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Choosing A Whole House In-Line Water Filter

Copyright © 2007 Linda Symonds

Choosing a whole house in-line water filter can be a daunting task.  Understandably, any time a home owner looks at laying out a substantial amount of hard earned money, he/she wants to be sure they get the right product.

Buying a whole house water filter is an investment.  It adds value to your home but also provides clean, pure drinking water for your family.

The first consideration in choosing a whole house in-line water filter is the quantity of water used by the household.  The average family of 4 uses approximately 5 - 6 gallons of water at any given time. There may be occasional spikes up to 8 GPM (gallons per minute). A 9 or 10 GPM system is usually more than enough for the average family. Larger homes or larger families may want to consider a 12 or 14 GPM system - this, of course, depends on the number of people in the home and the number of bathrooms.

Carbon based water filter systems typically use replaceable filter cartridges.  Consider the number of cartridges (more cartridges means better filtration but also means more cost to replace those filters).  Not all filter cartridges are created equally though.  Different companies offer cartridges with different life expectancies.  Ask how much water will be filtered before the cartridges need to be replaced and calculate the cost on a cost per gallon of water filtered basis (divide the gallons filtered by the cost of the replacement cartridge to get this number).

A reverse osmosis water filtration system will require backwashing of the filters (they are typically replace very infrequently).  You may have to do this manually although some models come with automatic backwash systems.  Although with a reverse osmosis filter system you will not have the cost of periodically replacing filter cartridges, the required backwashing of the filters uses a large amount of water so be aware of the added cost on your water bill.  If you choose a reverse osmosis water filter system, decide if you want to be responsible for initiating the backwash or if you want the system to do it automatically.

Installation of a whole house in-line water filter will likely require the services of a plumber so consider that as an additional cost when you decide to install a whole house water filter.

In summary - when choosing an whole house in-line water filter, consider the water usage of your home, the life expectancy and cost of replacement filter cartridges, whether you're prepared to do manual a backwash or if this should be an automatic process and don't forget the cost of a plumber to do the installation.

About the author:   Linda Symonds grew up on a small island in rural Canada where she developed a love of the natural world. Linda believes that the polluted and toxic environment that we live in poses significant risks to our health and the health of coming generations. For more information about the plight of our water supply visit http://www.thebestwaterfilters.com
 

See our water filter comparisons and recommendations here.

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