6 Tips to Choose Best Whole House Water Filter

Filtering water for personal use is now a necessity for a healthy living. The quality of water supply we use contains contaminants which pose threat to our health. There are many companies that provide water filtration solutions and you can choose from a variety of water filters fit for your use. But people often commit mistakes in choosing the best fit water filter depending on their needs and supply line factors.

Understand POE & POU

POE stands for Point of Entry and POU for Point of Use. The water filters are divided into these two groups based on your requirements. Point of Use filters are installed inside the house in places like faucets, under the sink, showers. They serve single purpose for the place they are installed in. But Point of entry is a multipurpose water filter. POE water filters are installed directly to the supply line entry of your house and provide clean drinking water to all the sub-lines. One of the best POE water filters is whole house water filter which is the one stop solution for all your personal water needs.

Why Whole House Water Filters?

Whole house water filters are connected to the main supply line so that the water that enters your house is treated. Unlike Point of Use water filters, whole house water filters connect to all faucets and sinks of the house and provide clean water for drinking, laundry, kitchen ware cleaning, cooking, bathing and toilet use.

Whole house filters are powerful devices which eliminate up to 98% of water contaminants including:

Organic contaminants like bacteria, algae, fungi and other harmful microorganisms
Hazardous metals like lead, iron, arsenic and mercury
Rotten egg odor
Unpleasant taste
Sediments including salts, soil and micro rocks

Getting Point of Entry whole house filters provides benefits like:

Reduces rusting of faucets
Prevents clogging of pipelines
Prevents accumulation of yellow layer on kitchenware
Prevents patches on bathroom and toilet floors

But, before buying the biggest and most powerful whole house filter for your house, you should find out if you need it or not.

Tips to choose the best whole house water filter

Water filters come in different shapes and functionality to fit right to your requirement. But to understand what suits your needs, you should go through a few simple steps from analyzing your water supply, purpose, filter quality, cost and additional features.

1. Analyze your supply

The first thing to do is to find out the quantity and types of contaminants in your water supply. If you are getting water from a private source like well, private supplier or river, there are many cheap water testing tools available to get accurate reports or you can also call a water specialist to do the job for you. If you are getting water from public supply provided by the government, then you can get a water quality index (WQI) report from your local area supply office. The reports will help you understand what type of filtration is required for your needs.

2. Find out flow rate of your faucets and dispensers

People buy water filters without checking the flow rates of their faucets which leads to pressure variation. If the flow rate of the hoes is lower than the water filters, the chances of hose bursting or leakage increases. But if the flow rate of the faucets and hoses is higher than that of the water filter, the water flow will be low and may cause frequent choking due to air filling. The variation in flow rate of faucets and water filters also affects the functioning of the filter cartridges and reduce their lifespan. Check the water flow rate of all your faucets and get an average estimate to buy a water filter with 1-2gpm higher flow rate.

3. Purpose of filtration

Whole house water filters are powerful devices. They come in large variation of sizes and flow rates to provide the best solution to users ranging from small personal house to large commercial industries. If you have a storage tank, it can readily help you find the right size of your whole house water filter. But if you rely only on the direct water supply, then the size of the filters depends on your daily water usage. You can calculate the amount of water you consume everyday by checking the water meter especially on laundry day for better accuracy.

4. Only NSF Certified products

When you look for the whole house filters, make sure that any filter that you choose is NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) certified. The American national Standards institute (ANSI) gives authority to NSF to maintain high standards in all the water filtration solutions provided. Whole house filters use heavy duty Polypropylene cartridges which help in providing reinforced filter housing. Only the polypropylene quality approved by FDA is certified by NSF. This means better quality of filters and faster filtration.

5. Always look for options

There are many whole house filters available in the market at competitive prices. So, it is beneficial to compare the price and specifications of other companies than the ones you prefer. One of the cheapest whole house water filters is Apex – EZ 1100 which is rated for pressures up to 100 psi and is suitable for both personal and commercial use. It is also the most suitable whole house water filter for small and mid-sized cafes, beverage dispensers and offices. If you are shopping online, there are many offers to reduce buying cost. Apex water filters provide most frequent offers and discounts.

6. Seller and manufacturer credibility

The best sellers and manufacturers provide free of cost shipping, installation and services. The maintenance cost of good whole house filters can be as low as $20 per month. Also look for the warranty and free service period too. Whole house water filters work best with polypropylene cartridges but not every manufacturer can provide FDA approved cartridges. It is mandatory to get installation done directly by the seller or manufacturer if they provide the service or from a certified plumber. Installing it on your own may void the warranty policies in many cases.

Note – Always check the list of contaminants the water filters can purify. Read reviews and credibility of the seller and manufacturer online for better product quality and service.