The Ultimate Whole House Water Filter Guide: What Others Won't Tell You

Water filter removes the contaminants in the water so that we can enjoy clean and fresh water. The whole house water filter is connected to the main water line so that it will treat the water free from contaminants before sending the water into our house main water system. In this way, all the water faucets will be providing us with clean and safe water.

If you want to enjoy water that is safe and clean from all the contaminants, I strongly encourage you to install one as soon as possible. Wait a minute, you mean that the water that comes directly out of the tap is not safe for drinking? Sad to say, the answer is yes. In U.S, all of our water sources are contaminated by industrial and environment pollution, ranging from natural minerals to chemicals discharged by factories. Even chemicals used to treat our water in municipal water facilities such as chlorine, are harmful for our health. It is in your best interest to filter the water before using and consuming them.

There are many different types of whole house water filter system depending on what contaminants you want to remove from the water. Like I mention just now, there are many different types of contaminants in our water supply. You have to request from the municipal water utilities to know the exact contaminants that are present in your water, so that you can install a more preventive water filter system.

• Chemicals are one of the common contaminants found in our water. Chlorine and fluorine, which are frequently used in the municipal water treatment centers, are two of these common contaminants. They can be removed with carbon filters.
• Sediments are more tricky in nature. They are the visible particles in our water and need to be go through multiple layers of filtration to filter them out by their size, starting with the coarse sediments followed by the finer sediments. If your water supply has higher amount of sediments, you will need reusable filters. If the water has a low amount of sediments, you can make do with disposable filter.
• Iron are found in two different forms in our water. The rust iron is visible and can be removed via sediment filters. The dissolved iron needs to go through an oxidation process before they can be removed from the water.

Here is the most important of this buying guide, and I am going to list down some things you should look out for when choosing a whole house water filter.

1. Firstly, you got to know the flow rate of the water filter, which is measured in gallons per minute (GPM). There are different recommended flow rates printed on the the water equipments. You have to look at the each individual equipment to know how much GPM you need. As a general guide, water filter that has less than 10 GPM is a no go, and anything ranges from 15 GPM to 40 GPM is acceptable depending on your family size.
2. Secondly you ought to look at the filter size.  The general rule for filter size is that the larger it is, the longer the service interval, and the higher the GPM. For all homes, the recommended water filter size is around 4.5" to 20" .
3. The third thing to look out for is the life span of the filter. The life span of a water filter is not determined by time, but the amount of water that passes through it and the amount of filtration it needs to perform. The biggest factor that affect the life span of a sediment filter is the quality and the amount of sediment in the water supply. For carbon filters, you need to attach a back washing valve and a back wash cycle for them to last longer. A good whole house water filter has a life span of 100,000 to 150,000 gallons of water.
4. Lastly, you have to check the port size of the water filter. Check your diameter of your pipes to have an idea of the port size. The port size will also have an effect on the GPM of the water filter, but the most ideal port size is 1" and most households do not experience any drops in the flow rate of their water supply.