Whole House Water Filter

Using an Inline Water Filter

Across the country, unsafe drinking water has become increasingly common. The desire for a whole house water filter to have better, cleaner water from every faucet and fixture has prompted more and more of our nation’s homeowners to investigate the right system and expertise to get results. Removing contaminants with a high-quality water filtration system is now more necessity than luxury.

A Consumer Confidence Report (CCR), also known as the water quality report, sent annually from a water supplier will tell a homeowner where the water comes from and what’s in it. A CCR can help narrow down the most effective filtration system for a particular home because it includes your hardness, iron, pH and other minerals that helps with sizing and best product recommendations for a home.

Most water filtration systems will make a home’s water taste better, but the contaminants they remove vary widely from system to system. This is why it is essential for homeowners to first identify the pollutants in their water to ensure they purchase the correct filtration system to remove them.

City Water and Well Water Filtration Options

The purpose of a whole house inline water filter is to not only improve taste and eliminate odors, but to purify all incoming water by removing harmful toxins. The inline water filter can be installed on any water line and is a good choice for homes. Whole house filtration units can be installed to treat a variety of water issues, resulting in treated water that flows throughout the entire home rather than a single faucet.

Pick up the phone and call the city's water treatment facility (where you pay your water bill) to find out your hardness or range of hardness in GPG (grains per gallon). Then call for help with sizing and the right product recommendation(s).

Water Treatment and NSF Certification

Because water sources and treatment varies from place to place, the quality of drinking water is never consistent. CCRs (local city quality water report) are important because they tell homeowners which contaminants have been found in the water to clearly indicate any potential health risks or violations of EPA standards.

Private well water customers must hire a professional water company to determine if any of the following contaminants are present: ecoli, coliform, lead, arsenic, iron bacteria, pesticides, cysts, hydrogen sulfide, manganese, etc. Sharing the results with a qualified water treatment company like Discount Water Softeners, including the hardness, pH and iron reading helps them—help you. Or, you can use the basic private well water test strip kit and get your water directly from the well head or pressure tank and get instant results for the basic readings in seconds.

While the EPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) won’t recommend a particular product or filtration system, the NSF (a non-profit organization that independently certifies products) is available to help consumers answer any questions regarding a particular system.

NSF certified products have undergone extensive testing and evaluation of their development from start to finish. Manufacturers who have their products NSF certified demonstrate a commitment to safety and excellence.

The NSF’s strict procedures give credibility to water treatment systems. Homeowners can rest assured any whole house water filter with an NSF seal is of the highest quality. If the system has been certified, the NSF mark (typically a blue circle with “NSF” in white lettering) can be found on the product packaging or the literature that accompanies it.

Questioning the Safety of Treated Water

After identifying water contaminants in the water supply, determining the best filtration technology is the next step. Homeowners have many options when it comes to water filtration; and it’s important to choose the best water filter specific to a family’s needs and water readings. Effectiveness of a whole home water filter can vary widely depending on the filtering capability of contaminants and chlorine levels in the home.

City water contains chlorine and chloramines. Only catalytic carbon removes both. Private well water residents who have bacteria require a whole house chlorine injection system, which then has a carbon filter after it to remove the chlorine.

Whole house water filters (removes chlorine, chloramines, calcium, magnesium and a small amount of iron) are the best choice because they provide clean, pure water from every water source in the home. 

Inline water filters will filter the water immediately after entering the property, removing contaminants before water comes out of the faucet; i.e., copper, nickel, sand, chlorine, etc. Inline filters are normally used to remove solid particles in water on well water.

Water that comes from municipal treatment plants, while considered “clean,” should not be the only source of prevention against carcinogens. Recent findings have shown these facilities are still generating unsatisfactory water, causing water-related illnesses for homeowners throughout the U.S.

The use of a whole house water filter is the last means of protection from the failures of municipal treatment systems. But the problem isn’t always the municipality. Oftentimes, water leaving the treatment plant is exposed to contaminants from a number of sources before it reaches a home.

These contaminants include; corroded pipes, springs, and aquifers, which can all introduce impurities into the water—even after the water has been treated. Water filtration systems have the ability to remove more toxins than any other purification method and are specifically designed to work with a municipally treated water supply or chlorine feed system.

Water Filtration Using Catalytic Carbon Technology

Home filtration using catalytic carbon technology will reduce chlorine and chloramines, as well as remove a wide range of contaminants like asbestos, mercury, and lead. Backwashing catalytic carbon filters are designed to eliminate volatile organic compounds (VOCs), hydrogen sulfide, chlorine, and chloramines. Combine a  water softener with catalytic carbon to save money and be more efficient.

Homeowners considering carbon filtration should note that chlorine removal is what carbon does best—no other filtration equals carbon’s ability to do this. Carbon technology such as the Genesis Catalytic Carbon backwashing filter and inline Big Blue water filter with KDF-85 media safeguards water from chemicals including chlorine, chloramines, lead, herbicides, pesticides, and hydrogen sulfide—that  rotten egg smell often found in well water.

Whole house heavy duty filtration like the Genesis Premier water filter is installed before the water heater, stopping city water impurities in their tracks before they reach the hot water heater. Discount water filters are available for purchase online, but with the wide variety of sizing, capacities and flow rates available, it’s recommended for homeowners with no experience to call new sales and ask for help with sizing and product recommendations. Hiring a licensed plumber is recommended if you have limited or no experience installing home filtration systems.

The Last Line of Defense

The good news is that homeowners no longer have to live with the threat of illness from bacteria and viruses in their drinking water. A quality water filtration system makes a home’s water clean and safe, effectively ending any health concerns related to drinking and showering in contaminated water.

Finding the right whole house water filter requires a bit of research and consideration, but water treatment specialists are readily available to help. Hiring an expert gives homeowners the security of knowing that an installation is completed correctly and efficiently.

For most Americans, health and wellness is a top priority; water filtration is the simplest, most cost-effective way to invest in improving your health. A point of entry filtration system is the best line of defense between the body and dangerous chemicals present in city and private well drinking water. Luckily,  there’s a system to meet all filtration needs—ending in clean, crisp, healthful water emerging from every water source in the home.