How To Choose The Right Water Filter For Your Home – Know What Is In Your Water

by Curtis Grossi | Last Updated: March 14, 2024

Clean water is essential for all household use more so drinking. While tap water may appear clean, it includes various elements. Some of these aren’t always pleasant, and that’s why adding a filtration system to your household is crucial to ensure everyone drinks clean water.

Water filters are not equal, though. These are significant differences between them depending on what each is meant to remove. In that case, you need to determine what is in your water first in order to identify the ideal filter for your needs. 

How To Know What Is In Your Water

1. Have Your Water Checked

The first step towards consuming clean water is getting it checked to know what’s inside. Getting the water tested by a specialist will give you clearer and detailed information regarding the condition and quality of the water channeled to your house.

A water test will also help you know what organisms and contaminants present the water. Once you know what’s in your water, you may need to buy under sink water filters or the ones designed for the whole house or business. Take advantage of the existing technology, which can be incorporated in testing water and not relying only on water quality report from your municipality.

2. Water Quality Report

Observe the consumer confidence report, which is the water quality report from your municipality. You can as well know what’s in your water by getting an Environmental Protection Agency report. You can request a report by calling your municipality. Many of these reports will reveal the contamination level in the water and may help you know the amount contaminated the water is.

Your tap water can be termed safe. But that is not a guarantee it is risk-free. When you have the report on the water contamination level, you will have a leeway of which filter is needed to eliminate the available contaminants.

3. Check Your Pipes

You need to investigate your piping as excess metals present in water properly may suggest a problem leading to contamination of your water. Maybe the existing problem with your water may be coming from your pipes.

Contamination such as lead in your water may be as a result of your piping problem, and not the water source. Consequently, inspecting the piping may help you identify any corrosion to enable you to prevent future contamination.

4. Home Water Test

As described above, water is not only contaminated from its source. It can as well be contaminated through its distribution channels. Minerals, such as lead can lead to the addition of contaminants. In such instances, conducting a home water test will give you a general report of your whole water system.

You can find home water tests online or in the nearest home supply stores. Read the instruction manual to know how to conduct the analysis. Some home kits can detect contaminants varying from pesticides, lead, nitrates, water hardness, chlorine, and pH.

Home test kits may not be hundred percent accurate. However, they’re the most competent do-it-yourself techniques to tell the type of contaminants in water so you can buy the best water filter pitchers. 

5. Independent Lab Test

Getting independent lab tests is way costlier but has proven to be the most accurate and efficient way to determine the contaminants and pathogens in water to help homeowners find the right water filters.

Independent Lab Test provides an extensive and all-inclusive test, and it’s mainly known for providing the most accurate result. It is advisable to read the instructions and guidelines provided by the technician carefully, for proper judgment. You can use the results you get from the lab test to find customized water filtrations solutions. Always make sure you buy high-quality water filters, which have the features and capabilities to sort out the problem in your household water.

Find The Correct Water Filter

As said earlier, water is filled with impurities. Water filters have different features and qualities and are intended to remove different sorts of impunities. The first step to successfully clean and purify water is first to understand what’s inside the water so you can find the right water filtration systems for your business or home.

Not all water impunities have health effects, so get to understand your water test report, so you don’t make mistakes. Consider talking with water purification specialists in your area to get a better understanding of what sort of filters may be needed to sort out the impurities in your water.

Water Filters Technologies And Specialty

Different technologies have been discovered to help in identifying the best filters for eliminating different water impunities. For instance, advanced activated carbon filters apply the technique of sticking impunities in a specially designed filter during filtration.The filters are made up of carbon granules which work to eliminate impurities such as chlorine, chlorine byproduct, and volatile organic chemicals like pesticides, are common in municipal water. Activated carbon filters have advanced features to help in the elimination of bad taste and odor also.

If the municipal or tap water entering your house is infested with heavy metals, you may need to use the more advanced filters with softeners in your shower. These filters work to remove the bad taste and smell in the water.

As with filters made up of softeners, the hard metal ions are replaced by sodium ions, which make the water softer, and give it a better taste. You may as well opt for potassium chloride water softeners, which have the potency to remove all the salty taste in water after softening it.

Water minerals have many health benefits if not in excess. If in excess, however, they can be dangerous. In case you discover the problem in your water is excess minerals, you can use reverse osmosis filters to sort the mess out. Reverse osmosis filters have membranes, which are capable of filtering particles with larger molecules than water.

In case your water is infected with pathogens such as bacteria and viruses, you can distill it as a way to remove the impunities. Distillation works by heating water to steam and then tapping it back as a liquid but in a clean and impunity-free state. Always keep in mind that some water filters may be more expensive than others. Filters such as distillers require a lot of energy, hence not quite uneconomical.

Things To Remember When Buying Filters

It’s always good to find out what’s in your water before you buy a filtration system. All brands and types of water filters aren’t the same as they differ a lot. Each water filter has unique features and qualities and is ideal for eliminating different kinds of impunities.

Get the filter that has the power to remove the sort of impurities in your water.

In cases where water is infested with lead, you should buy certified filters, which come in different shapes and sizes. Certified filters are highly recommended since they meet NSF International requirements. NSF internationals is a public health organization given the responsibility of inspecting products and providing certificates to maximize human health.

Also, you have to read the manufacturer’s’ instructions on how to use the filters. You have to know the amount of water the filter can hold and how often it should be changed. You can opt for smart filters equipped with advanced features, which can automaticity tell when it is ready to be changed.

Always keep in mind that water filters use different technologies to do their magic. Some filters use the reverse osmosis technique, other filtration, while others soften the water.

Final Words

Knowing what is in your water before ordering a filter is something you should always do. Filters are different and designed to perform their magic differently, the reason you must first get to know what your water has before you buy a filter.

Getting a water quality report from your municipality is one great way to understand what is in your water. For those who love doing things on their own, you can as well use a home test kit. If you want to get more detailed results, you can pay a lab technician to perform the test on your behalf.

It’s not advisable to consume water that has not been tested as it may include some impunity, which can trigger various health problems.

You have to test your water occasionally, which will ensure you know what impurities your water pertains. With the right information at hand, you will get to know what filters to buy so you can get to eliminate all the contaminants and pathogens in water efficiently.

Keep in mind that, impurities and pathogens are dangerous and may result in serious ailments.

Curtis is the founder and owner of softeningwater.com. He is the lead guy concerning all the water-softening accessories in this site's guides and reviews. If he is not writing a reviews, guides or any other useful tips, you will find him testing them to find out their suitability. He is passionate about softening water. You will find him extremely helpful and always willing to educate the general populace all there is concerning water and its effects on their health and appliances.