What Type of Whole House Water Filter System Should I Buy?

A whole house water filter (like the picture on the right) is point-of-entry water filtration or purification system to treat water entering the house.  This treatment option is ideal for homeowners and commercial outlets that want receive clean drinking water coming to the whole house.  Some are designed specifically to treat municipally treated water and some are designed to treat well water.  The whole house water filter will ensure that any volatile organic contaminants and sedimentation reaching your well is reduced to a safe level. Light brown, murky water is sign of elevated iron concentration in your water. If your water smell like chlorine it is probably the residual chlorine; chlorine is used to disinfect most public water. Sediment at the bottom of a container after it sits for a while leaving clear water at the top is a sign of silt in your water. If you suspect that your water may be contaminated, you should first have it tested before you invest in any water filter system.  You have the options of testing your water by: 1) buy a water testing kit capable of analyzing one or multiple parameters in your water; 2) hire a water testing laboratory to do the test; 3) contact your water supply authority and find out if they offer free water testing program. Water testing kits can provide you with quick and accurate results for contaminants such as chlorine, pH, total hardness, lead, nitrate, nitrite, and some pesticides.  Some testing should be done immediately you take a water sample—there is no holding. A water testing lab can send you sterilized containers to collect water samples which can then be shipped to the lab.  Some samples need special lab testing protocols that only certified lab technicians can do Where to find NSF-Certified Filters Multi-Pure Aquasana Crystal Quest Apec FilterFast FilterWater Shop.com You may need a whole house water filter if you . . . Are tired of buying bottled water.  Reports have shown that bottled water is no better than most tap water.  It could be costly and not environmentally-friendly to constantly buy bottled water when you can simply filter and bottle your own water with earth-friendly containers.  Yet, another calculation shows that bottled/delivered water = $0.79/gal.   Home Reverse Osmosis water = $0.02/gal.  You save $ 0.77/gal. If you use 3 gallons per day, 1,095 gallon per year, you can save $ 843 per year!  Just looking to install in your whole house and hoping improve the taste, smell, and aesthetic condition of your water?  Whole house water filters will provide you with cleaner, better smelling water for all household uses such as bathing; showering; laundry; dishwashing, etc.  There will be no more bad tastes and odors from harmful chlorine residuals. Like to minimize rust in the water and stains on fixtures and clothing, and to remove sediment that’s causing major plumbing problems and making your toilets to be full of silt and need to be frequently replaced. With a whole house water filter you will get clear water at every tap and appliance through-out the house Want ultra fresh, delicious drinking water right at home for drinking, cooking, ice & coffee making, baby-formula, pet feeding, dieting and many other uses. Perform a water testing using kits or laboratory and the results show that: There is bacteria in your drinking water well.  Bacteria cannot be detected visually, or by taste.  Some deep wells can contain sulfur-reducing bacteria which can result in rotten egg smell.  Iron bacteria can give musty odor. You have arsenic in your water. This naturally occurring contaminant is known to cause human carcinogen. Your water has chlorine, pH, total hardness, lead, nitrate, nitrite, or pesticides. Before you buy Trying to do a whole house water filter comparisons the web could be overwhelming and a little bit confusing because there are so many different brands and models.  But how do know which one is the best whole house water filter? Look for water filters that are NSF-certified; verify any treatment claims before you purchase a whole house water filter. NSF-certified filters have been independently tested to show that they can reduce levels of certain pollutants under specified conditions. According to an EPA publication, Water on Tap: What you need to know, “some vendors may make claims about the effectiveness that have no merit.  Units are tested for their safety and effectiveness by two organizations, NSF International and Underwriters Laboratory.” Therefore, for a piece of mind, look for a whole house water filter that meet NSF/ANSI standard 53  certified to reduce the contaminant(s) of concern in your water to a safe level.  Devices that meet standard 53 are understood to treat water for health along with aesthetic qualities.  This will provide some assurance that some claims made by the manufacturer have been verified by an independent body. NSF-certified filters have been independently tested to show that they can reduce levels of certain pollutants under specified conditions.

Water Treatment Filter Type	Pros	Cons
Activated Carbon Filter	Removes chlorine, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), radon, and general taste and odor problems	Does not remove nitrate, bacteria or inorganic compounds;  Periodic replacement of activated charcoal required
Reverse Osmosis	Removes more contaminants than any other treatment system except distillation, some organic chemicals (not volatile or semi-volatile), pesticides, bacteria and viruses.	Periodic replacement of activated charcoal required; Does not remove all organic chemicals, such as chloroform; does not remove 100 percent of most chemicals; uses large amounts of water; not recommended for bacteria and dissolved gases.
Ion Exchange	Cation Exchange Units: Removes positively charged ions, inorganic compounds, such as iron and manganese ions, arsenic, chromium, and hard water minerals - calcium and magnesium Anion Exchange Units: Removes negatively charged ions such as nitrates, bicarbonate, selenium, and sulfate; removes small particles and suspended solids such as ferric iron, clay, silt and sand, and some pathogens such as bacteria and viruses, and colloids (suspended matter).	Removal of one type of ion replaced with another, for example iron removed may be replaced with sodium; periodic backwashing and regeneration required.
Distillation	Removes dissolved minerals, trace amounts of metals, and some toxic organic chemicals.	Might produce bland-tasting water; small capacity units produce limited quantity for drinking, cooking; large units require kitchen or adjoining space or small diameter plastic plumbing can be run to the faucet location from a basement unit; not effective against most volatile and semi-volatile chemicals and some bacteria.
Activated Lumina	Used primarily for removing fluoride and arsenic	May require a post-treatment system for bacteria removal.
Adapted from Private Well Series: Healthy Drinking Waters for Rhode Islanders, April 2007

Maintenance and water replacement filter cartridges It is also important that you keep extra water filter replacement cartridges. This will ensure that you continue to drink filtered water and that you do not encounter a filtrate breakthrough.   Filtered water can even be more dangerous than the unfiltered water.  If the pores in the filter become filled the filter unit will become ineffective and the accumulated filtrates (contaminants) on the surface of the filter will start to leach into your drinking water. How often you replace the cartridge filters depends on the manufacturer's recommendation.

Multi-Pure Whole House Water Filter System
TO15000 Whole House Water Treatment System. Chlorine, taste and odor treatment only. Corrosion resistant Polypropylene Housing Installed on main water supply. High flow design (approx. 6.5 gpm, max. 90 psi). Capacity of approx 15,000 gallons. Includes two additional replacement filters and a bracket. NSF Certified.