Many people choose to drink only filtered water.
The reasons for doing so run the gamut and include water safety, taste, smell, and peace of mind. Regardless of your reasons for avoiding water straight from the tap-and there's no shortage of good reasons-you have a variety of choices for how you obtain your filtered water.
There's bottled water, which is readily available at pretty much any store.
Then there's the water filter that comes standard with many refrigerators. Lots of people use those.
You might also have one of those bulbous faucet attachments that filters water from your kitchen sink. Or a water pitcher with a built-in filter.
But the best kind of water filtration system-the kind that removes the most contaminants and offers the most convenience-is a whole-house water filter.
More often than not, we find that people who use whole-house water filters prefer them to all of the other filtration options available. Let's consider why this might be.
Why use a whole-house water filter?
There are four major reasons many people prefer whole-house water filters to all the other options at their disposal:
- More convenience
- Less waste
- Better filtration
- Better coverage
First, let's consider convenience. With a whole-house water filtration system, you never have to buy bottles, fill a special pitcher, or fiddle with faucet attachments. You also don't have to visit your refrigerator every time you want water-you can just fill up at the sink!
While you will have to replace the filter every three to six months, this only takes a few minutes and really isn't inconvenient at all. Compared to the daily convenience gained by having the whole-house filtration system, any time spent replacing the filter is negligible.
Whole-house systems also produce less waste than other filtration methods. This is especially true if you mostly drink bottled water. Instead of throwing away hundreds or thousands of bottles per year, you can just replace a single filter every three to six months. Given that most plastic doesn't get recycled even when you try to recycle it, whole-house filtration is definitely the greener choice.
Then there's the superior filtration and coverage these systems provide. The best whole-house systems remove more contaminants than most other filtration options (we'll explore which contaminants in the next section). And since they filter all the water coming into your home, the coverage they offer is second-to-none.
Not only do you get filtered drinking water, but you also get filtered water for cooking and bathing. It's not just filtration for your kitchen sink or your fridge-it's filtration for every plumbing fixture.
That's right. Even the water you wet your toothbrush with will be filtered.
Given the contaminants that might be present in the local water supply, many homeowners conclude that filtering all of it just makes sense. According to the Environmental Working Group's tap water database, Atlanta's water supply contains 10 contaminants that exceed the organization's health guidelines. They are:
- Bromodichloromethane
- Chloroform
- Chromium
- Dibromochloromethane
- Dichloroacetic acid
- Haloacetic acid (HAA5)
- Haloacetic acid (HAA9)
- Nitrate and nitrite
- Total trihalomethanes (TTHMs)
- Trichloroacetic acid
These and other chemicals can be present in your water even if your water utility meets federal standards for water quality. While we won't comment on the relative safety or danger of consuming these chemicals in small amounts (that's outside the scope of this article and our own expertise), it's understandable that many people want to filter all of their water, whether they're drinking it or washing with it.
What is the best kind of whole-house water filter?
The best kind of whole-house water filter is the one that filters the contaminants or chemicals that concern you the most.
For most homes, most of the time, a granular activated catalytic carbon (GAC) water filter is a great place to start and might be all the filter you need! These water filters are extremely robust and can reduce, neutralize, or remove all of the following contaminants:
- Chlorine
- Chloramine
- Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
- Pesticides
- Herbicides
- Industrial solvents
- Certain heavy metals (e.g. copper)
- Earthy or musty odors
- Radon
- Trihalomethanes
- Haloacetic acids
- Hormones and pharmaceuticals
- Disinfection byproducts
Note that some GAC filters offer higher levels of filtration than others. For example, many GAC filters can effectively remove lead from your water while others are not equipped for lead or heavy metal removal.
Before installing a whole-house water filtration system, be sure to raise your specific water safety requirements to the contractor installing the system. Also, check the specifications on the system the contractor recommends. You want to be absolutely sure you're getting a system that filters the contaminants you're most concerned with.
What about point-of-use water filters?
Point-of-use water filters live below a single plumbing fixture in your home, typically the kitchen sink. They're great when you:
- Only want to filter water at the kitchen faucet
- Mainly drink water that comes from the kitchen faucet
- Have a whole-house filtration system but want additional filtration for your primary drinking water source
In addition to the contaminants filtered by most whole-house GAC systems, an effective point-of-use water filter will provide additional filtration. These systems can reduce, remove, and/or neutralize contaminants such as:
- Lead
- Mercury
- Arsenic
- Nitrates/nitrites
- Bacteria and viruses
- Cysts (e.g. giardia)
- PFAS compounds
Once again, be sure to consult with your installation contractor before selecting a point-of-use system. That way, you can be 100% confident in your system's ability to remove the contaminants you want to target.
Get the highest quality, most convenient water filter
If you live in Metro Atlanta and want to discuss water filtration options for your home, PV Heating, Cooling & Plumbing can help! Our team will listen to your water quality concerns and point you to the best filtration system for your needs and budget.
To find out more or book an appointment, call us today at (404) 798-9672 or schedule online!
