How Does A Whole House Water Filter Work
Are you considering getting a whole house water filter yet wondering if it is worth the money at all? Knowing how a whole house water filter works can help you reach a good decision. Stay with me.
There has been a rise in water filters as people are keen on their health. You will agree that consuming bad water can be dangerous to human health.
One of the water filters in demand is the whole house water filter.
It is a point of entry filtration system. What does this mean? It simply means that the filtration process occurs at the point where the main line of water enters your house.
This means that once the whole house water filter is done filtering, the whole house gets served quality water. You get to use clean water in your kitchen.
Now, you can rest assured that you can take your bath without fear of skin irritation.
Before I dive into the details of how a whole house water filter works, let us see a reason why you may need a whole house filter.
Why You Need a Whole House Water Filter
You must know why you specifically need a house water filter, not any other kind of water filter.
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Removal of contaminants and chemicals
Municipal sources use chlorine to purify water before it gets to our homes. Chlorine might be dangerous if added in a high proportion. We might say, “oh, they should have added the right proportion”, but it is better to be sure than to leave it to probability.
The whole house water filter removes chemicals and contaminants from your water, including chlorine.
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Improvement of taste and smell of water
You might need a whole house water filter if your water tastes so bad. Sometimes, the water received in some house either taste or smell bad. The whole house water filter can cure that.
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No multiple replacements of filters
When you use point-of-use water filters, you have to change the filters at different use points. This is not so for the whole house water filter, you only have one point to be bothered about, and that is all.
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Protection of home plumbing
Your home plumbing is protected if you have a whole house water filter. There won’t be an unnecessary buildup of dirt, sediments, etc., from the water coming into the house, which helps the plumbing last longer before maintenance is needed.
How Does a Whole House Water Filter Work?
There are three stages of water filtration that whole house water filters use to produce quality water. They are pre-filtration, main filtration, and the post-filtration stage.
Pre-Filtration Stage
This stage eliminates unnecessary and unwanted substances like silt, sand, rust, sediment, etc. This process makes the water clearer and the main filtration process easier.
Since many sediments have been removed, fewer buildups will be on subsequent filters.
This helps these filters to be more effective. It helps them last longer too.
This stage is pretty important to the overall filtration process. It would be best to change the pre-filter every two to three months.
Main Filtration Stage
This stage will be dependent on the kind of whole house water filter you are using. The kind of whole house water filter you can use is dependent on your needs.
The kind of contaminants in the water you use in your house will determine the whole house water filter you should get.
There are different kinds of whole house water filters, including
- KDF systems
- Carbon-based filters
- Sediment filter
- Specialized whole house water filter
- Reverse osmosis system
- Ultraviolet filters
- Water softener
All these types of whole house water filters run differently. I will talk about them individually as much as I can. Please stick with me.
Post-filtration
This is the smallest part of the filtration part of the whole house filtration system, but not the least important.
It finishes the work from the pre-filtration stage to the main filtration stage.
It finalizes the removal of all traces of sediments or organic matter in the water.
This is the stage where the taste of your water is worked on. Also, the smell and texture are worked on to give better or quality water.
Types of Whole House Water Filter
Different whole house water filters have different purposes. To know the filter you need, you have to know the kinds of contaminants found in the water you use in your home.
A lab test or home water testing kit will help you know what is in your water.
If your main water source is the well water, make sure to test your water from time to time to ensure it is the same contaminant you are guarding against.
The choice gets easier when you know the kind of contaminant you are about to fight.
Sediment Filter
This filter works like a sieve against sediment, rust, sand, etc. It removes unwanted contaminants that can affect your pipelines and slow down the water pressure.
When solids are suspended in water, the water becomes turbid and cloudy.
The sediment filter is measured in micron sizes which is equivalent to the pore sizes of the filter.
The micron size can be between 0.5 – 50 or even higher.
To ensure the effectiveness is maximal, make sure to replace the filter every three to six months, depending on how contaminated the water is.
Carbon-based whole water filter
This filter is pretty economical and common. It removes chlorine and other byproducts related to chlorinated water. It removes chloramines partially.
A carbon-based whole house filter is the only filter recommended by the EPA to remove 32 organic contaminants, 14 pesticides, and 12 herbicides.
A porous bed that carries carbon can be found in the filter.
This bed traps chemicals and similar pollutants as they pass through, making only clean water pass through.
Kinetic Degradation Fluxion
This type of whole house fluxion can remove up to 95% chlorine, lead, iron, hydrogen, sulfide, and other heavy metals.
This filter is mostly used as an additional layer infiltration system. It is heavy and complicated to maintain.
The filter uses high purity copper and zinc granules to remove many kinds of contaminants. It makes use of a redox reaction. The redox reaction you learned about in science class.
It changes chlorine to chloride changes soluble iron to ferric oxide, which is later removed by backwashing. Other changes happen as a result of this redox reaction.
This filter also removes scale eliminates bacteria, fungi, and algae.
UV filter
This filter type uses UV rays to remove bacteria. It is very efficient and effective in getting rid of contaminants. A light bulb in the filter system emits a UV ray, killing and disrupting their DNA to avoid reproduction.
Specialized House Water Filter
This filter type specifically targets heavy contaminants of a particular pollutant. For example, you need a sulfur filter for a sulfur contaminant iron filter for iron contaminants.
Each specific filter has a different principle which You won’t discuss in this article.
Whole House RO Water Filter
This is the most comprehensive type of whole house water filter.
It works by pushing water through a semi-permeable membrane that won’t allow water contaminants like heavy metals, salts, metalloids, etc., to pass.
The only setback with this filter is that it also filters essential minerals useful to the body.
Water Softener
It is not a filter but a purifier. It only changes water from being hard to be soft. This is done by exchanging positively charged hardness materials with positively charged sodium.
