What’s the Best Choice for Your Inline Home Water Filter?
Nothing beats being able to turn on your kitchen tap and enjoy the experience of fresh, clean, great tasting drinking water, to say nothing of the peace of mind provided by knowing it is safe and healthy.
If you are looking for a water filter for your home you’ve probably come across the term ‘Inline Water Filter’ . Technically this term refers to any water filter which is connected to your homes plumbing system and which can be accessed by means of a tap, and would include kitchen and whole house water filters.
Normally though and for the purposes of this article it refers to plumbed in under counter kitchen water filters which do not use a storage tank and which may include single or multiple housings. Inline water filters usually employ carbon block, GAC (Granular Activated Carbon), KDF (Kinetic Degradation Fluxion), ceramic and active ceramic media in various combinations to remove the widest range of contaminants from the incoming water.
Under sink inline water filters are simple to use, relatively easily fitted and have the advantage over reverse osmosis systems in not producing any waste water and in being very affordable. They are available in a very wide range of prices starting at about £59 meaning that there’s a filter for all budgets. No one needs go without safe, filtered water.
There are a number of important factors to consider when deciding on such water filter systems, after all it will be there for a long time and will have an important effect on the healthiness and safety of your daily water so it’s worth taking a bit of time to find the best one for your situation
Existing Water Quality
The starting point in purchasing any filter is to consider what it is that you need to remove from your water? The best way to do this is by having your water tested to determine your current water quality, only by doing this can you make a truly accurate assessment of your requirements. However such tests incur added expense and more often than not are passed over. That being so you can instead contact your water company in the first instance.
A list of water companies in England and Wales and their contact numbers is available here. They will usually be able to supply an analysis of your water, however you should bear in mind that this can vary over time and will not be as definitive as having it tested yourself.
Available Space
Another important consideration is how much space is available.
Some under sink water filter such as reverse osmosis filter systems will require room for a storage tank as well as the filter itself which may consist of anywhere between 4 and 9 housings and possibly a built in pump. however the trend with reverse osmosis is towards direct flow model which dispense with a tank and thus save considerably on the amount of space required.
An inline filter makes a great alternative where there would not be room for an RO system as well as being highly effective in their own right. If your kitchen has a butler type sink then space directly under the sink may be particularly limited; this can often be solved by placing the unit in an adjacent cabinet.
Other types such as the longlife Pure Life 6 stage or the Osmio Ultra Pure & Ultra Soft under counter water filters may only have a single but powerful cartridge and require relatively little space.
Connection Type
Inline water filters can be divided into two main types:
The first are those which supply water through a dedicated pipe, normally ¼ or 3/8th inch, to either a stand alone single dispenser tap or alternatively to a three way triflow water filter tap which contains three channels one each for hot & cold and a seperate channel for the filtered water. Such taps are available in a wide range of styles to match all types of kitchens and meet all budgets.
The other are those which are fitted directly on to your existing 15mm pipe work such as the highly effective Osmio EZFITPRO-300 Ultracarb and Fluoride Filter and make use of your existing kitchen tap. The advantage of this type is the ease of installation which is by means of a simple push fit connector.
All the cold water from your kitchen tap will now be filtered and safe. The only slight downside to be aware of is that due to the volume of water that flows through them, this type normally requires more frequent filter changes.
Effectiveness of Inline Home Water Filter Systems
The filtration media employed in under counter inline water filters supplied by Puriflow Filters will deal effectively with all the common contaminants likely to be experienced in your municipal water supply.
Practically all will remove chlorine to a very high degree (99%+), and most will remove heavy metals, PCBs, VOCs, hormones, pesticide residues, taste, odour & rust etc. Depending upon the combination of media employed many will additionally remove bacteria & cysts. The Active Ceramic filtration media is a particularly effective choice and has the additional benefits of reducing limescale and having a 2-3 year cartridge life before needing to be changed.
There may be further considerations where particular sensitivities exist and where there may be specific chemicals that require removing.Not all inline filters for example would be capable of removing fluoride and if you have a requirement to rid your families drinking water of this chemical then you would need to choose a filter with this ability.
Fluoride is difficult if not impossible to remove completely but a reduction of 95-97% is achievable with a dedicated fluoride cartridge which will normally be found as part of a twin housing filter system although our single housing EASY-FIT-Fluoride-Reduction-Filter-System is designed specifically for this purpose
Quality of Components
It is important to choose a water filter which uses good quality, certified components. Recently the filter market has been flooded with very cheap filters making all sorts of dubious claims. Often these use cheap plastics which are unsuitable for contact with water and employ single poor quality seals. Look for a filter from a reputable manufacturer or with components that are certified by the NSF or are WRAS approved.
Keep Your Inline Home Water Filter Working Effectively
It is unfortunately not uncommon for people to go to some trouble selecting and installing a great filter system only to allow it become ineffective by neglecting to replace the filter cartridges. Regardless of how sophisticated the water filter is, at some time the filters will require replacement. It is vital for the continued effectiveness of the filtration process that the filters are change when specified; depending on the cartridge type, usage and water conditions this can be anywhere from 3 months to two years. It is a good idea to always keep a spare set of replacement cartridges to hand.
If you are having difficulty in deciding the best water filter system for your needs then contact us at Puriflow Filters where we would be pleased to discuss your requirements and help you find the most suitable product for your home. Call us on 0203 507 1879 or e-mail us at info@puriflowfilters.co.uk