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Whole House Water Filters

By: T.F. DiPietro

Before you purchase whole house water filters, be sure that you are buying the right system for your needs. A whole house water filter can cost under a thousand dollars or more than ten thousand.

The difference in cost is sometimes dependent upon the contaminants that the filter removes, but in other cases it is not related to quality. There are a number of whole house water filters on the market that are designed to primarily remove chlorine and its by-products. The price range is still several thousand dollars and the less expensive models actually do the best job.

There are many reasons why a person would need a whole house water filter. You might be allergic to chlorine. You might not want to have to buy different systems for all of your faucets and showerheads, because that can get expensive and time consuming.

The first thing that you should do is look at your water source. If you are serviced by a public facility in the United States, your annual quality report will tell you about some of the objects that are present at the source. Other possible contaminants are not regulated, although the Environmental Protection Agency is considering adding six hundred different toxins to their current list of ninety.

Research groups report that there are at least 2000 different toxins present in public supplies. Can whole house water filters remove all of these dangers? You have to check with the manufacturer to know for sure. Check for certified performance data and other certifications.

A whole house water filter should have a UL listing. That's a review by Underwriter's Laboratory. Normally you see them on electric appliances, but even whole house water filters that require no electricity should have the rating. That will tell you what contaminants are removed and to what degree.

Now, the most expensive whole house water filter is the reverse osmosis type. Single stage reverse osmosis can do very little to remove the chemical contaminants. So, if you choose to go with RO, you want a dual or multi-stage system that includes activated carbon granules.

Capacity is another thing that you should look at. Some systems, such as reverse osmosis whole house water filters, have a maximum output per day. Usually, it is around 15 gallons. For a family of four, that may not be sufficient for showering, drinking, bathing, flushing the toilet and the other things that you do around the house.

Think about laundry day, for instance. If you have a whole house water filter with a maximum output, you may run out of clean water before you are done. The process of refilling the tank on RO whole house water filters is time consuming, so it could be hours before you have a new supply.

Most people do not need to get a reverse osmosis filter. You can get a whole house water system with no maximum daily output. You could clean 400 gallons, if you wanted. You just have to shop for the correct product.

Whole house water filters can be a boon to the quality of what you drink and bathe in. They can even improve the quality of your indoor air. But, always learn about your source and find out what you need to do to protect your family's health.

Article Source: http://www.approvedarticles.com

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