What Is A Water Filter?

Water filters for the whole house ensure the filtered water gets in your home. We all know that water is vital for human life. Life is nothing without water. Yet, millions of people on this planet drink unclean and unsafe water.

Contaminated water with all types of pollutants affects human life. Well, city water holds some contaminants like chlorine and other harmful sediments. A water filter for the whole is vital to ensure water quality. The best whole house water filter comes in 3 stages, a 2-stage or 1-stage option.

The filtration capacity is induced with every added stage. These systems also incorporate water softeners to decrease hard metal. Remember that the primary concern is detailed in the following sections. Here is the list of the best whole-house filter that individual wants to fix in their home.

In a world where access to clean and safe drinking water is paramount, having a reliable water filter at home is no longer a luxury but a necessity. What are the key considerations when looking for a water filter? How has the home water filter market evolved in 2023, and which brands are leading the race?

At the core, the purpose of a water filter is simple — to purify water, making it safe and tasty to drink. Yet, the mechanics and technology behind it can be quite advanced, giving rise to a plethora of options in the market.

Navigating through these choices can be daunting, but understanding your needs and the basic types of water filters available can significantly ease the process.

What Are The Types Of Water Filters?

The landscape of water filtration systems is diverse, ranging from simple pitcher filters to advanced reverse osmosis systems. The technology employed significantly impacts the filter’s effectiveness in eliminating contaminants.

Activated Carbon Filters: These are the most common filters, effectively removing organic compounds, chlorine, and by-products.

Reverse Osmosis Filters: Known for removing a wide range of contaminants, these filters use a semipermeable membrane.

Ion Exchange Filters: These filters exchange ions in the water, which is ideal for softening water by removing limescale.

UV Filters: Utilizing ultraviolet light, these filters kill bacteria and other microbes.

How To Choose The Right Filter?

Water Quality: Test your water to understand the level and type of contaminants present.

Filtering Capacity: Assess the amount of water your household consumes daily.

Maintenance: Check the maintenance requirements, including filter replacement.

Certification: Look for certificates from recognized bodies like NSF or WQA.

Budget: Factor in initial, maintenance, and filter replacement costs.

Best Home Water Filters in 2023:

1. AquaTru Countertop Water Filtration Purification System: This reverse osmosis filter does not require installation and removes up to 82 contaminants.

2. Berkey Big Water Filter: Known for its gravity-fed filtering system, it has a 2.25-gallon capacity, suitable for large families.

3. ZeroWater 10 Cup Pitcher: A budget-friendly option with a 5-stage filtration process to ensure pure-tasting water.

4. Pure Effect Ultra: An under-sink water filter that employs advanced technologies like Activated Carbon, Ion Exchange, and Sub-Micron Filtration.

5. Aquasana OptimH2O Reverse Osmosis + Claryum: Combines reverse osmosis, selective Claryum filtration, and remineralization.

By aligning the needs of your household with the features of these water filters, finding the right match becomes less daunting.

Find NSF-Certified Filter Systems

When all other criteria are noted, the filter system’s NSF certification should be your top priority. No matter what size filters you choose, it is wise to confirm their certification. You can look at the seal, which signifies that the filter system has undergone testing. This will ensure official approval.

These points will assist you in choosing the best whole-house well filter systems. It helps if you have decided to replace your old filter systems or replace them with modern ones. They are effective at meeting all your water filtration needs. They also comply with state safety and protection regulations.

Water Pressure & Flow

Even a sound home water filtration system, especially an RO system, is affected by your house’s water flow and pressure.

Contrary to popular belief, the most excellent way to filter water is sometimes with higher water pressure or flow. Slower water flow is helpful for carbon whole-house water filtration systems. It enables the filters to filter the water.

Lifespan

Any whole-home filter you choose must have a healthy lifespan. The warranties available for whole-home water filtration systems come with lifetime coverage. This ensures that you are secure for the system’s lifespan. It depends on the model, which might be anywhere from one year to more than ten years. Whenever buying any, you need to read the warranty’s conditions.

Your Budget

Reverse osmosis or next-generation innovation filters are more expensive than carbon filters. Carbon-based filters used for standard whole-house water filtration cost between $100 and $600. You have to spend more for things like remineralization filters or UV filtering. It is the option for water purification if you choose a costly whole-house filter.

Buying prices for RO and next-generation filters range from $500 to $2,000. The most expensive RO filters are whole-house models. If your budget is flexible, you’ll need to determine whether spending more money on an RO system is worthwhile to get more benefits. An RO system is a more significant investment than a carbon-based filter. A UV filtering system can be used in conjunction with a RO system.

Water Source

The impurities you deal with and the sort of water filter system depend on whether you need water from a municipality or a good source.

The majority of whole-house filters are made for municipal water systems. They eliminate chlorine, lead, and other typical toxins in city water. To identify the impurities a filter needs to remove, test your water source beforehand.

Ability to Reduce Contaminants

Different whole-house filters remove different types of pollutants. The majority focus on lead and chlorine. Yet, some systems can eliminate dozens of contaminants, while others can only eliminate ten.

Before selecting a water filter based on its ability to reduce contaminants, you must be aware of the composition of your water source. You ask your community’s water provider for a report on the water quality in your neighborhood. You can learn more about the many components of your drinking water from this. Using a water test kit on your water is another approach to determining the quality of the water.

Sediments Pre-filter micron rating

A micron is one-millionth of a meter in length and is used as a unit of measurement. We can’t see anything smaller than 40 microns; thus, microns are little.

The accuracy of a filter to remove impurities depends on the micron size of the particles. So, for instance, a 5-micron sediment filter can filter out particles as fine as 5 microns. Yet a 1-micron filter can handle particles as small as 1 micron.

A filter’s nominal micron rating measures its capacity to filter out particular particle sizes. Its efficiency ranges from 50% to 90%. Thus, at a 50% to 90% efficiency, a filter with a nominal micron rating of 5 can filter out particles as little as 5 microns.

A filter’s absolute micron rating indicates whether it removes particular particle sizes with an accuracy of at least 98.7%. This means that a filter is far more effective at removing a particle as small as 5 microns if it has an absolute micron rating of 5. It will release at least 98.7% of the nanoparticles from water.

A micron filter’s rating will show the kinds of particles. It will be best removed because all particles are different sizes.

To learn about the working of a whole water filter, watch this video,

Best Water Filters in 2023

1. Aquasana EQ-1000-AST-UV Whole House Filter

The Aquasana whole-house water filtration system uses carbon and KDF filter cartridges. Yet, the 3-month life expectancy can remove a wide range of impurities. The impurities include chlorine, chloramine, lead, iron, pharmaceuticals, and other filtration media.

Additionally, it features a UV purifier. This eliminates 99.9% of all germs, including fungi, viruses, and bacteria. The salt-free softener, which the water flows through filtration and purification, covers heavy metal minerals. They run the filters and prevent them from adhering to the hot-water tank. Yet, it also contains piping and taps. This improves the water’s quality.

Few systems effectively remove impurities from the whole home’s water. It includes 99.9% of microbes and 97% of chlorine. Yet, there is also a considerable reduction in mineral accumulation. It is despite the high expense of this whole home water filtration system. The water filter converts to 3/4-inch or 1-inch pipes despite having a maximum flow rate of only 7 GPM.

Pros

It provides a UV purifier that eliminates 99.9% of germs, viruses, and other microbes. The filter removes chlorine and minerals like lead and iron—cartridges that last for three months and an install kit that fits either 34- or 1-inch pipes.

Cons

High price for a system with a limited flow rate; some components can come in distinct packages.

2. Express water whole house water filtration system

This system is made to last since it uses materials of the highest food-grade quality. The three housings are made of food-grade PCE and ABS plastic. The Express Water Promise ensures every component. High-capacity flow connections are also used to link each housing to the others.

Three stages of filtering are used in this method. This is how it works:

1. Sediment: The sediment filter is the initial filtration stage. This filter protects your appliances. Yet, the other filters from damage caused by coarse pollutants, including

• rust
• sand
• dirt.

2. Phosphate: The polyphosphate (PHO) filter is the second step of filtration. It also removes;

• silt
• algae
• dirt
• sediments
• sand

Any existing scale also prevents corrosion and scale from forming. It also functions to condition water.

3 Carbon block: The activated carbon block (ACB) is the third-stage filter. It traps chlorine, pesticides, chemicals, medicines, carbon, and turbidity. The taste and drinkability of your water are the main concerns at this stage.

Pros

• Budget-friendly
• One year warranty
• Easy to replace
• Sediments, charcoal, and whole-house carbon water filter
• Three stages filtration process
• Anti-scale water filter

Maintenance

The maintenance is also easy. You can get replacement filters from the manufacturer or Amazon if yours breaks. The support staff at Express Water can also be contacted for help.

SoftPro Water Systems Upflow Carbon Filter System

Features

The up-flow design of the SoftPro Water Systems Upflow Carbon Filter. It enables excellent circulation and extends filer contact time. This system improves the taste of the water. Yet, it eliminates odors while cleaning the water compared to most other systems.

Reverse osmosis is another technology that SoftPro employs to create smooth, silky water. This is fantastic for your skin and hair. This implies that you can use more detergent, less soap, and less shampoo.

The SoftPro Water Systems Upflow Carbon Filter also has easy-to-change filter material—a lifespan of seven to ten years.

This filter is capable of eliminating the following.

• · Heavy metals
• · VOCs Chlorine
• · Hydrogen sulfide
• · iron
• · Pharmaceuticals
• · chloramine
• · Herbicides
• · Pesticides

Pros

Removes up to 99% of all impurities. It is eco-friendly. It lasts up to 10 years and includes a lifetime guarantee.

Cons

• Expensive  

• Poor quality control

Maintenance

The control valve of this device has a limited lifetime guarantee. Additionally, it has a comprehensive warranty. It covers all components except filtration media and accessories like spacers and seals. The tanks come with a lifetime warranty from Softpro.

What I Like

Iron Lead filters and improves smell and taste.

What I Dislike

It does not remove bacteria.

Lead can not smell or taste in drinking water. Yet, the APEC 3-Stage Whole House Water Filtration System is a reliable option if this heavy metal is found in your water source.

A KDF filter catches lead and iron. It also detects other heavy metals after an ultrafine pleated barrier removes silt, rust, and VOCs. Your water will pass a carbon filter. This carbon filter absorbs chlorine and hydrogen sulfide. Yet, it will assist you in getting clean water. Before replacing the cartridges, this APEC system can filter up to 100,000 gallons of water.

Dimensions: 20 x 4.5 x 4.5 inches, Flow Rate: 15 GPM, Filtration Method: Sediment, KDF, carbon, Number of Stages: 3

Pelican Carbon Series

Pelican Water is renowned for the superior quality of its water filters and softeners. The company’s cutting-edge technologies are effective at removing impurities from water. It is also economical and eco-friendly.

There are many sizes of the Pelican Premium whole-house water filter. They fit the number of bathrooms in your house. For instance, the PC600 can supply water to one to three bathrooms. On the other hand, the PC1000 can accommodate four to six bathrooms. This one can filter a million gallons of water.

The complete house filtration system has NSF/ANSI 42 and 61 certifications. This will ensure no lead or heavy metals are introduced into the water. It also removes the smells and tastes of chlorine.

It is also known as the Pelican Carbon Series whole-house water filter system. It is easy to install and requires little to no maintenance. The Pelican water system is now offered in elegant and long-lasting stainless steel. It uses an up-flow water filtration system to reduce water waste as much as possible.

Features

Four Stage Filtration Method and Up-Flow Filtration System are the significant features.

Benefits

The high diameter and capacity of the carbon series filtration tank can accommodate a lot of filtration media. This enhances the filter’s performance and lengthens its lifespan. It is one of the lowest maintenance options on the market. This water filtration system’s carbon media must only change every five years. You can also change at every 600,000 gallons of water. The system should deliver water for your appliances, a shower, and rapid drinking at a flow rate of up to 8 GPM.

Conclusion

Investing in a water filter is a wise move toward safeguarding your family’s health. With numerous available options, understanding the basic types of water filters, your needs, and the top contenders in 2023 can lead you to a well-informed decision. The path to pure, safe, and tasty water is but a well-chosen filter away!