Australians are extremely lucky to live in a country where all the water coming from the taps is mostly potable. With that being said, it can seem odd that water filters are necessary at all, but of course, this is taking a very simple look at the water system in Australia. In reality there is a myriad of reasons why a home water filter can vastly improve your life and the feeling of safety when pouring yourself a glass from the tap. Here are just a few reasons why a home water filter can vastly improve your life.

Contamination Outside Cities

While the major cities have a pretty good track record of keeping the water safe to drink 24/7, as soon as you start moving into the country, the water systems become much more unreliable. There are several reasons for this, but primarily it is due to the following two: 

1. Smaller towns do not have the budget or resources to monitor the water as effectively as big cities do. This lack of resources and personnel means that mistakes are more likely to go unnoticed for longer, so if there is contamination it could be a while before it is noticed. 
2. Smaller catchments. If there is a problem with the water source it often means that the entire catchment is tainted, and there is rarely a backup. Even worse is when rural properties have no access to clean drinking water at all, as happened near the Darling river recently.

Sensitive Palates

For many people, the issue of Australia's tap water isn't any health risk, but rather their more sensitive tastebuds picking up on odours and tastes that most people don't recognise. Home water filters ensure that the water in your house has another layer of filtration which removes even more bacteria and chemicals that can cause you to dislike the taste of your water. Without a home water filter system, many people are forced to boil their water and then let it cool it down again before they can comfortably drink it. If this is a problem for you, then a home water filter is a necessity. 

Just in Case

As with most safety precautions, the vast majority of the time home water filters are there purely in case something catastrophic happens. Otherwise they sit seemingly unused, just waiting. Having a home water filter gives you a layer of protection from any serious dangers that may occur in your water catchment system. While this may seem like an unreasonably high level of preparation, in reality there are dozens of threats to Australia's drinking water systems every year; just recently water from a toxic mine was found to be leaking into Sydney's catchment. All it takes is for one of these threats to bypass the warning systems long enough to severely affect thousands of Australians. While home water filters make your water taste better and cleaner throughout the year, the real reason you want one is to ensure that in the case of an emergency you are not accidentally poisoned before the error is fixed.