http://www.denialville.com/faucet-with-filters/
faucet filters.?
What exactly do faucet filters filter from regular tap water? Are they effective?
How does water run through a faucet filter differ from boiled water?
Also, what are the chances of bacterial growth on the filters?
Faucet filters mostly use either activated carbon or a ceramic porous filter, or even a combination of the two.
Activated carbon is basically charcoal combined with oxygen to give it space between the molecules so it has a greater surface area (1 gram of activated carbon has the surface area of two tennis courts!). When water passes through, bacteria and other organics, some minerals, and some salts are adsorbed by the carbon, and are either stuck there, or in the case of bacteria, they have no more nutrients to feed on so they die. Some minerals and salts pass through, but they are not unhealthy.
Ceramic filters work differently in that they have very small pores for the water to pass through, and larger molecules like bacteria, heavy metals, etc, can't make it through. Again though, the bacteria don't have nutrients to feed on any more.
Over time though, you have to replace these filters as they get "clogged" with all the buildup. Brita filters you have to replace every month or so, I'm not sure about faucet filters but it's probably along the same lines. It's cheaper to replace the whole thing than to wash it out.
It's different from boiled water because when you boil water, while it does kill the bacteria and parasites, you don't necessarily lose the heavy metals (although you might), but the water becomes deoxygenated and "flat," which can affect the taste.
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