The drinking water filtration market is big. Companies make a lot of money selling home water filters, and then they make even more money after that by selling replacement filter cartridges to their customers who bought their purifiers. And as we all know, whenever and wherever there is money to be made, there will be plenty of lies told. Here are 3 lies that are frequently spouted by salesmen trying to get you to buy the water filters made or sold by their companies.
The 1st Big Fat Lie
Drinking water filtration using carbon technologies and reverse osmosis technologies are only good at removing dirt and chlorine. They do not protect you from bacteria, amoeba, protozoa and other microbes.
Who tells this lie: Usually it is the salesman selling purifiers that have an attached UV lamp.
What is the truth? All developed nations and even many 3rd World nations use chlorination to kill germs. Every microorganism except for the cysts of certain protozoa die from normal municipal treatment. Any reverse osmosis filter will remove these cysts from your water supply. And any carbon water purifier rated for 1 micron or smaller will also remove these cysts. UV light only deactivates the genes of these cysts so that they cannot reproduce. They cannot kill these cysts.
The 2nd Big Fat Lie
Don’t worry, be happy. It is very easy to change your filter cartridge. Just make sure to change it twice a year.
Who tells this lie: Any and all salesmen whenever you ask about the cost and frequency replacing the filter. Some of them may also tell this lie when you ask them for a demonstration.
What is the truth? Changing the cartridge every 6 months is only a recommendation from the manufacturer. Many people who buy home water filters actually have water supplies that are much more dirty than average. They will probably need to change their filters more often than the recommendation of every 6 months. They may need replacements as often as 3 times a year, maybe even 4 times a year. Replacing the purifier cartridge is also not that easy. Most of the better brands have more complicated working parts inside, which require more complex procedures to make sure everything works at peak performance.
The 3rd Big Fat Lie
Water filter jugs are the least effective means of home water purification. They only remove chlorine and lead but let other chemicals and cysts pass through.
Who tells this lie: Any salesman who does not sell PUR or Brita pitchers, whenever you wonder if buying a water filter pitcher may be a smaller and more affordable commitment.
What is the truth? Just like any other type of filtration, manufacturers make different models of pitchers with different levels of purification. Just like high-end home filtration systems from any other brand, high-end PUR and Brita pitchers can remove not only chlorine and lead but also cysts, herbicides, pesticides, nitrites and nitrates. Of course, that means you need to buy the high-end model rather than the cheap model.
Selling drinking water filtration devices is big money, and this leads many salesmen to be less than truthful, especially when talking about their competitors’ products. Now that you know three of the major lies they tell, it should be easier for you to make a good decision.