When to Consider a Whole House Water Filter Systems

Point-of-use water filters, such as water filtration pitchers and devices that attach to individual spigots, can effectively reduce the level of contaminants that you drink. However, some chemicals are absorbed through the skin in concentrated amounts during showers or baths. Chemicals that readily transform into gasses, such as radon, disinfaction byproducts and some organic chemicals, are more easily combatted with a whole house water filter system. To find out if your water system has high concentrations of these chemicals, ask your water system for an annual report or get your water tested.

The Benefits Of Whole-house Water Filtration Systems

There are several benefits to adding a whole-house water filtration system to your home. There are no added electricity costs, and no wasted water. Filtered water also improves indoor air quality by removing chemicals that are used to treat the water before it arrives in your home. Whole-house filtration systems need virtually no maintenance, and can even lengthen the life of your plumbing fixtures and appliances.

The Cost Of Whole-house Water Filtration

Installation and maintenance of a whole house water filter is generally inexpensive. A licensed plumber will be able to install your unit in your basement, garage, or hot water heater closet. This can be done in a couple of hours and usually costs between $125.00 and $225.00. The main filter unit is easily replaced every three years, costing approximately $225.00 a year. Not a bad price to have chemical-free water flowing from every faucet in your home!

The Benefits Of Home Water Filters

Home water filters are an ideal way to cover all your bases and keep your water healthy. These filtration systems descale your pipes, hot water heater, faucets, dishwasher, and even your shower heads. The also eliminate hard water deposits by keeping the calcium in the bicarbonate form using sodium. Another important aspect of using home water filters is that they also kill bacteria like E.coli and Pseudomonas, which can keep your family from getting ill from ingesting the water in your home.

Reverse Osmosis For Your Home Water System

A very effective whole house water treatment system uses reverse osmosis, commonly referred to as RO. In an RO system, water under pressure is forced through very small pores in the membrane and the dissolved chemicals are left on the pressure side of the membrane. RO can remove up to 99.8% of the chemicals in the treated water, such as arsenic, cyanide, chrome, copper, nickel and other ions. In addition, water hardness caused by calcium and magnesium is also removed. This eliminates lime scale formation on bath fixtures, in pipes and in the water heater.

How House Water Filters Work

With a standard whole house water filter, water enters your home via pipes, and into the filter, which is usually made of activated carbon. The filtration system is able to treat approximately one million gallons of water, enough to last an average family five or more years. The activated carbon removes odors, chlorine, metals, chemicals, impurities, and bad taste. As long as it is installed properly, a house filter is maintenance-free. It automatically backwashes and recycles itself whenever a preset amount of water usage or elapsed time has occurred.

Which Home Water Filtration System Is Best?

You know you want to keep your family's water supply safe. But how do you know what house water filter is the best for your home? When choosing a specific product or system, be sure to confirm that it is made from materials that are safe for water contact, is structurally sound, and that it will perform as claimed by the manufacturer. Many manufacturers will have their products certified by an independent organization, such as NSF International. This not-for-profit, non-governmental organization offers assurance to consumers that the product meets the requirements of national residential water filter standards.

Water Testing

Before you decide on a whole house water filter, have your water tested to find out what type of filter you need. If your home receives water from a local water system, you'll be able to find general information about the quality of your water in their annual water quality report. However, the presence of some chemicals, such as lead, can vary from house to house, so you should also have your home tested individually so that you can purchase the best whole house water filter for your water. A good water filtration company will test your water before giving you an estimate. Try a few companies to get a consistent idea of what the appropriate whole house water filter system for you will be.

Whole House Water Treatment System

Excessive minerals in your home's water supply will stain your clothes, affect the quality of your dishwashing machines, and even change the color of your hair. To counterract the effects of too many minerals in your water supply, look into installing a whole house water treatment system. These systems are installed once and affect the quality of the water being distributed to your entire home.

Industrial Water Filters

Manufacturing companies can save time and money by choosing an industrial water filter that is made specifically for their industry. Industrial water filters are available for every industry from juice making to plastics to car washing. By using filtered water in your business, you'll increase the longevity of all your machines by reducing corrosion from hard minerals. For maximum benefit, choose an industrial water filter that is self-cleaning.

Choosing a Whole House Water Filter

The size of your home should be a major factor in your consideration about which whole house water filter to choose. If you choose a whole house water filter that is designed for a house larger than yours, you'll waste money. If you choose one that isn't big enough, your new filter won't be able to meet the demands of your household. Smaller whole house water filters will service houses with between one and three bathrooms, while larger whole house water filters are appropriate for houses with four or more bathrooms.

High-capacity Water Filtration For Your Home

If you are searching for a high-capacity water filtration system, consider an Aquasana water filter. Their whole house water filtration system offers a four-stage process that supplies a water quality even better than bottled water. Imagine that kind of water flowing through every tap in your house! In addition, the system is very inexpensive -- only pennies a day -- for a main filter unit, pre-filter, installation kit, shut-off valve, and required hardware.

Whole House Water Treatment Systems

Only use a whole house water treatment system if your home's water is unusually hard. Water is hard when it contains an excess of calcium, magnesium and other minerals. Hard water may have an unpleasant odor and will make it difficult for you to clean dishes, windows and clothes.

Water that measures over 10 "grains" can benefit from a whole house water treatment system. Water softeners make little difference for water that is contains under 10 grains of hardness.

Home Water Filters for Better Home Brewing

To brew the perfect cup of coffee, start with soft water filtered through a home water filter. Hard water that contains high concentrations of calcium and magnesium will give your coffee and tea a bitter aftertaste and leave a crusty deposit in your cofeemaker. You may have this problem if your water comes from a well, as the water underground has had time to absorb more minerals and hasn't been softened and treated in the way that city water is. A home water filter will get rid of the offending minerals and leave you with a great-tasting cup of coffee every time.

Well Water Testing

The United States Environment Protection Agency is only responsible for regulating public water systems. Those who get their water from a well that is shared by 25 or fewer homes are responsible for testing their own water for contaminants. The EPA recommends annual testing for nitrate and coliform bacteria. More frequent testing should be performed if you are concerned about radon or pesticides. Nearby local water systems can give you a heads up about likely contaminants that you should test for.

If your water comes from a well, look into getting a whole house water treatment system. These powerful home water filter systems can be a valuable first line of defense against changing well water conditions.

Refrigerator Water Filters

A refrigerator water filter will ensure that the water dispensed by your refrigerator is as clean as it is refreshing. To get the most out of your refrigerator water filter, make sure that you use the water dispensor several times per day. Going too long without pouring a glass of water from your refrigerator water filter will give your water an unpleasant odor and taste.

Point-of-Entry (POE) Water Filtration Systems

Point-of-entry water filter systems are another name for whole house water filter systems. They typically treat most of the water used in the household. Most often, they are installed after the water meter. Water meters are usually located in the basement of a house. Where climates are warmer, the water meter may be in the garage or outside of the house. An example of a POE system is a basic water softener.

Protecting Your Water Supply From Industrial Pollution

A great deal of the contamination that ends up in the water supply result from industrial pollution. Industrial waste finds its way into the water supply in a number of ways, including via dumping, groundwater saturation, and air pollution. Many of the water filters on the market are designed specifically to remove chlorine and other substances that are intentionally added to the water supply during the treatment process. However, a great deal of the danger associated with exposure to unfiltered tap water is strongly tied to the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and synthetic chemicals that aren't added to the water supply on purpose.

To reduce exposure to industrial solvents, chemicals, and byproducts, it's important to select a house water filtration system that combines the power of an industrial water filter with the activated carbon filtration necessary to remove chlorine from the water supply. Aquasana whole house water treatment systems utilize a three stage process designed specifically to remove both industrial contamination and that associated with the treatment process from the water your family uses for bathing, cooking, washing, and other purposes. There is no better way to ensure that your family isn't being exposed to industrial solvents and byproducts than by using the powerful Aquasana whole house water filter.

Is a Refrigerator Water Filter Necessary?

There are many different types of refrigerators and icemakers, each of which has its own specialized water filtration requirements. Most refrigerators come with their own filters that provide limited water filtration benefits. However, these filters do not provide the same level of filtration as a high quality, multi-phase faucet or whole house filter. When you install a whole house water filter system, all of the tap water that enters your home is filtered before it comes out of your faucets or goes into any of your appliances.

While it isn't possible to install a faucet filter on your refrigerator, you can make sure that the water used to make the ice your family consumes is safe with a whole house water treatment system. The water used to make ice will be just as safe and healthy as the water you use for drinking or cooking. The same is true of the water used to wash dishes, do laundry, and take baths or showers.

Immediate Changes Following Whole House Water Filter Installation

After installing an Aquasana Rhino whole house water treatment system, you'll likely wonder why you waited so long to take this step. You'll notice an immediate improvement in the taste of your drinking water, even if you didn't realize there was anything off about the flavor to start with. If your water supply has been characterized by an unpleasant odor, you'll be thrilled when the smell goes away almost immediately.

Improved water flavor isn't the only change you'll notice immediately following the installation of your Aquasana whole house water filter. Within just a few days of bathing in filtered water, you'll notice a drastic improvement in the overall look, feel, and condition of your skin and hair. Additionally, if any of your family members has allergy or asthma, you're likely to notice a rapid improvement in their symptoms following installation of a whole house water filter.

With such a fast and drastic change in the quality of your water supply, you'll probably find yourself wondering just how many harmful contaminants you were consuming or breathing in every day prior to installing your house water filter system.

Operating Costs for Whole House Water Filters

In the long run, the most affordable way to make sure that your family isn't exposed to harmful chemicals from tap water is to install a whole house water treatment system in your home. For example, Aquasana's Rhino® EQ-300 unit costs only about 50 cents per day to operate. For that tiny amount of money, you and your family will be able to enjoy high quality water from every faucet in your home.

For significantly less than the cost of purchasing one container of bottled water every day, you'll be able to enjoy a limitless supply of clean water for drinking, bathing, washing dishes, doing laundry, etc. Furthermore, having a whole house water filter will improve the quality of air inside your home, resulting in decreased exposure to chemical vapors that can cause or exacerbate several types of respiratory problems, including allergies and asthma.

How To Install a Whole House Water Filter

The process of installing a whole house water treatment system is a bit more involved than putting in a faucet or shower filter. Installing a whole house water filter is not a do-it-yourself project. Because the device impacts your home's plumbing system, installation must be completed in compliance with the plumbing codes of your state and municipality. Therefore, it is important to enlist the services of a licensed plumber to handle installing your whole house water filter.

When you choose an Aquasana whole house water filter, you can expect years of trouble free water filtration once your system has been properly and professionally installed. You can expect installation by a licensed plumber to take less than three hours, with a cost of $250 or less, depending on the going rate for plumbing services where you live. You'll be able to easily replace the water filter cartridges on your own, so you won't be likely to need assistance from a plumber for a very long time following the initial installation.

Improve Air Quality With a Whole House Water Filter

When unfiltered water enters your home's plumbing system, vapors that contain chemicals are constantly being released into the air of your living environment. When contaminated water sits in the water pipes in your home, chlorine and other contaminants are continually circulated throughout the air that you breathe, resulting in increased indoor air pollution. This can lead to serious respiratory illness, including chronic allergy and asthma problems.

With a whole house water filter, water supply chemicals are filtered out as soon as water enters your home's plumbing system. This means that you don't have to worry about chlorine and other contaminants being released into the air. If anyone in your home suffers from allergies or asthma, it's likely that their symptoms will subside after you install your new whole house water treatment system.

Water Filter Cartridges

Choose a replacement water filter cartridge that is made specifically for your brand of water filter. Mismatched water filter cartridges won't fit well, allowing unfiltered water to get through.

Unexpected Benefits of Home Water Filters

After you've installed your home water filter, you'll probably experience a difference in how some soap products lather. Shampoo and body soap will lather better, so you'll be able to use less to get the same results. Home water filters don't affect the performance of laundry soap, however, so be sure to use your regular amount when washing your clothes.

Maintaining Home Water Filters

A good home water filtration company will offer periodic testing and maintenance services. This service will cost you, so compare offers of different companies. If you're on a budget, ask the home water filter installers to show you how to maintain your home filtration system. The process is relatively easy and all of the necessary supplies are available at most hardware stores. Even if you choose to maintain your home water filter on your own, hire a professional to test your water annually to make sure the contaminants you're concerned about are at sufficiently low levels.

Three Steps To Clean Water

Most whole-house water filtration systems follow a simple three-step system. First, chlorine is filtered out with a mineral media, such as zinc or copper. Next, the water's taste and clarity is enhanced with bituminous charcoal. Finally, the water passes through high-grade carbon media (commonly coconut shell) for a final "cleaning." The result is great-tasting, healthy water!

Combining a Filter and a Softener

Water softeners (also called conditioners) can be combined with either reverse osmosis or steam distillation water filters. This whole house water treatment system combination can effectively eliminate contaminants in most water supplies, but is only necessary in extreme cases.