Are you using the right water filter?

Worried about the quality and taste of your drinking water? Concerned about the pollutants that may be present whenever you turn on the tap?

This issue seems to be bugging a lot of people nowadays. A 1997 survey commissioned by the Water Quality Association showed that 32 percent of Americans used a home water treatment device compared to 27 percent in 1995.

Sales of drinking water treatment units (DWTUs) have tripled since 1995 from seven to 21 percent. One in five US households currently owns a water filter and the industry expects this figure to be one in two in five years.

Which one should you buy? Here’s a rundown of some popular point of use (POU) water treatment devices.

Reverse-osmosis (RO) devices use a membrane with tiny pores to screen out most inorganic chemicals like salts, lead, asbestos, minerals, nitrates and some organic chemicals. They are not very effective in removing trihalomethanes (THM), a byproduct of chlorination believed to cause cancer and miscarriages.

These devices can be expensive and may be difficult to install. What’s more, they’re inefficient since they waste four to five gallons of water for every gallon that is treated.

Distillers vaporize water and condense it, removing salts, metals, minerals and some organic chemicals like RO units. The main problem is that bacterial spores may survive boiling and can proliferate when the water is stored after distillation.

Although they are cheaper than RO systems, distillers are more expensive to operate since they use more electricity.

Carbon in the form of charcoal was used by the Egyptians over 4,000 years ago to remove odors from their drinking water and is even mentioned in the Bible. Today, activated carbon filters are widely used to improve the quality of water and the Brita Water Filter Pitcher remains one of the most popular brands with 50 million satisfied users worldwide.

The Brita Water Filter Pitcher uses granular activated carbon and an ion exchange resin to improve the taste, odor and appearance of water. Unlike other systems, it’s easy to use: simply run tap water into the pitcher for great tasting water that will enhance the flavors of tea, coffee or your favorite drink.

Brita is available at leading department stores and supermarkets. For more information, call Mayon Consolidated Inc. at 372-3944 to 48.