Any water that comes through your home’s faucets and hoses is exposing you to toxins like chlorine that can be ingested when you drink or exposed to your skin when brought into the air by showers. Even if you don’t taste or smell these toxins, you’re exposed to them every day. And even if you’re using filters on the faucets that generally provide drinking water, toxins in your shower and bath water can get into your system through surface exposure alone.
A whole house water filter ensures that all of your water is generally clean—from every source.
Advantages
With a whole house water filter, you don’t have to worry about contaminants from sources other than your kitchen sink—which is generally the only faucet people will filter. Every time you shower or inadvertently drink from an unfiltered tap, you’re exposed to harmful chemicals. With a whole house filter, you don’t have to worry. And even if you were to install a filter for your shower, a whole house filter is the only way to filter all water at a low temperature, which prevents contaminants from slipping through the system.
Drawbacks
There are only two real drawbacks for installing a whole house filter.
(1) A whole house water filter isn’t capable of reverse osmosis, but many experts argue that such a filtration system isn’t necessary for the water you’ll be drinking and washing with at home.
(2) You will have to replace the filter periodically, and the initial instillation might seem more expensive than less efficient options like filter-pitchers.
Types of Whole House Filters
Whole house housings are generally standardized by size. They are able to hold about any filter as long as it is the correct sizing. DiscountFilters.com offers multiple replacement filter options; pleated, string wound, carbon block, granular carbon, polyspun, and spin-down sediment filters. Each of these types have their own pros and cons. I suggest finding the best type of filter for your needs based on filtering capabilities, micron size. and material. If you are looking to replace your current filter, identify which type you have now and order the filter that looks closest to your current filter.
When And Why to Change?
There is no general requirement as far as time goes for replacing your whole house water filter. Some suggest replacing the filter every three or four months—others only once every six months. But people go through different amounts of water than others, and that’s how you’ll have to determine when to change your filter. Quantity matters, not time. So you’ll want to gauge how much water you’re using and come up with a system to read how many gallons you’re using a month. You can install meter readers to find this out, and then check the manufacturer’s recommendation for how often you should replace the filter.
Distillation is probably the most time consuming way to filter, but it is also probably the most effective (unless there is a volatile chemical in the water that can also evaporate and condense). People in poorer areas can also use sunlight on clear plastic containers for 6 hours to kill bacteria, pasteurizing their water.
Paul | waterfilterwarehouse.net.au