Viruses are one of the main contaminants found in many water supplies. However, the COVID-19 virus brought up more concerns about virus transmission through water. While there has been no evidence that coronavirus spreads through water supplies, there are many other viruses that can transmit through water-based contamination.
How do you know if these viruses are contaminating your water? Is it possible to remove these viruses from your water? We answer those questions and more in this guide to removing viruses from your home’s water supply.
What Viruses are Found in Your Water Supply
One way to find out what viruses are in your water is through a home water testing kit. These are typically known as bacteria and virus waterborne testing kits. The viruses typically found in home water sources include:
- Meningitis
- Hepatitis
- Gastroenteritis
- Conjunctivitis
- SARS
- Typhoid
Waterborne viruses cause millions of people to become sick every year, and if you don’t know what’s in your water, you and your family may be ingesting contaminated water on a consistent basis. WHO has warned about water-transmitted viral pathogens for many years, but there still hasn’t been much action from state or federal governments to remove these viruses from the water supply.
Can You Filter Out Viruses from Your Water?
There has been one proven way to remove all viruses from contaminated water supplies. Known as ultraviolet light filtration, these UV water filtration systems can destroy 99.99% of all viruses, as well as bacteria and cysts, from water in your home.
When installed as a whole home water filtration system, UV filters have the most potential to protect your home from waterborne viruses. The CDC has also recommended that UV filters be used to reduce all virus pathogens, particularly for well water homes.
There are other benefits for a whole home filter with UV stage filtration. All the water in your home is purified, leading to healthier drinking water as well as showers, baths, and laundry cleaning.
In addition, these filter systems typically have sediment filters and water softener stages to improve the quality of your water even further.
Do You Need a Water Filter for Viruses?
Research shows that the best water filtration to remove viruses includes multiple stages of filtration including the following stages:
- Sediment pre-filter
- Activated carbon filter
- UV filtration
- Reverse osmosis membrane
When all of these combine, you should have the most purified water with thousands of contaminants removed, including viruses. If you already have a water filtration system but don’t have a UV filter, you may be able to purchase a UV filter add-on to increase your purification level.