If you are building a new home or retrofitting an existing one with a water filtration systems, you have two choices: whole-house and single tap.
Both provide cleaner, clearer, and better-tasting drinking water. They are also more efficient, require less maintenance, and are simple to install.
Under-bench filtration for a single tap
Compact under-bench systems fit easily inside kitchen sink cupboards, although they can be used at any single tap in the house. They are available in a variety of versions depending on your needs. Generally water passes through one to three filters up to a tap mounted on the sink.
The most common are the standard filters. They are effective, compact and easy to install, and are the cheaper option.
Our Jacob Lewis says under bench systems have a few variations. "The filters come in one, two and three-stage models and the more stages your water goes through, the cleaner it will be. The filters we stock can remove sediment, chlorine, taste and odours, and reduce but not eliminate levels of lead, bacteria, viruses, and several chemicals."
Have a look at our Puretec X7 for more information.
Another under-bench filtration system is a reverse osmosis (RO) system, though they are not as common. RO systems are larger and have more stages and a pressurised water storage tank that fits under the sink or in a cupboard next to the sink (which may require an auxiliary pump). Using the household water pressure, the tap water travels through a series of up to six filters that trap all the contaminants of a standard filter and many more smaller chemicals and bacteria. While a standard filter typically removes particulates ranging in size from about 10-30 microns, RO filters have a pore size of 1 micron or less meaning they will remove small bacteria like Cryptosporidium and Giardia.
Give us a call on 03 543 9057 or email us if you're interested in learning more about RO systems.
Ultraviolet purification for whole house use
Ultraviolet (UV) water purification is the most effective way of disinfecting bacteria and viruses from water. The UV rays destroy 99.99% of illness-causing microorganisms by attacking their genetic core.
A UV system can be installed to take in stored water from a tank, filter it, then pump it to all taps in the house.
Jacob says, "UV systems are effective, simple, and low maintenance. They're also environmentally friendly because they don’t require chemicals and use less energy. However, the UV light doesn't remove some of the impurities from water, like heavy metals and chlorine. You can opt to combine a UV system with a RO or carbon filter system to have safer drinking water."
We sell a selection of Puretec kits and Davey kits on our filtration page.