Filters, like the Brita Filter, act as a screen to catch any bigger particles coming through the tap water to produce filtered water. Spring water is essentially the same as filtered water. Purified water can be attained by going through the process of reverse osmosis, which rids the water of 99% of chemicals and minerals.

Water conditioners act as a carbon filter to remove many chemicals from the water, essentially making the entire house similar to spring water. However, it does not remove calcium and magnesium, which are the main minerals that produce hard water. Water softeners go through a process of an ion exchange, which rids the house of these minerals in order to produce soft water for the entire home. Both systems have different functions, but it comes down to what each individual household is looking to get out of a system.

Yes, some of the minerals that reverse osmosis removes from the water can be good for you. However, the most effective way for our bodies to digest any essential vitamins or minerals is through a proper diet. Tap water contains water that has both harmful and beneficial to our bodies. We do offer alkaline filters that can be attached to a reverse osmosis sytem for people who are concerned with restoring the water with healthy minerals after it has gone through the purification process

The salt used in a water softener is used to cleanse the system as a whole, but does not come through the the product water. Therefore, you are not getting "salty water" coming through your water pipes, but only through the softener in order to flush out and cleanse the resin beads in the mineral tank.

Reverse osmosis got a bad wrap many years ago for being said to have wasted a lot of water. Our systems that we use have automatic shut-off devices on them in order to keep water from continuously running when the tank is full. Additionally, there are other entities on the system that help to conserve water. Any water that is not used for drinking is not truly wasted, since it is used to flush the membrane of the sytem and ensure a long life for the unit as a whole.