constant. If one gram of oxygen, for example, dissolves in 100 cubic centimeters of water at atmospheric pressure, two grams of oxygen will dissolve under twice the normal atmospheric pressure, providing there has been no change in temperature.

2. The amount of minerals in a water affects its ability to dissolve oxygen. Distilled water can absorb more oxygen than well waters with higher mineral content. Obviously sea water, for this same reason, holds less dissolved oxygen than fresh water.



Well waters usually contain smaller amounts of dissolved oxygen than surface supplies. In deep wells there may be a total absence of the gas. However, an article in Science Magazine, June 11, 1982, pages 1227-30, states:

Contrary to the prevailing notion that oxygen-depleting reactions in the soil zone and in the aquifer rapidly reduce the dissolved oxygen content of recharge water to detection limits, 2 to 8 milligrams per liter of dissolved oxygen is present in water from a variety of deep (100 to 1000 meters) aquifers in Nevada, Arizona, and the hot springs of the folded Appalachians and Arkansas. Most of the waters sampled are several thousand to more than 10,000 years old, and some are 80 kilometers from their point of recharge.

Oxygen adds to the taste of water. For this reason a small amount of it is desirable in drinking water. We are all familiar with the "flat" taste which water often possesses after it has been standing in an open container for some time. The taste can be improved simply by shaking the water in a partially filled bottle. This reintroduced oxygen into the water will give it a more appealing taste. Despite this desirable feature, dissolved oxygen can be a source of serious trouble in a household water supply. The fact is that oxygen causes corrosion. In cold water, oxygen normally has little corrosive effect. In contrast, when the water is heated, the oxygen can cause serious corrosion problems.

A number of chemicals are used in industry to remove oxygen from a water supply. Sodium sulfite (Na2S03) is probably most widely used for this purpose. It reacts with oxygen at high temperatures to form sodium sulfate (Na2S04), in this way reducing the oxygen. There are a number of chemicals that react similarly with oxygen to effect its removal. The degree of success varies. For household purposes treatment is normally limited to the use of polyphosphates to coat the insides of water lines to protect the metal from contact with the oxygen.

Many water supplies contain silica. This is not surprising since silicon is the second most abundant chemical element in the earth.

Silica. (silicon dioxide) A compound of silicon and oxygen (Si02). It is a hard, glassy mineral substance which occurs in a variety of forms such as sand, quartz, sandstone, and granite. It also is found in the skeletal parts of various animals and plants.

Silicon. (Si) One of the nonmetallic elements in abundant supply as part of various compounds in the crust of the earth.

The solid crust of the earth contains 80% to 90% silicates or other compounds of silicon. Water passing through or over the earth dissolves silica from sands, rocks and minerals as one of the impurities it collects.

Silicates. Compounds which contain silicon and oxygen in combination with such metals as aluminum, calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, sodium and others. Silicates are classed as salts. Silicates are widely distributed in such minerals as asbestos, mica, talc, lava, etc.

Colloids. Extremely small solid particles suspended in a solution such as water. The weight of the individual particle is so low that a true colloid will not settle out, even after standing for an indefinite period. Colloidal particles are thought to have a charge which causes the particles to repel each other, and prevent their agglomeration into larger particles. A colloid diffuses very slowly or not at all through a membrane, and has little, if any, effect upon the freezing point, boiling point, or vapor pressure of the solution.

The silica content of water ranges from a few parts per million in surface supplies to well over 100 ppm in certain well waters.

In its colloidal form it consists of very fine particles in suspension. These can usually be removed by coagulation and settling or filtering.

The concentration of nitrates is commonly expressed as N03-. The term "nitrate nitrogen" is used to refer to the nitrogen present which is combined in the nitrate ion. This nomenclature is used to differentiate nitrate nitrogen from nitrogen in the form of ammonia (ammonia nitrogen), from nitrogen in the form of nitrite (nitrite nitrogen), etc. The concentrations are usually expressed in milligrams per liter of nitrogen.

Many ground waters contain small amounts of nitrate nitrogen. Concentrations range from 0.1 mg/l to 3 or 4 mg/l in most areas. Amounts as high as 100 mg/l have been found, however. Nitrates may occur in both shallow and deep well supplies, but they are most common in water from shallow wells. Nitrate nitrogen can result from the seepage of water through soil containing nitrate-bearing minerals. It may also occur as the result of using certain fertilizers in the soil; however, nitrates are one of the products of decomposition of animal and human wastes. Thus, the presence of nitrates in a water supply indicates possible pollution of the water.

Nitrate nitrogen has been much publicized in recent years in relations to the problem of "blue babies." In concentrations as low as 10 to 20 mg/1 nitrate nitrogen has caused illness and even death among infants under six months of age. If such water is used for supplemental or for complete bottle feeding, it may affect the ability of the blood to carry oxygen. This oxygen starvation is called methemoglobinemia, or more commonly, the "blue baby" condition. This serious illness in infants is caused because nitrate is converted to nitrite in the higher pH conditions existing in the stomachs and intestinal tracts of infants under six months of age. Nitrite interferes with the oxygen carrying capacity of a child's or baby animal's blood. This is an actue disease in that the symptons can develop rapidly. In most cases, health deteriorates rapidly over a period of days. Symptons include shortness of breath and blueness of skin.

In the process of decomposition, raw sewage undergoes a chemical change. Among the end products is nitrate nitrogen. When nitrate nitrogen occurs, it is considered evidence of pollution either from septic tank fields, cesspools or other sewage sources. Where a ground­water is known to contain little or no nitrate nitrogen naturally, the appearance of any significant increase is a probable indication of pollution. Because of these factors, well waters containing nitrate nitrogen should be checked periodically by local or state health authorities.

The best method for treatment of large nitrate nitrogen concentrations due to human or animal wastes is prevention. Wells should be properly located and constructed in order to prevent sewage contamination. Nitrates can be removed through distillation, deionization, or reverse osmosis. Even though about 95% of ionic nitrates can be removed by reverse osmosis, non-ionic forms of nitrogen are not rejected and pass through the membrane. In commercial and industrial water supplies nitrates do not usually present serious problems.

Fluorides in water can be detrimental or beneficial. It all depends on the concentration. Surface water supplies are normally low in fluorides (less than 0.5 ppm). Some have no fluoride at all. Well waters may contain excessive amounts of fluoride. There are some wells which contain the recommended amount (1 mg/1) for drinking water.

Fluorides are important because they have a definite relation to dental health. Research has shown that a concentration of 1 mg/1 of fluoride in drinking water reduces tooth decay. On the other hand, some children under nine years of age exposed to levels of fluoride greater than about 2 mg/1 may develop a condition known as "endemic dental fluorosis." Sometimes called "Colorado Brown Stain," this condition appears as a dark brown mottling or spotting of the permanent teeth. In certain cases, the teeth become chalky white in appearance. Further, federal regulations require that fluoride not exceed a concentration of 4 mg/1 in drinking water. This is an enforceable maximum contaminant level standard, and it has been established to protect public health. Exposure to drinking water levels above 4 mg/1 for many years may result in cases of crippling skeletal fluorosis, which is a serious bone disorder.



Research studies indicate that fluoride concentrations of 1 mg/1 are optimum. Authorities generally agree: (1) Where concentrations are greater than 4 mg/1, the excess fluorides must be removed from water; (2) Where concentrations are less than 1 mg/1, fluorides should be added. As a result of studies, cities are presently required by some states to add fluorides in optimum concentrations to municipal water supplies. Where the fluoride concentration is too great, it is necessary to reduce the amount to acceptable limits.

Various methods have been suggested for reducing fluorides. These can be classified broadly in three groups:

1. Reverse osmosis.

2. Those involving treatment with chemicals, such as aluminum sulfate, magnesium or calcium phosphate, and others.

3. Those involving percolation through a bed of material, such as activated carbon, activated alumina, granular tricalcium phosphate or ion exchange resins.

The first treatment method has obvious advantages. Methods in the second category have distinct disadvantages. They require use of elaborate treatment plants, careful control of chemical dosage and pH. In some cases further treatment is necessary to restore the pH of the treated water to normal.

Methods in the third category do not require such elaborate control. Of these, the only widely used method of reducing fluoride content involves the use of a tricalcium phosphate filter. Such a filter functions in much the same way as a carbon filter. As the water flows through a tri-calcium phosphate filter, the fluorides are absorbed.
(From:Freedrinkingwater)

Almost all natural waters contain some carbon dioxide which they gain in several ways. Carbon dioxide gas (CO,) is present in the air to the extent of 0.03 percent by volume and 0.05 percent by weight. As rain falls through the air, it absorbs some of this gas.

Free carbon dioxide. Refers to carbon dioxide gas dissolved in water. The term is used to distinguish a solution of the gas from the combined carbon dioxide present in bicarbonate and carbonate ions.

On reaching the earth, the rainwater now slightly acid will absorb additional amounts of carbon dioxide if it flows through decaying vegetation. At the same time, the carbon dioxide becomes carbonic acid. If the water now passes through limestone formations, its carbonic acid content will react with the limestone to form soluble calcium bicarbonate. In this process the carbonic acid is partially neutralized.



Limestone. A sedimentary rock formation wholly, or in large degree, composed of calcium carbonate. There are many important varieties of limestone, such as chalk, travertine and marble.

On the other hand, if water passes through rock formations, such as granite, no such reaction occurs. The carbonic acid is not neutralized. It continues as carbonic acid until drawn to the surface where it can then cause corrosion if not neutralized.

Granite. A type of rock that consists primarily of quartz, alkali feldspar and mica. The quartz and feldspar are always present in granite. Other minerals are sometimes present as well. These are all silicates.

If nature or chemical agents do not neutralize carbonic acid, it will cause corrosion of both copper and galvanized plumbing systems . In those parts of the country where the problem is prevalent it is serious, for it can lead to serious damaging of plumbing equipment. Carbon dioxide, together with carbonic acid, is primarily a problem in water containing relatively low concentrations of minerals. In such water there are not sufficient alkaline salts to buffer the effect of the carbonic acid.

The simplest method for removal of carbonic acid is to pass the water through a tank containing limestone chips. A neutralizing filter of this type affects the carbonic acid just as does the underground limestone formation. The limestone in the filter reacts with the carbonic acid to produce calcium bicarbonate. In the same way, lesser amounts of magnesium bicarbonate are formed. Note: Not all forms of limestone are suitable for this purpose. Excessively soft material may break down to form a solid mass and block the filter. The best types are hard, strong granules which retain their physical structure, even as they are dissolved.

Another type of material used in this neutralizing process is magnesium oxide. Although this procedure does add hardness and alkaline salts to the water, it effectively neutralizes a considerable amount of carbonic acid at a relatively low cost.

Where high carbon dioxide concentrations are encountered, a solution of soda ash sodium carbonate (Na2C03) may be fed into the water. The carbonic acid and the sodium carbonate react directly to form sodium bicarbonate. This method of treatment offers the advantage of not adding hardness to the water. Also, it is especially effective where it is necessary to remove carbonic acid from large volumes of water. This method, as we have seen, has the disadvantage of requiring more attention in the preparation and maintenance of proper feeds.

The responsibility to test drinking in homes rests on the home owners. The quality of the water you drink may be altered once it enters the pipes in your homes. Reasons to test your drinking water for possible contaminants may include:
Your family health needs. Some people are more susceptible to pathogenic or other water borne diseases than others. People with severe illness could be at risk than healthy individuals.
Environment where your water supply is located could affect the quality of your drinking water and a water test could be important. For example, proximity to wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent discharges, inadequate combined sewer overflows (CSO) abatement program, concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO) and sanitary sewer overflows (SSO) problems.

Age of your house plumbing system could result in metals leaching into home drinking water. Lead in old house plumbing can leach into the drinking water. According to the medical experts, a brief or prolonged body exposure to lead can cause serous health issues. Test result will help determine the treatment options.Taste and odor of your drinking water from possible chlorine residual could also result in a need to conduct a water quality testing. Also, if you are simply considering a home water treatment system, testing your water will allow you to make the best selection of a water filter

(From:Waterfilters-camping-water-purifier)

Harnessing Solar Energy for Water Purification - (from Docstoc )

Carbon filtering is a method of filtering that uses a piece of activated carbon to remove contaminants and impurities, utilizing chemical adsorption. Each piece of carbon is designed to provide a large section of surface area, in order to allow contaminants the most possible exposure to the filter media. One pound (454g) of activated carbon contains a surface area of approximately 100 acres (1 km²/kg).[1] This carbon is generally activated with a positive charge and is designed to attract negatively charged water contaminants. Carbon filtering is commonly used for water purification, but is also used in air purifiers.



Carbon filters are most effective at removing chlorine, sediment, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from water. They are not effective at removing minerals, salts, and dissolved inorganic compounds.

Typical particle sizes that can be removed by carbon filters range from 0.5 to 50 micrometres. The particle size will be used as part of the filter description. The efficacy of a carbon filter is also based upon the flow rate regulation. When the water is allowed to flow through the filter at a slower rate, the contaminants are exposed to the filter media for a longer amount of time
(From WikiPedia)

Water filters can be made on-site using local materials such as grass, charcoal (e.g. from burned firewood), and sand. These filters have been used by soldiers and outdoor enthusiasts.[2] Due to their low cost they can be made and used by anyone, including the poor, who often do not have access to safe drinking water. Regrettably such filters do little if anything to mitigate against pathogens and other harmful constituents and can give a false sense of security that the water so produced is potable.