Risk of germs in can or table water filters

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Can or table water filters are probably the best known form of "water filters" in Spain. They are filled with loose activated carbon granulate and, depending on the model, also contain ion exchangers, beads of plastic resin. Their performance is limited to the removal or reduction of lime and pollutants from tap water by ion exchange and to the reduction of chlorine and other taste and odour impairments caused by the activated carbon granulate. The purpose of a table water filter is primarily to improve the taste of tap water, e.g. to improve the quality of hot drinks such as tea or coffee. However, targeted filtering in the sense of removing impurities such as pesticides, germs, bacteria, heavy metals, hormones or drug residues does not take place. The term "water filter" is therefore misleading in this context.  

Can filters - especially now in summer - have a strong tendency to germination. If, for example, the table water filter has not been used for a long time or the water remains in the jug at room temperature, the germs contained in the water can multiply by leaps and bounds. This is why the loose activated carbon granulate with which the filter cartridges of can filters are usually filled is often mixed with disinfectants such as silver compounds, which can also be released into the drinking water in small quantities.  

Tap water treated with can filters is not subject to the Drinking Water Ordinance, but to the Foodstuffs and Consumer Goods Ordinance (LMBG). Therefore, the treated water may have a much higher bacterial count than permitted by the Spanish Drinking Water Ordinance for tap water. Another disgust factor with can filters: Since the capacity of the activated carbon granulate of a cartridge is relatively limited and its capacity is exhausted after about 100-150 litres, filter cartridges must be changed regularly. If this is forgotten, the previously bound pollutants can be dissolved again and released into the water in concentrated form. This is referred to as bleeding or breakthrough of the filter.  

Our professional filter solutions for installation under the sink or directly at the tap do much more than can filters. When using the Active Plus+ cartridge, they contain a sintered activated carbon block filter with pore sizes between 0.7 and 0.4 µm (1 µm is a thousandth of a millimeter, for comparison: a human hair is almost 50 times as thick with an average thickness of 0.05 mm). This not only filters odours, taste and optical impairments out of the water. This reduces drug residues and pollutants as well as chlorine. Many of the most frequently discussed residues of pharmaceuticals and pesticides have been tested in a comprehensive study and are no longer detectable in filtered water. The combination of physical and chemical cleaning guarantees a safe filter method.

Our cartridges uses only the pure natural product activated carbon without chemical additives for disinfection (e.g. silver). This is also not necessary, because fresh tap water flows continuously through the cartridge, so there is no old water contamination after the filter. In contrast to can filters, the tap water filtered with our cartridges naturally meets the requirements of the Drinking Water Ordinance.