Discover the Best Well Water Filters
| Tap Master Iron® Reverse Osmosis Water Filtration System |
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Overall Rating: |
| Retail Price: $425.00 |
| Amazon Price: $329.95 |
Here’s an interesting fact, forty-eight million Americans get their water from private wells. That could account for all of the advertising and the hundreds of well water filters on the market. They want your business, but if you don’t do your homework before you buy, you could end up with an ineffective, inefficient or unnecessary product.
People buy well water filters for a variety of reasons, but some are more common than others.
Acidity (pH balance)
If you notice corrosion on any of your fixtures or bluish-green stains in your sinks or tubs, then your pH level may be too acidic. In the shower, you may feel like the water is not very “wet”. When you drink your tap water, you may notice a metallic taste. If you notice these things, then you probably need well water whole house filters, but you can always buy some litmus paper to test. Blue litmus paper turns red in the presence of acid. A numbered pH tester is also available, but is more expensive. Any level under 7 is equal to an acidic pH. In order to correct acidity, you need a well water conditioner (calcite -corsite) that enhances the water by increasing the pH. Multi-stage systems use ion exchange and other filters to correct the level.
Iron
High iron content sends many people looking for reverse osmosis well water whole house filters. But, those systems start at $10,000. Besides, reverse osmosis removes all of the minerals, some of which are beneficial to your health. Water softeners, ion exchange, or chlorination followed by activated carbon well water filters will take care of the problem, for a lot less money.
Bacteria
Bacteria, viruses, protozoa, parasites and microscopic cysts (giardia, cryptosporidium) are often found in unprotected drinking water supplies, but are not typically present in underground wells. The soil acts as a filter. But, since you cannot see these microscopic creatures and ingesting them can cause disease, you should have your water tested on a regular basis. Testing is done at most public health departments, but you may have to send a sample to a private lab.
If you are concerned about bacteria or the test comes back positive for bacteria, you have several options. Chlorine kills all but the most resistant, which can be removed by a .5 micron filter, ultraviolet light or ozone. Always follow chlorination with activated carbon filters. Those of us who have city water know that drinking chlorinated water is not a healthy option, plus the taste and smell is terrible.
Activated carbon filters on your kitchen and shower taps are probably insufficient. Activated charcoal is only effective at temperatures below 104 deg. Fahrenheit. Removal of chlorine on these faucets should be done with a filter containing kdf-55 material. But, there are well water whole house filters that contain activated carbon, as well. The cost is more, but may balance out against the cost of replacing multiple filters around the house. UV filters, distillers and reverse osmosis can be used against bacterial contamination, just be sure to have the water tested again, to make sure they are doing the job. Even though reverse osmosis well water filters are very expensive, the membranes are prone to defects and deteriorate when exposed to chlorine, so they may not provide the protection that you need. The membranes must be replaced every year or two.
Other Considerations
Reverse osmosis well water whole house filters waste more water than they clean. Some RO units use 14 gallons of feed water for every gallon they filter even though they claim to only use 4 to 1. Only 1% of the earth’s water is drinkable. Water is one of our most precious resources. We cannot afford to waste it. Think about the next generation and buy the most efficient well water filters that will meet your needs.
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