Decades ago, water that we were getting from the tap was quite safe to drink and people were not familiar with various concepts of water filtration. The tap water was drinkable, and if at all there were any minor impurities in it, they were considered harmless and would help to enhance the immunity systems in humans. But now, impure and contaminated water has become a health hazard and no house is without a water filter. People too are wary of drinking direct tap water now, fearing infection and other water-borne diseases. Therefore, in order to avoid putting your health to potential risks, it is always advisable to have a water filter at home depending on the kind of water that is supplied to your residence. In the earlier days, people had their own indigenous ways of filtering or purifying water. Some would boil the water in a large container for 15-20 minutes and allow it to cool down. The larger impurities would settle at the bottom by sedimentation process and the clear water would be poured to another container for drinking purposes. Another popular method was boiling the water for 10-15 minutes and then pouring the cooled water to another container by tying a white, clean cotton cloth to its mouth to arrest any visible impurities from entering the new container. This was considered a safe method, but the setback faced in boiling the water was that, boiling would kill good bacteria too along with bed bacteria, rendering the water useless for building immunity system in the body. One more method followed was distillation process where evaporation and condensation would take place simultaneously to ensure clean drinking water. Here again, the disadvantage was over-clean water not advisable for immunity system. Next was the water filter with candles which was considered an effective way of filtering water. It became quite popular in the beginning as it was only if its kind where water filtering mechanism was concerned. This filter was effective to the extent that it gave clear drinking water as the physical impurities would stick to the candles rendering the water safe, but here the excess doses of calcium or magnesium or any other mineral would pass into the water, causing scaling too in the process. Minerals are needed by the body but not in surplus doses. Wax candles would turn slimy in due course, required regular cleaning and replacement after a certain period. Two kinds of water filters making a lot of news in the market today are carbon filters and RO(reverse osmosis) filters. Both have their own importance and essential features. Of the two, the first one is most preferred kind because of its several advantages. Carbon filters use the technology of activated carbon filtration by adsorption process. Here, the carbon retains the unwanted minerals and allows the good minerals to pass through and renders the water safe and odor-free. This is considered a safe method as uses of activated carbon in water and air purification are manifold and carbon is used in the detoxification process for humans too in body-cleansing. Water filters with RO technology are advisable where water is too saline and needs to be desalinated and it also requires good water pressure from the overhead tanks for optimum pressure. RO filters are also known to remove good minerals from water to some extent and hence making it not too viable a system for home water filtering. Hence, take care to study all details at length before you install a water filter at home.