The water we drink is not only water. It contains many elements that can be good or bad for our health. The bad ones we term contaminants, and the good ones we term minerals. The common minerals in well water or city water include calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, iron, zinc, and bicarbonate.
Many people install a water filter to remove the contaminants from water, but they also want to know whether water filters remove healthy minerals from water. In this article, we will discuss if a water filter removes minerals from well water.
Do Water Filters Remove Water Minerals?
The answer to this question depends on the type of filter you are using. Some filters remove minerals from water while some don’t. Let’s see which water treatment systems remove minerals from water and which don’t.
Water Treatment Units that Remove Minerals from Water
Reverse Osmosis Filters: RO filters are known for their effective and powerful filtration capabilities. The RO membrane is a porous membrane with up to a 0.0001-micron rating. It is so small that it hardly allows anything other than water to pass through. Hence, all the contaminants in water are removed during filtration.
There is an ongoing debate about RO filters removing minerals from water. On the flip side, some RO filters come with a Remineralization stage that adds healthy minerals back to water according to EPA’s guidelines.
Water Softeners: Water softeners are not typical water filters. They are meant to remove calcium and magnesium from well water to make it soft. Calcium and magnesium make water hard. Hard water is responsible for stains, poor appliance performance, and higher energy bills.
Oxidation Filters: Oxidation filters remove iron and manganese from water. However, these filters are usually installed when dealing with high iron and manganese levels.
KDF Filters: KDF filters also remove iron, calcium, and magnesium from water. They don’t remove them completely because they are not as powerful as RO systems and water softeners.
Distillation: Distillation purifies water by evaporating and cooling the vapors to convert them to water. The distillation process depends on water boiling at a lower temperature than minerals in the water. The minerals are left behind in the boiling tank, and evaporated water is captured in another container. Distillation is usually used for chemical reactions and for obtaining 100% pure H20.
Water Treatment Units that don’t Remove Minerals
Sediment Filters: Sediment filters are installed to remove suspended particles like sand, dust, dirt, debris, and iron particles from well water. They are used as whole house units to protect costly water treatment units in your home.
Carbon Filters: Carbon filters don’t remove minerals and TDS from water. They can remove chlorine taste & smell, some VOCs, and other impurities. Most city water users install carbon filters because city water is already treated.
Water Conditioners: Water conditioners are used as an alternative to water softeners. These units don’t remove minerals from water but change the way how these minerals interact with other surfaces.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why do people prefer drinking water with minerals?
The minerals are good for health. Calcium is good for bones and skin. Magnesium has various benefits like combating depression, improving PMS symptoms, and helps anti-inflammatory activities in bodies. Iron is used to make hemoglobin, which carries oxygen in the body. Zinc is helpful for the immune system, blood clotting, thyroid function, and taste and smell senses.
2. Is drinking water without minerals bad for your health?
No. Drinking water without minerals will not affect your health in any way. The mineral content in water is not very high. You can easily complete your daily intake from other foods.
3. Why do you need to remove minerals from well water?
When these minerals are present in large concentrations, they can harm our health. Well water with high mineral count also damages plumbing, toilets, bathtubs, and appliances. The red/brown/orange/black stains you see in your home are due to the presence of these minerals. Hence, they need to be removed to ensure water quality.
4. Does water without minerals taste different?
Yes. It tastes slightly different. Moreover, the taste difference depends on what you have been drinking for a long time. If you are used to drinking tap water, water from the RO filter will taste different. Similarly, if you are used to drinking hard water all your life, water from a water softener will taste different.
5. Do faucet water filters remove minerals?
It depends on the cartridge installed in the filter. Most faucet water filters don’t remove minerals from water. They can remove chlorine taste & smell, sediment, and organic compounds.
6. Do pitcher water filters remove minerals?
No. Most pitcher filters don’t remove minerals from water. Some latest models come with selective filtration that removes harmful contaminants but retains the healthy minerals.
7. Is bottled water good for your health?
Yes. Bottled water is good for health as it contains all the necessary minerals in the right amount. However, bottled water increases plastic waste in our environment.
Final Words
Some filters remove minerals from water, but their absence is not as critical as contaminants in water. You can fulfill your daily mineral intake from other foods but consuming contaminated water is dangerous.
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