Is Installing An Ultraviolet Whole-House Water Filtration System Worthwhile If You're Connected To City Water?

This blog is all about communicating effectively with your general contractor—before he or she starts work.

Is Installing An Ultraviolet Whole-House Water Filtration System Worthwhile If You're Connected To City Water?

27 January 2022
 Categories: , Blog


Keeping your water free from illness-causing bacteria, parasites, and viruses helps protect your health. If your home is connected to city water, you most likely don't have to think about pathogens in the water very much — the city's water treatment plant has the important job of making sure it's safe to drink. However, it still may be a good idea to install an ultraviolet whole-house water filtration system in your home in order to give you an extra layer of protection. To learn about how a UV filter works and why it's still worthwhile to install one when your home is on the city water system, read on.

How Does UV Whole-House Water Filtration Work?

A UV whole-house water filtration unit is installed in your main water supply line, and it exposes the water entering your home to powerful UV-C light before it flows further into your home's plumbing. Ultraviolet light is divided into three sub-spectrums: UV-A, UV-B, and UV-C. UV-C is the strongest spectrum. It rapidly destroys bacteria and parasites, and it alters the genetic material of viruses so that they're no longer able to successfully reproduce.

By exposing all of the water entering your home to powerful UV-C light, a UV whole-house water filtration system is able to eliminate almost all illness-causing pathogens in your home's water. Maintaining the system is easy. It runs automatically, and all you need to do is change the ultraviolet bulb in the unit every year in order to keep it effective at killing pathogens in the water.

Is UV Whole-House Water Filtration Worth It if You're on City Water?

UV whole-house water filtration is commonly used for well water, which is more susceptible to bacterial contamination from manure or dead animals near the well. City water systems sterilize their water by adding chlorine to it, which means that it's rare for city water to be contaminated with disease-causing pathogens.

However, it's still possible for a municipal water system to become contaminated. Cryptosporidium is the most common culprit. It's a parasite that's unaffected by chlorine, which means that the treatment methods that your water company uses to keep the drinking water safe won't kill it. Cryptosporidium causes severe diarrhea that lasts for quite a while, which can lead to extreme dehydration. In some cases, it can even be fatal. Cryptosporidium is destroyed quickly by UV-C light, so installing a UV whole-house water filtration system ensures that you won't fall ill if there's an outbreak in the city water supply.

Installing a UV whole-house water system also helps you when your water company has a problem at the treatment facility and sends a notice to their customers telling them to boil their water. These notices mean that illness-causing pathogens may be present in the water. If you miss the notice and drink the water, you may fall ill. With a UV whole-house water filtration system, however, you'll continue to be protected even when your city's water treatment plant is experiencing problems sterilizing the water supply.

Even though well water benefits the most from a UV whole-house water filtration system, they're still very useful when your home is connected to the city water supply. It's an extra layer of protection that prevents illness-causing bacteria, viruses, and parasites from entering the water that you drink. If you'd like the extra protection a UV system offers, call a whole-house water filtration installer in your area and ask how much it will cost to connect one to your home — these systems are typically very inexpensive, and they're very effective at keeping your home's water safe to drink.

For more information on whole-house water filtration, contact a company near you. 

About Me
Communicating With Your General Contractor

Nothing is more frustrating than deciding on a construction project, only to be bombarded by a long list of problems during the construction phase. Unfortunately, if you work with the wrong person, you might become pretty familiar with issues. About five years ago, I hired one of my neighbors to renovate my bathroom. Although the mere idea sounds ridiculous now, at the time it seemed like a natural solution to a real problem. Unfortunately, as soon as he got started, I knew that he didn't know what he was doing. This blog is all about communicating effectively with your general contractor—before he or she starts work.

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