25 Interesting Water Filter Facts

By Karin Lehnardt, Senior Writer

Published January 9, 2020

Studies show that water filters are far less expensive and less environmentally damaging than bottled water._[5]
Contaminants that have made their way into city water supplies include fecal waste, rocket fuel, arsenic, lead, and chemical by-products created during water treatment. While water treatment may not always be able to catch these pollutants, many water filters can._[5]

Portable and effective

A water filter called "Life Straw" allows a person to drink directly from a dirty water source. Extremely portable and easy to use, it filters water through pores that are tiny enough to block parasites and other types of bacteria._[8]
The human brain is about 75% water, and the human body needs a constant supply of clean water to maintain health._[5]
Over 80% of the world's wastewater is dumped, largely untreated, back into the environment._[2]
Globally, unsafe water kills more people each year than all forms of violence and war._[2]
The easiest and most effective way to make sure you are drinking healthy and pure water is to use a water filter._[2]
Water can be purified with concentrated ultraviolet rays that destroy acids in the contaminants' DNA. The technical term for the process is ultraviolet germicidal irradiation._[8]
While it may sound counterintuitive, one way to clean water is with bleach. Adding 1/8 of a teaspoon of bleach to one gallon of water and waiting 30 minutes is enough to kill harmful organisms. However, this method should be used only in an emergency._[8]
In case of an emergency, crushed animal bones can be used to clean water that has been contimaniated with uranium and arsenic._[8]
Because many chemicals and pollutants in tap water have little or no taste, many people do not realize they are drinking contaminants._[7]

Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.

- W.H.Auden

A water filter called "Cycloclean" is a combined water pump and water filtration device. As a person pedals a bike, the water is pushed through a filter. Because the filter is attached to the bike, it allows water to be filtered and transported at the same time._[8]
Boiling is one of the oldest forms of water purification, and it eliminates all microorganisms, bacteria, and viruses that lead to gastrointestinal infections. However, boiling cannot remove chemical contaminants._[1]
In 2007, a water treatment plant in Spencer, Massachusetts, flooded the city with enough sodium hydroxide to cause chemical burns to almost 100 residents._[4]
In the United States, contaminants such as copper, lead, and arsenic have been found in the tap water of every state._[2]

Do you know what's in your water?

During the Enlightenment, developments in the theory of human rights led to the belief that humans have a right to clean, pure water. French scientist La Hire argued that every French household should have a sand water filter._[6]
Due to developments during the Scottish Enlightenment in the 1800s, Scotland was one of the first European countries to implement a municipal water treatment plant._[6]
Recent discoveries about the negative health effects of chlorination have led to the increase in shower water filters and whole-house water filtration systems._[6]
According to the WHO, over 94% of diarrheal cases are preventable._[3]

The invention of the microscope revolutionized water filtration systems

The invention of the microscope by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek and Robert Hooke advanced the development water purification technology. For the first time, scientists could observe microscopic contaminants, such as cholera, in otherwise clean-looking water._[6]
At-home water filtration creates water that is more clean than bottled water._[5]
Even low levels of hundreds of legal contaminants can increase the risks of cancer and reproductive difficulties._[7]
Common chemicals in tap water, such as arsenic, chromium, and disinfectant byproducts can accumulate in body tissue, which can affect the body's hormone systems._[7]
Water filters are designed to reduce chemicals, heavy metals, contaminants, and other impurities in drinking water. Different filters clean water in the following ways: 1) chemically attracting pollutants to the filter media, 2) physically blocking contaminants, or 3) combining both methods._[7]
A shower water filter isn't necessarily like a water softener. While a water softener removes only hard water minerals, a shower filter removes dangerous chemicals and heavy metals._[7]