Choosing the Right Water Filter System for Your Home

Muncie water quality may meet government regulations, but that doesn’t mean it comes to you completely free of chemicals. Even city water treated by a facility can return with undesirable contamination levels. Still, private water like wells is much more likely to need filtration for safe drinking. If you want to ensure your water is as clean as possible, install a water purification system for an extra layer of cleanliness to the water you drink. But which filter is right for you?

How Does a Water Filter System Work?

Most water treatment plants use chemicals like chlorine to make water safe for drinking. However, this can alter the taste of your water or have a drying effect on your hair and skin. Water filters remove impurities, toxins, and excess chemicals from water. The process by which they treat water varies, as there are several methods for filtering water at home.

What is the Best Type of Home Water Filter?

The best type of home water filter depends on your household needs and the impurities you want to remove or reduce. Before choosing your filter, check the report on your water system. City water sources provide annual Consumer Confidence Reports on water quality. You’ll need to schedule yearly testing with a state-certified lab if you have a private water source. Once you understand what you need to filter out of your water, you can choose a suitable filtration system.

Activated Carbon

What Is an Activated Carbon Water Filter System?

Activated carbon filters are most common in pitchers and refrigerator water hookups. They’re generally recommended for low-level contamination, improving taste, and filtering at a small scale.

How Does an Activated Carbon Water Filter System Work?

Water runs through a carbon cartridge that filters contaminants as the liquid passes through. As the filter works, it becomes clogged with contaminants; you must regularly replace it to maintain filtration. The filter manufacturer can tell you how often to change the filter. Pitchers and refrigerators typically have a monitoring feature that will also tell you when it’s time to replace the filter.

What Does an Activated Carbon System Filter Do?

Activated carbon filters mostly eliminate organic contaminants, unwanted tastes and odors, and residual chlorine. They can filter low levels of dissolved radon gas, organic chemicals, and trihalomethanes. They typically work best in urban settings since they do not remove the nitrates and phosphates that commonly come from farm fertilizer runoff.

Reverse Osmosis

What Is a Reverse Osmosis Water Filter System?

Reverse osmosis is one of the most comprehensive (and expensive) water filtration systems, using a permeable membrane to filter water. The system has a lower efficiency than many others, discarding about 75% of water volume or more along with the contaminants removed during filtration.

How Does a Reverse Osmosis Water Filter System Work?

A secondary mechanical filter often removes large particles from the water before it enters reverse osmosis. As water passes through the permeable membrane, it removes impurities. You need a steady, strong water pressure and a high-quality membrane to extract the most contaminants. Reverse osmosis systems require regular maintenance to ensure the membrane is intact and not clogged with large particles.

What Does a Reverse Osmosis System Filter?

Reverse osmosis filters the widest variety of particles, including salts, minerals, phosphates, some nitrates, chlorine, metals, and other organic and inorganic compounds. They also filter out most microorganisms, such as bacteria.

Mechanical Filters

What Is a Mechanical Water Filter System?

There are a variety of mechanical filters, mostly comprised of screening materials like fabric, mesh, or ceramic. They remove sediment from water and are the least expensive filters because they remove the fewest contaminants.

How Does a Mechanical Water Filter System Work?

Water passes through a porous filter, removing large particles in the water before it reaches your tap. They’re best used to combat sediment in the water, not smaller particles like chemicals or microorganisms.

What Does a Mechanical System Filter?

Mechanical systems filter out debris like silt, sand, clay, and other organic matter.

Ion Exchange

Ion exchange is more closely associated with water softeners than water purification. Choose an ion exchange system if you struggle with Muncie’s hard water more than chemical taste or contamination.

Installing Your Chosen Filtration System

Ready to enjoy filtered water? Our plumbing experts can help you choose the right system for you. If you already know which type you want, order your filter from us and schedule water filtration installation with our technicians. Call us at (765) 248-3693 or book an appointment online to get started.