Page 68 - Spring 2019 Journal

At the end of the day, any good low-cost filter is better than no filter.
any county- or area-wide testing results avail- able for well or groundwater. Ask your neigh- bors whether they have tested their water as well. This can help give context and additional insight into your test results.
Third, consider whether you have particu- lar health problems or genetic predispositions that might make you more susceptible to some contaminants. If you have a thyroid condition, for instance, you may want to prioritize a filter (or add-on) that is highly effective at removing fluoride.15 Some water filtration systems also use add-ons to deal with pathogens and possible contamination, ranging from ultraviolet light, iodine, hydrogen peroxide and a host of other approaches. My article on pool water filtration systems explores a number of these in detail, and I encourage you to check it out.16
MAKING IT PRACTICAL
In an ideal world, we would all be able to
afford and have access to 100 percent pure wa- ter and food. In the real world, however, many of us have budgetary constraints and time and money trade-offs that we have to consider. (Do I purchase pastured chicken or do I invest in a whole-house water filter?) Hopefully, the infor- mation in this article can help you sort out where you most need to allocate the resources you have to get the greatest benefit for you and your family. Ideally, with testing results in hand and an awareness of your specific health concerns, you will be able to build a system around your actual challenges and needs.
At the same time, don’t let analysis lead to
paralysis. If you can’t decide what to do, just get an affordable basic filter. Any good-quality system in the seventy-five to three-hundred- dollar range will provide substantial benefits, removing anywhere from 75 to 90 percent or more of a wide range of common water contami- nants. Table 3 compares the cost per gallon for a handful of popular models. As the table shows, the cost per gallon can vary substantially, and it doesn’t always directly link to performance! For example, the Brita filters that accomplish very little in the way of meaningful filtration cost about two to four times more per gallon than other far more effective brands.
At the end of the day, any good low-cost filter is better than no filter. Also, filtered water is almost always going to be better than bottled water, both in terms of cost and quality. How- ever, skip the countertop pitcher or similar filters that do little to provide any real improvement over standard tap water.
With any home, I always recommend running out your tap for a minute or so in the morning to cycle the standing water out of the system. If your water filter is on a bypass, this can help protect it from sediment or any other build-up or precipitation that formed or settled in the lines overnight.
With rainwater collection, it is ideal to have a “preflush”—a set-up that diverts the first ten to twenty gallons of rainwater, which will be the most contaminated and dirtiest water the roof produces during rain—away from your storage tanks. This will increase filter life and performance substantially.
TABLE 3. Cost comparison chart
BRAND
COST PER GALLON
NOTES
Berkey
2-3 cents/gallon
The cost per gallon goes down after the first filter replacement. Adding filters for fluoride and arse- nic increases the cost to around 7 cents/gallon.
Brita (standard pitcher)
13 cents/gallon
Set-up cost varies.
Brita (Longlast filter)
12 cents/gallon
Set-up cost varies.
Doulton
20-38 cents/gallon
Cost per gallon is lower for countertop models and higher for under-the-sink models.
New Wave Enviro
5-8 cents/gallon
The cost per gallon goes down after the first filter replacement.
NOTE: The cost comparisons are based on the lowest price easily found online, which might involve purchasing filters in packs of two or three (for those that last less than a year). Real-life costs per gallon could run substantially higher depending on shopping habits and place of purchase.
66 Wise Traditions SPRING 2019