What to Look For in a Water Filter System
When you decide to look into buying a water filtration system, you need to get an understanding of what type and functions best fit your personal needs and preferences.
Have you been thinking of installing a water filtration system for your home or a new home? Not all filters are created equal. Different water filters, filter different contaminants out of water. Some filters add substances back into water. Some can make your water taste better, some clarify your water, some make water smell better, some filter out germs and parasites, others can filter out harmful chemicals.
The water that comes to your tap actually contains small quantities of many other substances. Some are beneficial, some are harmful. Filters can remove both good and bad substances from your water. There is no filter that can take 100% of contaminants out of your water (you may not want them to anyway). But some come very close!
The alternatives can be overwhelming, so we’ve taken some of the heavy-lifting out of the information search.
What to think about when choosing a domestic water filter
Generally speaking, when you are looking to invest in domestic water filter, the solution you choose will be based on:
- What concerns you have with existing water supply – is it the chlorine taste and smell, or do you worry about too much fluoride in the water, or harmful nano-plastics and PFAS in the water?
- How many outlets you wish to assess your filter water from – single tap or whole house?
- The initial cost of the unit
- The ongoing cost and ease of maintenance, including replacement filters
- Any ongoing service contract that you may be asked to commit to, which may appear initially to lower the price of the unit.
What systems are available?
Single tap/outlet systems:
- Counter-top or under-sink
- Single-filter drinking water systems, twin-filter drinking water systems, triple-filter drinking water systems and multi-filter drinking water systems
- Quick change filters
- All-in-one filters
- Reverse osmosis system (4-stage, 5-stage, 6-stage, 7-stage are common), which incorporate multi-stage filtration and membrane to remove heavy metals, organic and inorganic contaminants and difficult to remove pollutants such as PFAS
Whole house systems:
- Single-, twin- and multi-filter systems
- Added UV treatment
- Reverse osmosis system, which incorporates multi-stage filtration (however these systems are rarely used due to high water usage and being prohibitively expensive)
Refer to our Considerations When Selecting a System to start to think about what is important to you.
Our Pros and Cons of Each Type of Water Filtration System page helps to give background on each type.
Refer to our handy Summary Cheat-sheet of Water Filtration Types that summarises everything you need to know.
If you are unsure of the right system for you, just give us a call or contact us online. Freshwater Systems is known for our friendly, no-obligation advice and we are happy to answer your questions.
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