How Should a Water Test Guide Your Filter Choice?
Installing a whole home filter can be a potentially significant upgrade. The right filter can improve your home's water quality, making it taste better and potentially even removing harmful and undesirable elements. However, water quality is also a complex topic, and it won't always mean the same thing to different people.
If you're unhappy with your home's water quality, it's important to understand that not all filtering or treatment devices work the same way. Choosing the right equipment is critical if you want to solve the specific problems that are bothering you, and a water test is one of the easiest ways to gather data and make an objective decision.
What's In Your Water?
To answer the question of what type of filter you need, you first need to answer two questions:
- Why are you unhappy with your water?
- What's in your water that's reducing its quality?
Some water quality issues are purely cosmetic, with little or no impact on taste or health. Other issues may subjectively impact the taste of water without affecting its appearance. Finally, some water quality issues are more severe and may ultimately impact the safety and suitability of your water for drinking. Knowing which problems you may be facing in your home is crucial.
A good water quality test will provide detailed information about contaminants and minerals in your water, helping you answer questions about the hardness of your water, issues affecting its appearance or taste, and the presence of dangerous chemicals. Once you have this information, you can work with a plumber to select an appropriate whole-home filtering or treatment solution.
Which Filter is Right For Your Home?
Here's where things can get complicated. Once you know what's plaguing your water, you'll need to choose the best filter for your home. For example, if you're primarily concerned about non-harmful sediment and particulate matter affecting your water's appearance, you may only need a simple physical filter. Polyester filters are one option that can remove exceptionally tiny particles.
On the other hand, you may need greater filtration ability if your water test detects unacceptable levels of chemicals, pharmaceutical products, or other contaminants that may pose serious health threats. Activated carbon filters effectively remove chlorine, but you may also want to look into reverse osmosis (RO) systems if you need to remove more chemicals or minerals from your water.
However, remember that going with the biggest filter isn't always the best option. If you're happy with the taste of your water, you may not want to remove excess minerals contributing to your taste. For this reason, it's crucial to test your water and work with an experienced plumber to select a filtration system to improve your water quality without diminishing the taste you enjoy.
To learn more about water filtration system installation, contact a plumber in your are today.
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