How To Choose a Whole House Water Filter For Your Beach Home
Filtering your own water is an easy and inexpensive way to get delicious purified water. Concerns over the safety of tap water grow daily which has prompted the introduction of a wide variety of filtration systems on the market. Choosing a Whole House Filter for your Beach Home can be simple and stress-free if you follow some simple guidelines. Clean, safe water is a necessity in any home so it’s important to determine what is in your water and what exactly needs to be filtered out. So which water filtration is the right one? Be sure and take a list of questions with you when you decide to actually go to buy your new water filter.
Follow these steps and learn how to determine exactly what needs to be filtered out as well as how most common filtration systems work. Also, you’ll learn which systems are certified and why that’s important. Home water filtration systems remove contaminants but there are many different kinds that serve different purposes. There are basically two different kinds of systems. The point-of-entry (POE) systems treat all of the water that enters your home at the point where the water comes into your home from the outside. A point-of-use (POU) system treats the water at the point of delivery into your home (faucets, water hoses).
Find Out What’s in Your Water
If you have “city water” or water provided by a municipality, it’s important to determine if they use chloramines or chlorine and also if they add fluoride. This is easy to find information. The EPA requires that your municipality do routine water checks and this information is available as public information on the web. You can also find this out by simply calling your water company. If you are on well water, you should get your water tested at a lab to determine everything that is in it. Most well water has bacteria in it. For guidance on how to have your water tested, you can call the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline to find out labs in your area that are certified.
Whole house water filters are generally installed to remove mineral deposits as well as odors and tastes that are unpleasant. Depending on what is in your water, you may still need another type of POE filter as well to make sure that all contaminants are removed. For example, if the chlorine in the water irritates your skin, you may want an additional filter installed at your showerhead.
Find Out How Different Filtration Systems Work
The various water filtration systems work differently. Most undersink filtration systems work by pouring the water through activated carbon which traps contaminants in highly absorbent carbon filters. Some use a process called reverse osmosis which reverses the flow of the water filtering it as it passes through. This method offers the benefit of not wasting water. And some units use distillers which heat water to a boiling point creating steam which separates from the contaminants so they can e easily disposed of.
Make Sure Your Unit is Certified
When you are choosing your filtration system, make sure it is NSF or WQA certified. When you see that seal on the product, it means that the unit has been tested to make sure that it actually removes what it claims to. A simple web search on the NSF site or the WQA site can offer some suggestions for certified systems.
Consider All of the Added Costs
Once you’ve chosen a filtration system, be sure to consider all of the costs for maintenance. Filters have to be routinely replaced and this cost can range anywhere from $20 to $400 depending on the system. When purchasing the system as well as the filters, check to see if there are warranties available for the system and the filter as well.
Ease of installation will depend on the type of system. Most POU systems are easy to install and don’t require the assistance of a professional. POE systems generally require the services of a professional, such as a plumber. Read and follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully.
Choosing the right whole house filter for your beach home will insure that your family has contaminant-free delicious water for drinking and for all other uses. Take time to research the condition of your water, what needs to be removed and which filtration system is best to meet your needs.