All About Whole House Water Filters

A whole house water filter, like the name suggests, filters all the tap water that comes into your home. While regular water filters attach to single water taps, providing filtration only for the single faucet, a whole house water filter attaches to the main water line entering your home and delivers filtered water to every tap and outlet, including toilets, washing machines and showers. If you want filtered water for your garden, you need to install your whole house water filter at a point before the garden water is split from the rest of your plumbing. This is sometimes difficult because the split between the garden water and house water usually happens close to where the water mains enter your home, leaving few options for where you can install your whole house water filter.

Many homeowners have a difficult time determining what type of whole house water filter they need. There are a number of different types on the market, including kinetic degradation fluxion, activated carbon and reverse osmosis, among others. Each type of filter has different strengths and weaknesses and you will need to determine what types of contaminants are in your water before making a final decision on the best type for you. If your water is supplied by the city or town you live in, your water will probably have higher levels of chlorine, chemicals, sediment and hardness. If you would like a more detailed breakdown, most municipalities will give you a water analysis on request. Well water often has higher levels of sediment, iron and hardness. If you have your own well, you should have an analysis of the water done before choosing your whole house water filter.

Another point of confusion for those looking for a water filtration system is the difference between water softening and water filtration. Water softeners take out minerals that cause water hardness while water filters, including whole house filters, remove a wider range of chemicals.

It helps to learn more about the contaminants in water before making a decision about the type of whole house water filter you want. Sediments are particles in the water that you can see. They include dirt, dust, rust and sand that need to be strained from the water. Filters designed to kill living organisms in the water, like UV filters, will not remove sediments. If your water has high levels of sediments, you may want to consider a two-stage filter to remove all of the sedimentation and you will have to change filters more frequently.

Chemicals in your water are better treated with carbon filtration. Chlorine is the most common disinfectant used in municipal water, but carbon filtration will also remove a long list of other chemical contaminants.

Iron is one of the most common minerals found in water. Iron is found in two types in water: when it is dissolved in the water, virtually invisible, it is known as ferrous iron and can be removed with oxidization or ion exchange. PH balance and hydrogen sulfide can affect the life of an oxidizing filter. Ferric iron is rust, or red water iron, which is usually visible in water. Sediment filters will remove ferric iron from water.

There are features and terms with which you should be familiar before researching your whole house water filter. For many users, flow rate is important because of the amount of water they use on a day-to-day basis. Flow Rate is measured in gallons per minute (gpm) or litres per minute (lpm or L/mn) and reflects the speed at which your filtration system produces filtered water. Some typical North American flow rates include 2.5 to 5 gpm for shower heads, 5 gpm for toilets and 3 gpm for dishwashers. While your water filter does not need to constantly produce 3 gpm to keep your dishwasher running, it will need to do so when the dishwasher is on. Homeowners need to consider peak flow rates that is the maximum possible flow rate when using all water outlets to determine the flow rate they need to enjoy an uninterrupted filtered water supply.

The size of your water filter is important too. Larger filters have longer service intervals and can handle higher flow rates. Filter life is a useful indicator of the quality of your filter. Another consideration for your whole house water filter is the port size, which should not be less than 1 in most cases.

Water Filter Depot is your source for all your water filtration needs including a wide range of whole house water filters.