How to Choose the Right Water Treatment Method for Your Home

What is a water treatment system?

There are plenty of options to choose from when deciding the best water treatment method for your home. Although the city already runs your water through a water treatment process, systems installed in your home further treat your water of leftover pollutants which the city allows to remain in your water. These pollutants include iron, calcium, magnesium, and even chlorine.

What are the stages of water treatment?

The City of Phoenix Water Services Department processes your water through its five water treatment plants, making your water safe to drink by treating it for potentially hazardous pollutants according to standards set by federal and state regulations.

The typical stages seen in any municipal water treatment plant are:

1. Screening: when water is extracted from a source like lakes or rivers, it usually enters a water treatment facility through a screen, helping prevent large debris such as plants, wood, or fish from being carried through the water treatment process.
   
2. Coagulation and Flocculation: a chemical process that binds particles such as dirt, clay, and organic matter, making them too heavy and unable to pass through the rest of the water treatment system.
   
3. Sedimentation: ridding of the pollutants from step one.
   
4. Filtration: removing bacteria and other contaminants by passing water through physical elements such as carbon, sand, or gravel.
   
5. Disinfection: a disinfectant, such as chlorine or chloramine, is added to the water to eliminate any remaining disease-causing microorganisms such as parasites, viruses, and bacteria. 

With a home water treatment system, you’re putting your water through an additional purification process, such as a Reverse Osmosis system or a water softener.

The stages of these home water treatment processes depend on the type of method you have installed in your home plumbing system.

What are the water treatment methods best for your home?

Two of the most common water treatment methods are Reverse Osmosis filtration systems and water softening treatments.

Reverse Osmosis

RO systems further filter your water by passing it through a semipermeable membrane dedicated to removing contaminants from your water, including chlorine, fluoride, lead, and even proteins produced by bacteria. 

The taste, look, and smell of your water will only improve with these sorts of pollutants removed from your water. And given their effectiveness against bacteria, many homeowners have even attributed the improvement of their gut health to RO systems.

RO systems are also typically easy to maintain as they are conveniently accessible and normally require a simple filter change.

There are different types of RO systems you can install in your home plumbing system, and the water treatment process looks different depending on which one you choose:

3-Stage Reverse Osmosis Systems

1. Carbon Prefilter: an activated carbon filter removing elements affecting the taste and smell of your water, including chlorine.
2. RO Membrane: filters out any dissolved solids making their way through the carbon prefilter, such as lead.
3. Carbon Postfilter: another activated carbon filter further purifying the aesthetic of your water so that it looks clear.

4-Stage Reverse Osmosis Systems

1. Sediment Prefilter: filters out hard yet minuscule particles such as dirt, sand, rust and more.
2. Carbon Prefilter
3. RO Membrane
4. Postfilter

5-Stage Reverse Osmosis Systems

1. Sediment Prefilter
2. Carbon Prefilter
3. 2^nd Carbon Prefilter: further emphasizing the aesthetic purification of your water, reducing the effects of chlorine on its taste and smell.
4. RO Membrane
5. Postfilter

Some of the most popular RO systems include:

• Waterdrop G3 System
• iSpring Water Filtration System
• APEC 4 Stage Water Filter Systems
• PureDrop 5 Stage System
• Home Master Artesian Water Filtration System

There are plenty of other water treatment options for homeowners besides RO. Some of the most popular systems used today include:

Salt Based Ion-Exchange Water Softeners

Effective in removing calcium and magnesium from your water, these systems use resin beads designed to remove these minerals. These beads go through a cleaning process, known as “recharging”, so that they can be continually reused.

Salt-Free Water Conditioners

These types of water filtration systems crystalize minerals such as magnesium and calcium through a process called Template Assisted Crystallization (TAC), removing the ability of these minerals to attach to your pipes and scale in your water heater.

Your water flows through a tank of polymer beads forming micro-crystals which capture magnesium and calcium ions. When captured, these ions remain crystalized as they flow through the rest of your plumbing system, unable to attach and scale like they normally would.

Quality Water Treatment in AZ

Phoenix summers are hard enough; your water doesn’t have to be. 

We at Deer Valley Plumbing pride ourselves in our decades-long effort to provide quality plumbing to our community in the valley.

We offer plenty of options for filtering, softening, and conditioning your home’s water to fit your budget and get you the healthy, safe, and delicious water you and your home deserve.

Interested in a Reverse Osmosis system? It only takes a day to install, giving you luxurious water immediately!Feel free to call us at (602) 832-8418 and we’ll schedule you a consultation with our expert plumbers and find the best water softener for you.