A Plumbers perspective on what it take to be the best whole house water filter?The most common questions I'm asked when customers are deciding what's the best whole house water filter are...... 1. Will the water taste better? 2. Am I wasting money on something I don't really need? 3. How long will it last? 4. Can I get replacement filters? 5. Do I have enough water pressure to drive it? 6. Will it kill the bugs in the water? 7. Is the water I'm drinking now dangerous to my health?
In fact, the list is endless. I'll try to address these questions and a few more to ensure you get the information needed to select the best whole house water filter. If you're in a hurry, try the Rhino, by aquasana. It ticks all the boxes that I want out of a water filter and the bloody thing lasts and lasts.
If you want great tasting water with only slightly less quality but at a great price try Aqua Filter Plus.
The lowdownNow I could rant and rave and tell you about microns, plastic qualites, plumbing connection in technical terms but all I'd do is bore you to tears. So here's the low down in good ole basic, no plumbing terms as to what makes the best whole house water filter. A filters job is to take out the little bits of stuff you don't want in your water. Surprised? That stuff can range from Chlorine (kills the live bugs) Fluoride (stops tooth decay) Scale (bits that break off old pipes especially ageing galvinised water pipes.) Another biggy, is old lead pipe contamination.
Lastly and most common, is stuff like leaves and bugs (usually in home tank water supply systems. This system can sometimes have taste tainted by home fires, as the water is collected off the roof. The water usually has a charcoal or smokey taste.
Your needsOk with the not so technical stuff out of the way it's time to decide wether you really need the best whole house water filter. The main factor is, what this water is doing to your health. We'll start with chlorine. Nearly every council in the modern world doses its water supply with this chemical. It is a bid to ensure your water does not arrive, swimming with microscopic organisms. These bugs may have no affect what so ever but..... some can knock your health for a six, leading to major stomach upsets, lethargy or in rare cases death. The amounts of chlorine added to your water supply can vary depending on the quality of your cities catchment. For example, my cities water supply comes from a beautiful, pristine reservoir surrounded by bush. At times when the supply is low, a local river is called upon to make up the shortfall. When this happens an extra generous dose is added to ensure the waters safety. The taste and smell change dramatically. All I can say is YUK. The majority of scientists say that in these small amounts,there is no health danger. My own good sense, says rubbish. If your putting a toxic chemical into your water then drinking it for say 60 years, it can,t help but do you harm. Add to this showering and bathing in it and your doubling your exposure. Here is where an excellent carbon block filter can be worth its weight in gold. It will extract the chlorine from your water as it enters your home. The main safety issue is that your water is unprotected once it leaves your filter. To ensure your safety, water pipes should be in good condition. To emphasise this point I once had a customer who was getting tiny worms, occassionally coming through her water taps. (This was a city water supply) What had happened, is that one of her pipes had developed a small crack underground and when she ran her tap full bore the crack acted like a sucking device, drawing in dirt and the occasional tiny worm!!! Although this senario is extremely rare it is something that could influence your decision. A safe guard is to install the filter system once your pipeworks have come out of the ground.
The next commonly added chemical is fluoride.Scientist, mostly agree that fluoride in these small quantites have no bad affect on your health and is beneficial for your teeth. Soo...if you decide to install the best whole house water filter you will need to decide whether to use a fluoridated toothpaste, as your water will no longer contain fluorine.
Smokey smelling and tasting water.As with chlorine, a carbon block filter will usually take out this odour and taste. ParasitesThis should only apply to home water collection. (Water collected off roof and stored in tanks or water spring supply.) To guard against micro organisms that may be harmful to your health, make sure your filter is rated less than 1 micron.
This size will ensure that these bugs can not pass through your filter system.
Do you really need the best whole house water filter?My top 7 reasons for saying yes yes yes to the best whole house water filter. Guaranteed pure clean water. Bloody cheap when taken over the life time of the filter. Health beneficial compared to other drinks. (you'll drink more if it tastes and smells good.) Personal washing that doesn,t leave you reeking of chlorine. No nasties, to give you a crook guts. Crystal clear looks (no bits and pieces sitting on the bottom of your bath before you hop in.) Save money by protecting your tapware. (by far the biggest cause of wear on your taps and valves, are the impurities that come through in your water supply.)
The winner is.......If your looking for a company that does it all, from undersink single installations to whole house water filters, to reverse osmosis water filter system then free drinking water suppliers come through. Their main product is the reverse osmosis water filter. Although this water filter wastes water in its method of backwashing, the water quality delivered is pure, crystal. If your conscience can stand the waste and the price, then this filter is for you. Click on the link below for the best descriptions on how things work, the best warranties and their best systems available.
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