Do You need to filter Your drinking water?

What issues can a home water filter address?
Lead removal. While lead is rarely found in our source waters and there are no known lead service lines in Portland’s distribution system, lead can be found in the plumbing inside some homes and businesses.  Lead in household plumbing can dissolve into drinking water when it sits in the pipes for several hours.  A lead-certified water filter will remove lead.
Taste and odor preference.  Some customers prefer the taste and smell of filtered water, or they may have old iron pipes in their home that impact the taste of their water.
Chlorine sensitivity.   Customers with a chloramine (chlorine   ammonia) sensitivity may prefer to filter their drinking water or install a showerhead that removes chloramine.
 Cryptosporidium cyst removal. Customers who are immune compromised may be advised by their health care provider to filter their water to remove Cryptosporidium cysts. 
How do water filters work?
Many filtration systems use carbon, charcoal, or a blend of filter media to remove contaminants when water flows through the filter media.  Depending on the type of filter, contaminants either get trapped in the pores of the filter or they adhere/absorb to the surface of the filter media.  For Reverse Osmosis (RO) systems, the water is usually treated with a pre-filter, a carbon filter, an RO membrane, and a post-filter.