As time goes on, we have become increasingly conscious about water quality, and the importance of ensuring that we protect our health by ensuring that as few impurities enter our bodies as possible.

This is, for many people, the primary reason why they have a mains water filter fitted to their water supply, as it ensures clean, mineral-rich water that is free from impurities and typically lacks the issues that can sometimes be found with hard water.

Hard water, whilst it has its advantages due to its high levels of calcium and magnesium, can also be a nightmare when it comes to causing soapscum, limescale and calcification, which not only looks unsightly but can seriously affect tap and shower function.

It can cause extra corrosion than usual, which in itself can cause a lot of problems, and the best way to avoid the issue is with a whole-of-house mains filter, which is a device that connects to your existing water pipes at the main water line, the pipe that brings water directly into the home.

This is before the water stream splits into the cold water main and the hot water pipeline, which supplies either the combination boiler or the storage tank of a conventional boiler system, benefiting both thanks to improved efficiency.

Whilst different filters vary in the precise systems they use and how they work, typically they have three stages, each working progressively to purify the water more.

The first stage is pre-treatment and is the stage most associated with water filtration. It is typically a physical filter that removes large particles.

Not only is this important in its own right, as silt, sediment, rust and sand would be deeply unpleasant to find in drinking water, but they also protect the second and third stages of operation.

The second stage is where a combination of treatment filters, such as reverse osmosis, activated carbon, UV, water softening tools and small-micron sediment filters work to further remove impurities.

Finally, there is also a post-filtration stage that often is there less for health reasons and more to improve the taste, such as remineralisation or activated carbon to remove the taste that comes as a result of chlorination.