Mar 16 , 2018

5Questions to Ask Before Installing a Whole-House Water Filter System.

Any kind of major installation or renovation to the house normally comes with plenty of questions to ask yourself before going through with it. Installing a whole-house water filter is no different, really, though the questions to ask yourself might be a little different from normal.

The first step in knowing what questions to ask comes from understanding what a whole house water filter system does. To put it simply, it is like that fancy water filter in your fridge or sink, except it purifies water for the entire household's plumbing system. Knowing that much, here are the questions you should be asking yourself before moving forward with a whole-house water filter system.

 

Know What Questions to Ask

 

·Do you need purified water for the entire household? It's one thing to want purified drinking water that is easily accessible; that's something that everyone wants, right? It's another to want the water that you're bathing in, using to water your lawn, or filling your dog's water bowl with to be totally purified. In cases where you have certain skin allergies or medical needs, or simply want clean water across the board, then a whole-house water filter system might be right for you. Considering that all water comes from natural resources such as glaciers, lakes, and rivers, it all contains trace levels of materials that are potentially harmful to us. These materials include:

 

oMicrobial Pathogens – Disease producing micro-organisms, which include bacteria, viruses, parasites.

oOrganics –

§Trihalomethanes—byproducts formed when chlorine in treated drinking water combines with naturally occurring organic matter.

§Pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides.

§Volatile Organic Chemicals (VOCs), which include solvents, degreasers, gasoline additives, etc.

oInorganics – Toxic metals such as arsenic, barium, chromium, lead, mercury, etc.

oRadioactive Elements – Radioactive contaminants that result from the decay of uranium in soils and rocks.

oScale – Hard water minerals such as calcium and magnesium cause scale buildup to attach on surfaces like pipes and appliances and cause lime deposits.

For those who are sensitive to pathogens, microbes, and other chemicals, a whole-house filter might be an excellent solution.

 

·

Is the cost worth the benefits? A whole-house filter system ranges in cost, depending on the size of your home, the amount of water you use daily, and other factors. Costs can range from five hundred U.S.D. to a staggering price tag of ten thousand dollars in certain cases. While a whole-house water filter system can be cost-efficient in the long run, the initial cost can be superbly daunting.

 

 

·What kind of whole-house water filter system should I get? If you are committed to getting a whole-house filter, then this is a question you need to ask yourself straight away. Some whole-house filters will filter only specific things, while others filter absolutely everything, and even go as far as “re-mineralizing” water to give it a taste closer to the bottled mineral water you might find in the store. Again, it all depends on what exactly you are looking for from your water filter system, as well as what you want to use this clean water for. In scenarios where you want to wash dishes and other things with purified water, you can get the same effect by using faucet water filters, for instance, so it is important to understand exactly what you want out of a system that covers your entire home.

·What are the pros of a whole-house water filter system? When trying to decide on a major renovation, it goes without saying that you should weigh in on the pros of doing so before looking at the cons. So, what are the pros in this instance? Well, because a whole-house water filter literally purifies water that circulates throughout the house, you will see:

 

oHealthier skin and hair as a result of purified bathing water

oExtended life on appliances that use water

oExtended life of internal piping in household

oScale-free showers and spotless glasses due to softened water

 

·What about the cons? You can't ask yourself about the pros without thinking of the cons, so let's dig right in.

 

oHigher upfront costs, ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars

oMay not be necessary if the user only wants specific kinds of purified water, such as drinking water alone

oOther, cheaper filters might provide better results ? fridge filters may be more suited to homeowner needs than a whole-house water filter system

 

 

Ultimately, these are just five of the questions you need to ask yourself when considering a whole-house water filter system. There are pros and cons to having one, and the impact that installing one will differ from household to household. The good news is that there is plenty of great information out there on these systems, and you'll always have some guidance on getting started.