Countertop Water Filter System:
A Complete Water Filter System for Your Countertop
by Josh Day
When you employ a water filter system for your kitchen faucet, you're actually strapping a miniature water treatment plant to your countertop.
A countertop water filter system is any water filter that's visible from, you guessed it, your countertop.
And that's about the only thing the wide variety of countertop water filters have in common.
Some are cylindrical towers while others are more oval-shaped.
Some come in several tubes or cylinders, with tubing connecting each part, composing a multi-step filtration system, while others are coffeepot-like pitchers where filtration occurs in the lid area.
These units all do have one thing in common, however, and that is the activated carbon they use to clean the impurities from regular old tap water.
Carbon, you see, pulls chlorine, volatile organic compounds, herbicides, pesticides, limited heavy metals (if the carbon is specially activated), and benzene out of your water stream as it leaves the tap.
Carbon appears as little black particles, like charcoal.
Whether you're using a simple countertop pitcher or an expensive 5-stage water filter unit, you're guaranteed to run into carbon in the filtration process.
When used in filtration of an aquarium, for example, yellow or even brown water will turn sparkling clear in hours if enough carbon is employed.
And appearance isn't the only factor.
When you use carbon filtration, you'll taste the difference.
Once you drink from a countertop water filter, tap water will never be the same -- you'll know when you're tasting unfiltered water because it tastes so inferior to water filtered through a quality unit.
Keep one thing in mind... all quality countertop water filters will have what is known as California certification, the "Gold Standard" that only the best water filters meet.
Below are some advantages to using a high quality countertop water filter...
- A countertop filter is as convenient as the stumpy-looking filters that attach directly to the faucet.
- Countertop units uses block-carbon filters to achieve fine filtration.
- Since it resides on the countertop, there's no size or weight limitation, which means the unit will have a more robust construction and thus a higher reliability than faucet filters.
- A countertop unit, because it's larger than a faucet unit, achieves more efficient filtration due to its higher rate of water flow compared to faucet filters.
To be fair, there are also some downsides and annoying factors that come with some countertop water filters...
- The countertop unit's hose is permanently connected to the faucet spout and sometimes gets in the way -- when washing dishes or filling the dog's big water bowl, for example.
- If you're not careful, it's possible to accidentally run hot water through your countertop unit, ruining the carbon filter.
- With cheaper countertop water filters, it can be difficult to attach them to nonstandard faucet outlets (screw diameter) though this isn't usually a problem since most quality units come with multiple attachments designed to fit most faucets manufactured to industry standards.
In closing, do remember that it's important to monitor your countertop unit and to change the carbon filters as scheduled by the manufacturer.
Editor's Note : Click here to read our detailed review of a water purifying unit that produces crystal clear healthy water for less than 10 cents a gallon.
Disclaimer: Throughout this website, statements are made pertaining to the properties and/or functions of food and/or nutritional products. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and these materials and products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
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