There are many different types of water filtration products available, so at Direct Water Filters we understand that for those new to the world of filtered water, it can be quite difficult to understand which products are best suited to meet your needs. That’s why we’ve created this helpful little guide so you can quickly find out which filters are the best water filters for you.

While the ultimate goal is to make your water clean and safe, there are a lot of different products out there that work in different ways to remove different contaminates. When people talk about water filters, they talk about them as being in two major categories: Point-of-Use (POU) under sink systems that supply one tap or shower/bath and Point-of-Entry (POE) whole house systems for all the water entering your home. Here’s how the two types differ…

Point-of-Use (POU) systems filter your water right where you need it most, they are small in size and are designed for low flow rates. That could be an under sink system connected to an individual tap, or direct connection to a bath or shower.

Point-of-Entry (POE) water filtration systems are also known as “whole house” systems because they filter all the water that comes into your home or business. These systems are designed to treat higher flow rates and volumes of water and are attach to the mains water feed where the water enters your home and filter all of it before it reaches any sinks or showers.

What type of water filtration system is best? This is no right or wrong answer, whatever suits your needs and budget. If you just want to improve the drinking water from your kitchen tap, then a POU system will probably do the trick. If you have a private water supply with troubled water or you just want better water to both drink and bath in throughout your home, a POE whole house system might be the better choice for you.

Hard water & Lime scale

One of the biggest problems we face in the UK is hard water, If you live in a hard water area then there’s every chance you are all too familiar with limescale. Limescale is the chalky off-white crust that lurks inside your kettle and boiler and stains your surfaces. When water evaporates, it leaves behind calcium carbonate deposits these dissolved minerals like calcium and magnesium build up on any surfaces that hard water is in contact with and can accumulate quickly. Unfortunately, limescale loves to stick to limescale and these deposits are tough to get rid of as well as being unsightly on your Toilet, Taps, Sink, and have a damaging effect on your Showers, Kettle, Coffee machine, Washing machines, Dishwashers and on and on… Limescale can be controlled by either removing it by filtration or water softener or ‘sequestration’ an Anti-scale filter system where the limescale cannot built (stick) to itself or surfaces and is flushed away.

Lead in drinking water

Lead is a dangerous. Lead is a toxic metal that is harmful to human health, which can cause serious poisoning if it builds up in the body. There is NO safe level for lead exposure. Babies and young children are most at risk as their development can be affected. If the water supply to a home or business passes through lead pipes, or someone has used illegal lead solder to join pipes, the lead can dissolve into the drinking water. Direct Water Filters sell a range of filtration that will remove Lead from your drinking water.

Private water supplies

We recommend that a water sample is taken from your own private water supply and analysed under laboratory conditions. Analysis of the water sample will determine the water quality and level of bacteriological and/or chemical contamination. We offer advice on how to interpret your water test results and which systems specification you need for your home and flow rate. We also strongly advise that a full water analysis is obtained. We can then use the analysis to establish the best water filtration system necessary so that it meets Drinking Water Standards.

Maybe your water does not have bacteriological contamination when it is tested, but we strongly recommend the minimum filtration to install is an Ultra Violet (UV) system and a sediment filtration system. This sediment filter ensures any small particles are removed enabling the UV system to work effectively.

We offer a full range of water treatment systems which include: Turbidity (sediment) reduction, pH correction, Hardness reduction (softener), Nitrate reduction, Heavy metal reduction, Lead reduction, Iron, Manganese & Hydrogen Sulphide reduction,  Organic compound reduction and many more.

Chemicals, Hormones & Endocrine Disruptors

Endocrine disruptor chemicals – EDCs are chemicals which mimic oestrogen or other important hormones in humans and in wildlife. They can cause endocrine disruptive effects at exposure levels up to a million times lower than carcinogen exposure levels of concern. Disruption may occur in various ways, Some chemicals my mimic natural hormones which “fools” the body in either over-responding or under-responding to the stimulus at the wrong time, others may block the effects of hormones. Scientists around the world soon realised that pharmaceutical products posed a new environmental pollution. Pharmaceutical industries, hospitals and clinics, even households are not innocent. Many unused medicines are disposed of via toilets, contaminating sewage systems. Not all ingested medicines taken by humans are always metabolised completely by the body. The rest passes through and is flushed down the toilet and ends up in sewage systems. Sewage wastewater is treated before it is discharged into reservoirs, rivers or lakes. A portion of this water is treated at drinking water treatment plants and distributed to consumers, but most treatments do not remove all drug residue. Ingredients such as antibiotics, antidepressants, birth control pills, cancer tablets, tranquilizers, analgesics and hormones were found in various concentrations in water around the world.

Other Chemicals In Your Drinking, Bathing, And Laundry Water

There are lots of harmful chemicals that can contaminate your home’s water supply. Generally speaking, you can find chemicals such as liquefied chlorine, Fluor silicic acid, aluminium sulphate, calcium hydroxide, and sodium silico fluoride in our water. These chemicals are added to make sure that the water is safe to drink, however key scientists are now providing evidence that long-term ingestion of chemicals used to treat tap water could be causing some major health concerns. Additionally, there are also the concerns regarding underground pipes used to transport water, many of which have been in use since the Victorian times.

However, perhaps one of the more frightening chemicals that is sometimes found in our water supply is Fluoride. Approximately 10% of the UK’s water supply is fluoridated, despite the fact that fluoridation of water is banned in all other European countries. Whilst this chemical is a fantastic ingredient when used in hygiene products like mouthwash or toothpaste (products which you should not swallow), it’s important to remember that fluoride is more toxic than lead. In fact, fluoride is used as a pesticide to kill insects and rats. According to information on fluoridealert.org “tens of millions of people throughout China and India suffer from serious crippling bone diseases from drinking water with elevated levels of fluoride”.

In order to protect your home’s supply of drinking, bathing, and laundry water from harmful chemicals, you need an under sink water filter or a whole house water filtration system. These water filter systems ensure that your entire home’s water supply is clean and contaminant free.

Filter Your Home’s Water Supply With Direct Water Filters; Make An Enquiry Today

With such a diverse selection of different filtration products to choose from, we understand if you’re feeling spoiled for choice and you’re not such which product is the best water filter for your needs.

If you would like to speak to a member of staff, please give our team a call on +44 (0) 1604 947 839. We are open Mon-Thurs 09:00-17:00 and Fridays 09:00-15:00. Alternatively, you can get in touch with our team online by filling out the enquiry form on our Contact Us page.

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