What Are Water Pitchers?
In the simplest of terms, water pitchers are containers with spouts used for both storing and pouring water and other types of liquids. What we call pitchers in North America are known as jugs in Europe and other parts of the world.
From this article here, we find that the history of this name for these containers began sometime in the 13th century and the word was taken from a middle English word – pitcher which meant a jug made from earth or clay.
In our society today, we have long moved past the earthen containers and now use those made of glass, plastic and other newer materials. But much more than this, we have also elevated the role that these containers play in our everyday lives.
We will discuss this in some more detail as we proceed.
Types of Water Pitchers
Having moved on from clay pots and containers to what we have today, we have also made other improvements. Today, we have two distinct types of water pitchers. We have the regular pitchers and we have those with filters.
Regular Pitchers
These are basically no different (at least in function) from the ancient containers that were simply used for storing and pouring water and other liquids. The only difference is in the quality of their build. Rather than raw earth and clay, they are now made of glass, plastic and other such materials.
We find these in every home and they usually come in very handy when we need to make some lemonade.
Pitchers with Filters
These are a bit more advanced containers. While they more or less have the same characteristics as the regular types, they add additional functions which make them much more important in every household.
Incorporating filters elevate them from mere water pitchers to compact water filtration systems that ensure we have safe water for daily consumption. It therefore no longer just pours any kind of water, but purified water.
Given the level of importance of these types of filters in our homes, for the rest of this article we shall focus entirely on them.
Why You Need a Pitcher with Filter
From the short description above, it should pretty obvious why this type of container is important. Certainly everyone will agree to its importance but not everyone may actually understand that they need it.
A lot of folks in developed societies have this false sense of safety because they believe that their municipal authorities are doing everything to ensure the water that eventually gets to their homes are safe. While this may be true in theory, they are not always true in reality.
There are times when chemicals used for water treatment exceed the levels that are safe or comfortable. In such situations, we receive water from our faucets that smell strongly of chlorine. There are other times when we notice slight cloudiness in the water supply.
There could also be some debris, dissolved solids, toxic materials (including lead) and other contaminants that seep into the water supply line. This can happen either through faulty pipes, rusty pipes or leaking pipes. This can also occur at any point in the supply chain. It could even occur within your home’s plumbing network.
Whatever the type of contaminant and whatever the cause may be, while you allow the municipality to take care of the issue, you can take care of your own end by using a water pitcher with filters. This will allow you purify the water that gets to you just before consuming it.
So, regardless of whatever contaminants that are present or not, having your very own last line of defense is a smart move.
How to Make Your Choice
Choosing the water pitcher with filter that is right for your home is not difficult. It just requires that you know exactly how to go about it. There are a few important things to look at when making this choice so you can easily choose the best for you. We shall enumerate a few of these.
What Contaminants Are You Targeting?
The primary task of these pitchers is to purify your water. Since they use different filtration systems that make them more effective for specific purification tasks, it is important that you have an idea of the kind of contaminants you are dealing with. Knowing this will make you focus on products that can effectively remove these contaminants.
What about Capacity?
This is another important factor to consider. Will you be using this pitcher alone or will you have others relying on water from it too? Knowing this will help you choose both the container capacity and the filtration capacity that is best for your needs.
How Easy is its Maintenance?
This is another thing to consider. From some of the products you can find reviewed on http://bestwaterfilterpitcher.org, you will discover that they require filter changes every now and again. Some need these changes effected every two months, some in 1 and a half months and some others every three months. Confirm both the cost of replacing these filters and the frequency to be sure it is something you will feel comfortable with.
Conclusion
Water is a critical part of the human life and living. We cannot survive without water and we can suffer dire consequences when we ingest unsafe water. It is therefore the job of every individual and parent to ensure that their household gets the best quality of drinking water.
There are bigger filtration systems that can be installed in homes but these can be very cost intensive. These pitchers are very affordable and still get the job done. They are simple options you can go for right away.
