The 7 Best Whole Home Water Filters to Buy in 2018

Home water filter systems have different demands in performance and installation than under the sink versions. This is because they have to filter a larger amount to clean all of the water in the home. To do this, these systems filter the water as they enter the home so the cleaning process is done all at once. Since using water in different ways requires removing more types of contaminants and chemicals, these whole home systems also need to be more robust.

Even though it can be hard to find a quality whole home filtration system at a budget price, the GE Whole Home Filtration System provides this all. Hooking up to the main water supply as it enters your home, the filter removes natural debris and contaminants like sand and sediments. This will keep the water clean for all uses including cooking, drinking and cleaning throughout the home. The kit includes everything you need to install it quickly including plumbing connections, mounting brackets and the necessary filters.

There's some debate about what constitutes the best water filtration system. In part, this is because of the different types that range from whole home to under the sink designs that filter only drinking and cooking water. For people who cook at home a lot, however, these under the sink filtration systems do the best job of keeping the water clean. Since water used in the kitchen can be the most harmful if left untreated, it's important to have a system capable of removing the most common contaminants and chemicals likely to be found.

The Woder 10K-Gen3 is an ultrahigh capacity filtration system that connects directly to the sink to provide quick and easy filtering at the source. This makes it a great option if you are worried about the quality of your drinking or cooking water. Given its intended use for the kitchen, the filters are designed to remove most harmful contaminants while allowing essential minerals to pass through such as calcium, potassium and magnesium. Installation is as easy as connecting the system to your existing plumbing underneath the sink.

Heavy-duty home water filter systems are the best option if you live in a large home or are separated from a water treatment plant. Homes with wells or storage tanks will typically have larger water needs. At home businesses, home workshops and other water-intensive activities might also require a larger filtration system to perform correctly. In general, heavy-duty systems use more robust filters, have higher water capacities, and remove more types of contaminants and chemicals from the water supply.

The Air Water Life Aqua Ionizer Deluxe 7.0 is a permanent, electronically based filtration system that uses an ionization process to remove harmful contaminants. Despite the high-tech nature of the system, the active carbon water filters are easy to replace when they wear out after about a year. The system hooks up directly to the home's water supply and is self-cleaning to keep the electroplate elements free of debris and contaminants that may make the water harmful again. Using only 110V, the system can plug into any home power outlet for its power supply.

One common complaint about typical water filtration systems is demineralization. Even though natural water can contain harmful chemicals and contaminants, it also often has minerals such as calcium that can be a healthy addition when drinking or cooking the water. Basic water filter systems will usually remove these minerals along with the other, more harmful contaminants. If you would like to take advantage of the healthy properties of water, a system with a remineralization process will be required.

The Perfect Water Technologies Home Master Artesian is designed for homes that store water throughout the year. It specifically filters the home's water supply at two different points. First, when the water enters the home, it removes harmful contaminants such as chlorine, chemicals, heavy metals, pharmaceuticalsfand organic debris. Then, depending on which sink you install the rest of the system, it treats the water again to add calcium and magnesium for their added health benefits while drinking or cooking it. Despite the dual stage design of the system, installation only requires a hook up with the existing plumbing.

Iron is a common contaminant found in water, especially in particular areas of the country with more iron-rich soil. Depending on the amount of iron in the ground, you may need a water filtration system that can handle natural, heavier elements and metals. This often requires specially designed filters and blockers to catch metals like iron before they enter the home’s main water stream.

The iSpring WGB32BM 3-Stage System is a three-stage whole home water filtration system with filters specifically designed to remove iron and manganese from the water stream. The heavy-duty filters can also remove harmful chemicals such as arsenic, rust, pesticides, herbicides and industrial solvents if you happen to live in a rural or industrial area. Each stage, contained in each individual tank, removes a different set of contaminants so the individual filters can last longer with better results. In total, the combined capacity of the three tanks is around 100,000 gallons during normal, everyday use.

Calcium is a tricky subject when it comes to water filtration. On one hand, many people consider calcium to be a healthy addition to water since it is one of the many minerals our bodies rely on to remain working. Others, however, find calcium-rich water to be harmful to cleaning dishes, clothes and bathing. If you would like to remove this mineral from the water supply, you will need a filtration system that includes a water softening process.

For heavy-duty, high-capacity work, there's no better choice than the iSpring RCC7. Using a five-stage design, this filtration system fits directly under the sink to filter water used for drinking and cooking. For heavy contaminants like calcium, one stage includes a softening system that works in conjunction with the other filters removing chemicals, iron, lead, and harmful debris. The kit comes with all the tools and parts you need to hook the system directly to the plumbing under your kitchen sink. You can use this unit in tandem with other water filtration systems for larger homes as well.

Wells are one of the most challenging sources of water to treat since they are affected by the surrounding soil. In other words, the quality of well water often depends on where you live. Since this water isn't treated by a water treatment plant, it is a safe bet that some kind of filtration system will be required. To find the right one, however, you need a system with a high capacity and plethora of filters and blockers to remove as many contaminants and chemicals as possible.

To ensure the best filtration results from a well ​source, the Aquasana 500,000 Filter uses a mixture of filters, a salt-free softening process, and UV filtration to remove all of the natural and man-made contaminants you are likely to find in the well. Each cartridge is easy to replace when the filters or parts begin to wear down you can keep the system running on a near constant basis. With a 500,000 gallon capacity, the system is large enough to handle any heavy-duty demands of a typical medium to large size home. Since the water softening system is salt-free, you also don't have to worry about healthy minerals being removed from your cooking and drinking water.