Tips on Finding The Best Whole House Water Filter

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After a long, disgusting day at work, the last thing you want to do is walk into your home and be forced to choke down another dirty glass of water. If this sounds familiar, it might be time you invested in a whole house water filter.

A whole house water filter can make all of your tap water safe for consumption by either removing contaminants or killing bacteria — check out this list here or water tech’s list. So, not only will you be able to drink tap water in your own home without worry, but also your laundry will be cleaner, and your appliances will love you too!

What About Health Risks of Poor Water Quality

The first step in preventing waterborne illnesses is to understand how people are affected by drinking impure water. It’s crucial to realize that the symptoms individuals experience might or may not manifest right away. Furthermore, factors like the person’s overall health, age, and physical condition influence the degree of the actual effects seen. The following are some of the

  • Diarrhea
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Headaches
  • Fever

In fact, diarrhea is the most common effect of drinking dirty water, given that it is caused by microorganisms or their toxins. In light of this, individuals can become severely dehydrated in three to four days if they do not have access to clean water.

This is by no means an extensive list, but it does provide insight into the risks you face with subpar water quality. So if this sounds like something you or your family would like to avoid, read on for some tips on finding the best whole house water filter!

Where to start next? Get a water test!

How to Test Your Water

Having a water test done is a pretty simple process. A water test will provide you with the necessary information that you need to purchase the best filtration system for your needs, and not a catch-all filtration system. Furthermore, if you get your water from your local water municipality, that should be able to provide you with a water test for free — many times, that have already performed an in-house test and can provide you with that info upon request.

What Types of Water Filtration Systems are There?

Activated Carbon Filtration Systems

The activated carbon filtration system is a great choice if your water source contains low levels of contaminants. Activated carbon filters do not need the use of chemicals to purify water. Instead, it relies on a process known as adsorption. In this process, certain chemical compounds are attracted to one another due to forces that include “polarity, ion exchange, and adsorption.”

In addition to this, activated carbon systems remove the majority of chlorine from water. Therefore, if you have been using a filtration system that doesn’t filter out the chlorine in your home, you should consider switching. In fact, one study showed that “when activated carbon was used as the final polishing step, it showed effective chlorine removal capability.

Activated carbon is also used to treat some industrial wastewater that contains organic compounds. It has proven to be an excellent way of treating polluted water due to its ability to break down certain pollutants into simpler components that are easier for the environment to handle.

Reverse Osmosis Systems

Reverse osmosis filtration systems are great for purifying water if you have a particularly worrisome contaminant in your home — such as nitrates. Reverse osmosis systems work by forcing water through a semi-permeable membrane which separates the contaminants from the clean drinking water. The contaminants are usually trapped and disposed of via a wastewater drain or through the use of activated carbon filters.

There are, however, some drawbacks associated with this type of filtration. First of all, reverse osmosis systems are extremely expensive to buy and install. Furthermore, their maintenance costs are also high over time because they need frequent filter replacements. Finally, these types of filtration systems are not the most energy-efficient technologies available, which means that they can be an environmental hazard if you live in a relatively cold climate.

Ultraviolet Purification Systems

UV filtration systems are excellent for treating water that has been contaminated with certain types of pathogens. This is because ultraviolet light — the process used by these types of systems — can kill harmful microorganisms without damaging the surrounding water. In addition, these types of filtration systems are great for treating low-quality well water since they don’t rely on chemicals to treat the water.

This type of purification system is also good for removing organic contaminants from low-quality drinking water sources. Unfortunately, UV filtration systems are too expensive for widespread use, and they can’t be used to treat water from a city source because of the possibility that it may cause issues with local bacteria.

Water Softeners

Water softeners work by “ion exchange” — the process by which chemicals adhere to metal ions to filter out unwanted contaminants. This is because hard water contains high levels of calcium and magnesium. These are minerals that contribute to “scale” — the buildup of mineral deposits on appliances over time.

Surprisingly, there are several benefits associated with using a water softener for your home. First of all, they can help you conserve energy since they reduce the amount of scale buildup in your appliances. Furthermore, they are good for homes with high pH levels since they can neutralize the pH and reduce corrosion. Finally, water softeners reduce the concentration of heavy metals such as lead and mercury in your drinking water.

Ion Exchange Filtration Systems

This is a type of filtration system that works by exchanging unwanted chemicals in your drinking water for more desirable chemicals. This means that the ion exchange filters are particularly good at removing contaminants such as nitrates, arsenic, and sulfides.

Unfortunately, ion exchange filtration systems are not widely available to consumers, which makes them extremely expensive. Also, they need frequent filter replacements to be effective — sometimes every six months or so.

In conclusion

There are several different types of water filtration systems available for your home. Reverse osmosis systems and ultraviolet purification technologies are good at removing a variety of contaminants from your drinking water. Finally, ion exchange technology is great for filtering out certain metals and nitrates.