Water filters come in different brands, types, and sizes. Major brands include Multi-Pure, Brita, Pur, Everpure, Crystal Quest, Pentair, Pentek, Culligan, OmniFilter,GE, and hundreds more. Some treatment systems are independently certified providing higher level of confidence to customers. Most brands come as countertop, undersink, pitcher, faucet mount, refrigerator, and whole house filter systems. You can also find shower filtration device that attach to bathroom showerhead. Prices vary between brands, types, and models because some can filter more contaminants or produced more filtered water than the others. Because some brands go through independent testing and certification, they may price higher than non-certified systems. |
 | Whole-House All the types listed above allow you to filter water at the tap or at the kitchen faucet. A whole house filter allows you to filter water as it enters the house. Most are used to remove sediments, rust, and chlorine. This type can filter a really large amount of water and filter cartridges often last long—some as long as 5 years before replacement. Some are really expensive and some are cheap.
Water softeners or Ion exchangers are the other type of whole-house installations. They are use ion exchange to remove water hardness (calcium and magnesium) that can damage pipes and can result in expensive repairs. The problem with whole house filter types is that they are not designed to remove some dangerous bacteria and some dissolved organics. |