Water Filter System - Needed or Not?

(My Original Blog Post: http://truthofwater.com/answers/2008/12/16/water-filter-system-needed-or-not/)
Kelly from Iowa writes:

The Ben Franklin plumber came by to do my annual water heater check. His company offers a Nature's Miracle water filtration system. Information can be found at www.betterwaternow.com

Is this one of those snake oil water filtration systems that I shouldn't watch out for?

Hi Kelly, thanks for writing in.

I had a look at the website for the Natures Miracle water filtration system. But before I get to that, there are some questions to ask yourself first.

Are you not satisfied with your current tap water?  Is there a smell/odour that's bothering you?  Do you feel it's unsafe for any reasons?

If you don't have any issues with hard water when washing or doing laundry, don't notice any bad odours or tastes from your municipal tap water, and drink it and cook with it without any second thoughts, then you don't need any home water treatment.

It's as simple as that.

What you should understand is that the USEPA, the American Water Works Association, the National Sanitation Foundation, the Ten States Standards and various governing bodies and other agencies work hard to ensure municipal tap water is safe.

Regulations are strict, and regular inspections by regulatory agencies ensure compliance.

The bottom line is that your tap water is safe. ANY home water system only improves the aesthetics of your tap water.

This natures miracle filtration system uses activated carbon, quartz (sand) and some sort of ion exchange resin.  It's some pretty basic technology packaged up nicely and probably priced much too high because of the clever marketing packaging.

I would watch out for any product that uses fear mongering tactics. Claims that municipal tap water is chalk full of all sorts of bad things that will make your body break out in more cancer cells than regular cells is much too hard a sell and is not true at all.

Most of the things they claim are in your tap water (if they were even there in the first place) would be removed by your treatment plant before getting to your house.  Treatment plants use things like advanced oxidation techniques and activated carbon filters to ensure there are no volatile organics, pesticides, things of that nature in your water.

If there's any lead in your water, this actually comes from the plumbing in your house. Old plumbing, old fixtures and old solder contain lead that can leach out into the water over a prolonged period of contact. This can be remedied by running your water for a minute or two to draw a fresh supply into your house.  And that's only if your plumbing is sufficiently old.

Chlorine is indeed an issue, but not at the 0.5 to 1.o part per million concentrations carried in most distribution systems.  Even if this were an issue, when drinking your water your stomach acid neutralizes the chlorine. If you think it's a problem, your cheapest solution is to keep water in a jug in the fridge.  It won't take long with air exposure for the chlorine to evaporate.

To wrap this up, your plumber is trying to sell you something you don't really need. If there are any specific issues you are having with your water, I'd be happy to discuss them with you and point you in the direction of something that would fulfill your specific needs.

I hope I've answered your question. If you have any other questions or would like further clarification, please do not hesitate to write in again.