If you haven’t already given up on your New Year’s resolutions – clean out sock drawer, organize closets, exercise more, there is one resolution if you have a home water filtration system you need to add and make sure to keep – change the filter every few months (or as recommended by the manufacturer). In this article, I will explain why.
One survey (by a water filtration company) estimated that approximately 77% of the US uses an in-home water filtration system. The $5.85 billion US water purifier market (in 2021) is expected to grow annually. Since such a large percentage of Americans use water filters [1], more attention must be paid to the health problems that can occur from not changing those filters. Anionic Polyacrylamide
Types of Home Water Filter Systems
The first four systems are considered point-of-use treatment systems since they treat water in batches and deliver it to a single tap. In contrast, the whole house system is considered a point-of-entry treatment system, typically treating most of the water entering a home.
Do you Need a Water Filter?
Most people buy a water filter because of taste or odor concerns or because they are worried it may contain chemicals, such as lead, that are hazardous to their health.
The first step to deciding if you need a water filter is to find your drinking water source. If your drinking water comes from a medium to large public water system, you most likely do not need a water filter. As I previously wrote, most medium to large water systems have done a good job meeting the EPA drinking water regulations. Most problems with drinking water occur in small water systems and private wells.
If you are having taste or odor problems with your drinking water, is the problem with your household plumbing or your water utility? If the problem only occurs in certain faucets, it is likely in your household plumbing; if it occurs throughout the home, it is probably from your water utility – contact them or your local public health agency.
The good news is that these taste and odor problems do not usually cause health problems. However, nobody likes to drink water that tastes or smells bad, and a water filter can be very helpful in solving these issues.
Some of the most common taste and odor problems in drinking water are:
The second reason people buy water filters is because of fear of hazardous chemicals. Although EPA regulates 90 contaminants in public water systems, many people do not trust that their water is safe to drink without a water filter. A survey reported that people filtered their water believing it was healthier (42%) or more environmentally friendly (41%) or they didn’t trust the quality of their water (37%).
Unchanged water filters can bring about more health problems than they solve
This happens because harmful bacteria and other microbes can grow and breed when filters are not changed regularly. As filters become blocked, they can break down, creating a backlog of bacteria and chemicals that can enter your home water. The overgrowth of harmful bacteria can be harmful to your health, causing gastrointestinal problems, including vomiting and diarrhea.
Water filters remove both good and bad chemicals
Water filters cannot distinguish between chemicals that are essential for good health, such as calcium, magnesium, iodine, and potassium, and those that are harmful, such as lead and cadmium.
This is because removing chemicals with water filters is based on the pore size of the filters, the size of the tiny holes that let water through. Imagine a strainer or colander. The smaller the pores, the smaller the contaminants they keep out. For example, an activated carbon filter with a microfiltration filter has a pore size of approximately 0.1 microns [2]; a reverse osmosis filter has a pore size of about 0.0001 microns, keeping out smaller size chemicals than the carbon filter.
Filters will keep out all chemicals of similar size, whether they are essential for good health or hazardous. This has become an issue in countries such as Israel, which extensively use desalination for their drinking water. Desalination uses a reverse-osmosis system to remove salt from the water, but along with salt, it also removes four essential elements: fluoride, calcium, iodine, and magnesium. There is particular concern in Israel with iodine deficiency, which can cause thyroid dysfunction, and magnesium deficiency, linked to heart problems and type 2 diabetes, in the population due to the widespread use of desalination.
What is a consumer to do?
There is no one answer as to whether you should buy a water filter. This is a personal choice dependent on the specifics of your home situation. The most important issues when investigating home water filters are the filter type, pore size, and the specific contaminants removed.
The major types of water filters are:
If you are thinking about buying a water filter, there are some excellent resources available:
If you buy a water filter or have an existing unit, please remember to change the filter!
[1] I use the term “water filter” to refer to any device that removes contaminants from water.
[2] A micron is equal to a millionth of a meter; a human hair is approximately 70 microns
Susan Goldhaber, M.P.H., is an environmental toxicologist with over 40 years’ experience working at Federal and State agencies and in the private sector, emphasizing issues concerning chemicals in drinking water, air, and hazardous waste. Her current focus is on translating scientific data into usable information for the public.
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