Question from Jessica

Hi Debra,

Thank you for your excellent and insightful early pioneering into household greening and health questions.

I have some water filter questions. I understand the basic types of filters (carbon, reverse osmosis, and distillation, or a combo) and I am looking for an excellent filter for drinking water, as well as a whole house alternative if I decide to do that, or recommend it to others.

The problem is that so many brands and websites are incomplete, misleading, or confusing. There is just too much information! I spent almost an hour talking to a guy that sells a water filter that Dr. Andrew Weil uses, and at the end of the conversation, STILL couldn’t tell what I should do, or what to tell other people who ask me all the time. (I did, however, figure out that distillation plus carbon is my best bet, maybe- but still have no idea which one to get.) So here are my questions:

Sorry for the length of the question, but there is not a lot on this out there, and I sincerely appreciate your feedback!

Thanks,

Debra’s Answer

Well, Jessica, I understand your bewilderment. There is a lot of information to understand and apply in making decisions about water filters. I’m working on writing a guide to water filters just to address this, but in the meanwhile I will attempt to answer your questions. There’s also a whole chapter about choosing water filters in Home Safe Home.

1. There is not ONE particular type of water filter that I recommend because each source of water needs to have the type of filter appropriate to it, depending on the pollutants that need to be removed. So you need to find out, number one, what is in your water, and then match the appropriate filter to it.

2. Water filters have changed a lot in the past few years and I need to review what is currently available (thus the aforementioned guide). But that takes time. It’s a big project that I need to work in between everything else I am doing. A fair price could be a wide range, depending on what you are buying and the size of the filter–how much water is being filtered.

3. Water ionizers do not filter water. They split the water molecule to make two batches of water–one “acid” and the other “alkaline.” I don’t consider them to be dangerous. My understanding is that the alkaline water is more “alive” and closer to water in it’s natural state than tap water is.

4. I haven’t done an environmental analysis on the different types of water filters. Offhand I would say a distiller uses electricity, reverse osmosis wastes water, and a carbon filter doesn’t do either.

Since choosing a water filter is a very individual decision, I can best help by discussing your needs and options in a telephone consultation.

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