Everything You Should Consider When It Comes to Whole Home Filtration

Deciding on a new filtration system for your entire home can be a daunting task, but there is no reason to overcomplicate the process. What you need to do is ask yourself some questions regarding your home water supply:

• What kinds of contaminants are in my water?
• What are the different types of filtration systems?
• How long will those filtration systems last?
• What are the limitations and performance capacity of those filtration systems?

When you can answer all of the questions, then you will have all the information you need moving forward. It’s also important to keep in mind how your water supply affects your health and if a whole home filtration system is the right choice for you.

The simple answer is convenience. Every faucet, sink, and plumbing fixture in your entire home will provide you with a clean and healthy supply of water. This makes it much easier to perform simple tasks around your home, whether it’s cooking, cleaning, or bathing. Potable drinking water has become something of a luxury because over 85% of municipal water supplies contain either hard minerals or some sort of contaminant.

Also, municipal water tends to be heavily-chlorinated which can render it undrinkable. Other contaminants that you will commonly find in water supplies include lead, mercury, and industrial solvents used for cleaning and lubrication. It’s pretty much inevitable that toxins, bacteria, and other contaminating elements are going to make their way into your water supply.

Before you install a whole house filtration system, you should test your home water supply or have a professional perform an inspection. This needs to be done to determine what impurities are present so that you can choose a filtration system that suits your needs. In many densely-populated municipal settings, you will discover chloramine in your water supply, which is one of the more aggressive disinfectants that are used. You also need to be on the lookout for hard water which is high in mineral content and for this, you want to avoid using filters.

You will then decide on a certain type of filter based on the results of your test. Certain filters have the capacity to remove certain contaminants. For example, if there is a higher concentration of chlorine in your water, then we recommend that you go for an activated carbon filter. If there is a lot of bacteria in your water supply, then you should install a UV (ultraviolet) filter.

The prevailing opinion is that the more filters that are used in the process, the better off you ultimately are. Most methods entail a three-stage filtration process, but in many cases, a two-stage process will be more than enough for lightly contaminated water supplies. Also keep in mind that the fewer the stages, the more inexpensive the filtration system. You should also consider the performance of your whole home filtration system outside of removing impurities. Will it need to recharge? How often will you need to change out the filters? These are questions you should be asking yourself.

Another thing that you will need to learn more about is the capacity at which your filtration system can perform and its longevity. Some units can handle up to a million gallons of water before you need to repair or replace them (the average American household will go through that amount in roughly 10 years). Sometimes the capacity is a lot lower than this and you will have to update your system in the near future.

The design of your filtration system and the effort involved in maintaining it are also things that you should take into account. We also recommend that you choose a system that can handle the demand – especially if you live in a household of four people or more. Also, you need to think about the pros and cons of every system. For example, Reverse Osmosis is effective at filtering out just about every contaminant under the sun, and they provide healthy potable water that is ideal for cooking and cleaning. The disadvantages of Reverse Osmosis? You end up creating more wastewater and there is a notable decrease in water pressure.

Having reliable access to clean and healthy water is something that we all require in our everyday lives. Contaminated water can have severely detrimental effects on your health, and it’s also our individual responsibility to limit water pollution as much as we possibly can.

If you want to install a whole home filtration system but you are not sure where to begin, then you can always give us a call! One of our knowledgeable team members will answer all of your questions and tell you everything you need to know. We can also have a technician visit your home and test your water supply.