When you are shopping for home water filters the number of options, different types of systems, and technical terms can quickly make for a frustrating experience. You want a simple fast solution to solve your water quality issues so your family can enjoy cleaner, purer water, but you also want to make the right choice. With so much information to sort through how can you be confident in choosing the right home water filter?
Follow our four-step guide to put those worries to rest and choose the best filter for your needs.
1. Know The Difference
There are two main types of home water filter systems:
- Point of Use (POU) systems are installed underneath your kitchen sink and filter the water from that tap only. These systems filter contaminants and provide clean water for drinking and cooking.
- Point of Entry (POE) systems filter the water that comes into your pipes so that all of the water in your home is filtered. This means the water in all of your kitchen, bathrooms, and appliances is pure treated water. These systems cost more but provide more benefits, especially if you want to remove chlorine from your shower water, address problems like hard water, and protect your appliances.
Many homeowners decide to combine whole house filtration with a specialized treatment at the tap, while others will start with one type of system or the other.
2. Learn Where Your Water Comes From
When deciding how to treat your water at home the source of your tap water can impact your ultimate decision. There are two basic places your water could be coming from:
- Public Water Supply — if you pay a water bill you have your water delivered by your local municipal utility. Public drinking water is treated with chlorine and through other processes to remove contaminants and make it generally safe to drink. However, the amount and type of potential contaminants in your public drinking water will vary depending on where you live. USA Today examined over half-a-million water quality reports and found that 63 million Americans have been exposed to unsafe public drinking water in the last decade. Certain areas are prone to lead contamination, while others may experience elevated levels of arsenic or trihalomethanes (THMs).
- Private Well — Well water is not regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency, so homeowners are responsible for conducting routine maintenance and ensuring private well water is safe to drink. Common problems with well water include contamination by organic bacteria like E. coli and coliform. Another common problem in well water is elevated levels of nitrates due to pesticides seeping into the well from nearby soil. A random sampling of rural wells in Wisconsin found that 42% of area wells had unsafe levels of bacteria or nitrates
When you know the likely issues you have to combat in your water source you can shop for home water filters with these contaminants and problems in mind.
3. Find Out What's In Your Water
The best way to make an informed purchase is to conduct a home water test and determine exactly what contaminants are present in your home tap water. We cover how to test the water in your home on our blog to put you in complete control of your water quality.
There are basic, free tests you can conduct to determine if you have hard water or if there are potential heavy metals in your piping or water supply. We also detail where and how to get your water tested by a laboratory for a detailed breakdown of the contaminants present in your water.
Once you know what problems you need to address, where your water comes from, and what type of filtration you prefer, than you have the information you need to consider your water filtration options.
4. Consult a Professional and Choose the Right System for You
Sometimes the best and easiest option is to discuss your choices with a professional who can make the process straightforward and simple to understand. Contact our customer service team to discuss the contaminants in your water supply and determine what options are best for your family.
At Express Water we take pride in providing homeowners with comprehensive water filtration systems that are easy to install and breeze to maintain. No expertise is needed to install your home water filter system and get simply pure H2O from your taps at home.
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