Best Whole House Water Filtration Of

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Whole House Water Filter Hero
1
Top Pick

9.9

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  • Utilizes carbon filtration to address chlorine, chloramines & more
  • Includes sediment filtration, UV purification, & salt-free softening
  • Kills 99.99% of bacteria
  • Easy installation & maintenance
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    2

    9.8

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    • Independently tested to reduce up to 97% of chlorine
    • Salt-Free Water Conditioner & UV Filter add-ons available
    • Lasts 1,000,000 gallons or 10 years
    • Easy installation: no electricity, drain lines, or back flushing required
    • Unique dual tank upflow design boosts water flow & prevents clogging
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      3

      9.7

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      • Removes forever chemicals like chlorine, PFOA, PFOS, pesticides & more
      • Customer Approved: Over 5,000+ 5 Star customer reviews
      • Add-ons: Smart Water Shut Off, Water softeners, UV Purification & more
      • Built to last: Up to 1,000,000 gallons of maintenance free filtration
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        4

        9.6

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        • Customized home water evaluations
        • Flexible payment options
        • Salt- free options available
        • Self-charging 48-hour battery back-up
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          5

          9.5

            people visited this week

          Up To An Extra $60 Off!

          • Premium catalytic activated carbon filter
          • Salt-free & maintenance- free
          • Up to 99% contaminant removal
          • Prevents scale build up & extends the life of pipes
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            Our Criteria

            When it comes to making big decisions for your home, we have your back. We’ve scoured the market for the best whole house water filtration systems out there and ranked them according to our strict criteria, taking the burden of choice off your shoulders, arming you with knowledge and helping you make a smart, informed decision that’s right for you. Keep reading to learn more about the criteria we’ve used for selecting the best whole house water filters.

            Specifications & Features

            The type of filter you need depends on which contaminants are in your water. If your house is on a municipal city water supply, typical contaminants include chlorine or chloramines, chemicals, sediment and hardness minerals. Most municipal water utilities will be able to provide you with a water analysis to determine what contaminants are present. The contaminants typically found in private well water supplies are sediment, iron and hardness minerals. If you have a private well, you will need to get your water tested to determine what contaminants are present. 

            When we look at the specs of a whole house water filtration system, we look to identify things like system type, filter type or water treatment method and other features. Here’s an overview of our criteria in this category:

            System Type

            Point-of-use systems treat the water where you drink or use your water, and include water pitchers, faucet filters and reverse osmosis systems. Whole house filtration systems are also known as point-of-entry systems, which is what we’re focusing on in this category. Point-of-use systems include UV microbiological systems, water softeners and whole-house filters for chlorine, taste, odor and particulates. 

            Size & Dimensions

            An obvious place to start is by making sure that the system will fit in the space you have available for it, so considering physical size and clearance around the unit for maintenance is an important first step.

            Filter Type

            As we mentioned earlier, the type of filter you need should be determined by identifying the specific contaminants you want to remove from your water supply. Many whole-house systems offer multi-stage filtration that use a combination of different filtration methods for comprehensive contaminant removal. These stages often include:

            • Sediment Filters: This filter acts as a first line of defense, capturing larger contaminants like dirt, rust and debris, ensuring that cleaner water moves to the next filtration stage, which prolongs the life of the other filters. 
            • Carbon Filters: This type of filter uses activated carbon to attract and absorb impurities, improving the taste and smell of your water. There are multiple types available, such as coconut shell carbon and catalytic carbon.
            • Reverse Osmosis Filter: This filter is a semi-permeable membrane that traps and removes a wide range of contaminants like bacteria, minerals and chemicals.

            Additionally, some manufacturers offer optional filters as an add-on to a whole house filtration system. This can include ultraviolet (UV) filters that use UV light to kill bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms in the water, and water conditioners to address water hardness by removing hardness minerals like calcium and magnesium, ensuring appliances and pipes remain scale-free.

            Additional Features

            • Smart Technology: Some systems have built-in smart features, such as monitoring apps or remote access, which allow you to monitor and control your system even when you’re not at home.
            • Pre-Filter Options: You may want to consider systems that offer pre-filtration stages to capture larger particles. This keeps those particles from entering the other filters, which can help them last longer and work more efficiently. 
            • Filter Indicators: Another great optional feature is a system that tells you when it’s time to change the filters via a filter indicator light. 

            Capacity

            As you’re shopping for a filtration system, one of the most important considerations is ensuring it’s able to meet the needs of your home. The capacity of a whole house filtration system is determined by a few different factors: 

            • Flow Rate: Every whole house filter system has a maximum flow rating that’s measured in gallons per minute (GPM). Flow rate determines the amount of water that’s available to run your home’s major water users, such as showers, toilets, hot water heater and dishwasher, and needs to match your household’s needs in order to provide ample water pressure. Typically, households require somewhere between 15 and 40 GPM of flow rate.
            • Filter Size: In general, the larger the filter, the longer it lasts and the more water flow and pressure available. The ideal filter size for most homes is 4.5 inches by 20 inches, although homes that require more than 25 GPM may need a larger filter.
            • Filter Life: How often a filter needs to be replaced depends on the quantity of use, what it’s filtering and how much it needs to filter out. Generally, a good quality 4.5-inch by 20-inch whole house carbon filter has the capacity to filter up to 150,000 gallons of normal city water before needing replacement. 
            • Port Size: The ideal port size of a whole house water filter is one inch. This ensures that there are no bottlenecks from the main water line to the filtration system, and minimizes pressure drops through the filtration process. 
            • Tank Size: If the system includes a storage tank, like in reverse osmosis systems, then you’ll want to make sure that its capacity can handle the needs of your household. 

            Certifications

            While there are no federal regulations that guide standards for whole home water filtration systems, there are a number of voluntary standards that the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) has developed to establish minimum requirements for the performance of these systems. 

            Water filtration systems should be certified to meet different NSF standards, and this is something we consider when searching for the best whole home filtration systems. Here are some of the main certifications and what they mean:

            • NSF/ANSI 42: Under this standard, filters are certified to reduce contaminants that affect the taste, odor or appearance of water. 
            • NSF/ANSI 53: This standard certifies a filter’s ability to reduce or remove health-related contaminants from water, such as lead, asbestos, VOCs and more.
            • NSF/ANSI 401: Under this standard, point-of-use and point-of-entry systems are certified to reduce one or more of 15 emerging contaminants from water, including prescription and over-the-counter drugs, new herbicides and pesticides and chemicals used as flame retardants and detergents.

            We also look at the credibility and reputation of the manufacturer. We’ve checked certifications, combed through reviews and looked for whether the company is up front about testing and analysis showing their product’s efficacy. These factors all contribute to whether a manufacturer is creating a reliable, effective whole home water filtration system.

            Maintenance

            Proper maintenance is essential to ensure optimal performance and lifespan of a whole home water filtration system. This typically includes replacing the filters at regular, recommended intervals, performing visual checks to the system itself, monitoring for any changes to water pressure or quality, regularly cleaning and sanitizing the system, periodically testing your water and following manufacturer guidelines for professional maintenance like annual check-ups and system upgrades.

            As you can imagine, this is an important part of choosing the best whole house water filtration system, because maintenance is crucial to protect your system and you’ve got to make sure you’re able to keep it operating efficiently.

            Cost

            A few different factors determine the cost of a whole house filtration system, including brand, filtration method, size and capacity, installation requirements and special features like smart technology and filter change indicators. While some filtration systems may have a higher upfront cost, they offer long-term savings thanks to durability and less frequent maintenance.

            The cost of a whole house water filtration system involves more than just the cost of the system itself and installation fees. There will also be the ongoing cost of replacement filters and periodic maintenance.

            We consider both of these types of costs when selecting the best whole house water filtration systems, as budget is a major deciding factor for many people when looking to make a big investment like this.

            The best whole house water filtration systems will have a balance of quality, capacity and features, at a competitive price.

            Installation

            Whole house water filtration systems can vary in terms of installation requirements, and whether you need professional installation often depends on the complexity of the system and your own comfort level with plumbing skills.

            Installation requirements are an important factor in our criteria for determining the best whole house water filtration systems, to ensure that the system can be installed properly and stress-free, no matter what your skill level is.  

            Warranty

            Warranty options can vary significantly among whole house filtration systems, with some brands offering one- to five-year warranties while others feature 25-year or lifetime warranties on their systems.

            It’s important to read the fine print and know exactly what coverage you’re getting before you pull the trigger, and fortunately, we’ve already done this for you in each of our individual product reviews. The brands that top our list of best whole house water filtration systems have been vetted to have comparable, consistent warranties that protect your investment. 

            Whole House Water Filtration FAQs

            A whole house water filtration system filters all the water coming into your home, providing clean water at every tap for drinking, cooking, bathing and cleaning. These systems typically use a combination of filtration methods, such as sediment filters, activated carbon filters and sometimes UV light or reverse osmosis, to remove contaminants from water.

            Depending on system and filter type, a whole house water filtration system can effectively remove a variety of contaminants, including:

            • Sediment such as dirt, sand, silt and rust particles
            • Chlorine and chloramines that affect the taste and smell of water
            • Harmful heavy metals such as lead, mercury, arsenic and copper
            • Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including pesticides, chemicals and solvents
            • Microorganisms like bacteria and viruses
            • Pharmaceuticals and hormones that enter water supplies through wastewater and runoff
            • Hard water minerals

            If your tap water has an unpleasant taste or odor, or if you’re concerned about contaminants, a whole house system can provide peace of mind and improve water quality throughout your home. If you’re on well water or have hard water (high mineral content), you may also want to explore a whole house system that provides filtered water at every tap in the home, for drinking, cooking, cleaning and showering. 

            Methodology

            The Consumer Rating Difference

            Behind Our Best Whole House Water Filtration Ratings

            We make choosing the best Whole House Water Filtration easy with expert reviews and rankings.

            Here’s the methodology behind our ratings:

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            Comprehensive Overviews

            From preferences, to pricing & more, we cover all you need to know about Whole House Water Filtration in our detailed reviews.
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            Pricing Details

            We break down how much the Whole House Water Filtration costs, noting everything that’s included for the different price points.
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            Whole House Water Filtration Comparisons

            With so many different Whole House Water Filtration available, it can be hard to decide which one is right for you. We compare different brands based on your preferences.
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            FAQs

            In case the review wasn't enough to, we also include several FAQs to help ensure you have all you need to make an informed decision.

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