Everything You Need to Know About Whole House Water Filters

Whole house water filters are exactly what they sound like: a water filtration system for your entire home. While many may find whole house water filters unnecessary because tap water has already been chemically treated, we are here to tell you why this may not be enough. Here, we will discuss everything you need to know about whole house water filters, their purpose, the different types, the benefits, and any additional whole house water filter tips, in order to improve your overall quality of life.

Why Whole House Water Filters?

For the modern day household, clean, filtered water is essential. While many tend to focus on drinking water, it is also important to pay attention to the quality of the water that you use around the house on a daily basis. Remember: this is water that you clean your dishes with, clean yourself with, etc. Hence, the importance of whole house water filters.

Again, water from your local water district has most likely already been treated. But it’s important to keep in mind that you have no idea as to what extent and how well the water has been cured or treated. Having your own personal, whole house water filter, is a great way to grant peace of mind that the water you are using has been both treated and filtered for any harsh contaminants that you wouldn’t knowingly want in your water. Whole house water filters are typically installed in the main water line of your home to ensure that all water outlets in your home gives out water that has already been filtered.

Benefits of a Whole House Water Filter

Before getting into technicalities such as filter types, tips and maintenance, let’s discuss benefits that are common for all water filters regardless of the type, model, or brand.

• Whole house water filters are convenient. Rather than having to worry about or install individual filters or external filter extensions, all the water entering your home is filtered upon entry at the main water line.
• Whole house water filters save money. Since all the water entering your home is filtered from the initial line, you don’t need to constantly change multiple filters or check for maintenance for every single water spout in your household. A simple one and done that saves time and money.
• Clean water. This is the most obvious benefit, but it is important to emphasize cleaner water from every water source in the house ensures maximum cleanliness in terms of personal hygiene. Cleaner water means healthier showers for healthy skin and hair.
• Softened water. While a whole house filter is not the same as a water softener, whole house filters are able to soften water by getting rid of harsh contaminants up to a standard level which within itself, has many benefits.

Different Types of Whole House Water Filters

Like most home services, water filtration is not “one size fits all” and needs to be chosen accordingly in order to accommodate your lifestyle. Here are some of the different types of whole house water filters:

Carbon Water Filters

Carbon water filters are among the most common in terms of whole house water filters as they require less maintenance, are less expensive compared to other alternatives, and are more eco-friendly. Carbon-based whole house water filters are most practical for averaged sized families and specialize in filtering out sediment, chlorine, rust, and other traces of metals such as  copper, mercury, and other harmful components that wouldn’t have been filtered out otherwise.

Reverse Osmosis Filters

Reverse osmosis whole house water filters are great for if you want access to purified water from all water outlets in your household. Reverse osmosis water filters use polarity in order to filter out any and all substances that are not pure water molecules. These filters are not recommended as drinking water filters are reverse osmosis strips water of minerals, but for whole house use and cleaning, these are great filters.

Heavy Duty Filtration Systems

Heavy duty filtration systems are whole house water filters that use more advanced methods and technology to filter out water. These methods are different from carbon based or reverse osmosis filters in some cases even using a combination of those methods in collaboration with newer technology in order to filter water. These whole house filters tend to be more expensive and are great in terms of eco friendliness and water waste.

Factors to Consider

Just like all household decisions, there are some important factors to consider and external research that needs to be done before settling in on a whole house water filter. Ask yourself or consider the following:

• Do you use all the water outlets in your home? For an average family in the average sized home, the answer is usually yes. If anything otherwise, you may want to reconsider whether or not you will be able to maximize the use of a whole house water filter if you don’t use water through the whole house.
• How well does your water district treat/cure your water? What contaminants are used? This is a consideration that may require external research. This is a very important aspect to consider because the answer can lead you to which filter you need. For example, if your water district treats your water with chlorine, this indicates that you need any type of whole house water filter that will filter out chlorine.
• Run water quality tests. A whole house water filter is an investment, and it is important to make sure that it works. Make sure that you have a professional install the system, and make sure that you demand your water quality tests and reports in order to get the most out of your whole house water filter.
• Not drinking water. It is very important to realize that the standard and quality of water for home use is completely different from water filtered by a filtration system made specifically for drinking water. Whole house water filters are made to filter water for standard use such as cleaning, not drinking. If you want to drink water from your home line, there are external filters that can be attached to your water outlets to provide filtered drinking water.

Conclusion

To wrap it all up, a whole house water filter is one way in which you can take matters into your own hands when it comes to your household and its wellbeing. Investing in a whole house water filter is an added layer of protection that saves time, money, and supports household improvement.

Salman Zafar

Salman Zafar is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of EcoMENA. He is a consultant, ecopreneur and journalist with expertise across in waste management, renewable energy, environment protection and sustainable development. Salman has successfully accomplished a wide range of projects in the areas of biomass energy, biogas, waste-to-energy, recycling and waste management. He has participated in numerous conferences and workshops as chairman, session chair, keynote speaker and panelist. He is proactively engaged in creating mass awareness on renewable energy, waste management and environmental sustainability across the globe Salman Zafar can be reached at salman@ecomena.org

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