About Choosing Home Water Filters | Drinking Water - CDC

Tips for choosing a filter

Test your water

Testing your water to find out whether there are harmful germs or chemicals in it will help you choose a filter. If your water is free from harmful germs or chemicals, you may decide you do not need a filter. If your water has harmful germs or chemicals, choose a filter that removes those germs or chemicals.

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Well or rain water

If you get your water from a private well or a rainwater collection system, test your water at least once each year for harmful germs and chemicals. Also consider testing your water if you notice changes in color, taste, or smell.

Contact your health department for advice about what to test for and how to find a state-certified lab to do the testing.

Public water system

If you get tap water from a public water system, review the water quality report your utility must provide every year. The report will show if there are harmful germs or chemicals in your water.

Understand pore size

The pore size is the size of the tiny holes in a filter that let water through. Filters work like strainers or colanders. As pore size gets smaller, fewer types of germs and chemicals get through the filter.

If a filter has an absolute pore size of 1 micron, for example, each one of the filter's pores is 1 micron or smaller. This means that anything larger than 1 micron will be caught in the filter and removed from the filtered water.

Filters with a nominal or mean pore size of 1 micron have an average pore size of 1 micron. This means that some pores are smaller and some pores are larger than 1 micron. These filters will let some things that are bigger than 1 micron through the larger holes.

Understand NSF ratings

NSF International is an independent organization that develops public health standards for products. One way to figure out what a water filter removes is to look for an NSF certification on the filter's label. You can look up specific products in the NSF database to see what they are certified to remove from water.

Some of the NSF standards related to water treatment are:

• Standard 42 (taste and odor)
• Standard 53 (cyst reduction)
• Standard 58 (reverse osmosis)
• Standard 62 (distillation)

Consider how much water to filter

Point-of-use filters

Point-of-use filters usually filter water in batches and deliver it to a single tap, such as your kitchen sink. These include under-sink filters and those that attach to your faucet. Consider point of use filters if you only need to filter the water you drink and cook with, for example.

Whole-home filters

Whole-home filters, also called point-of-entry filters, filter water as it comes into your home. This means all your water, from every tap, gets filtered.

Consider these filters if you need to remove a harmful substance, such as certain volatile organic chemicals, from all your water. This includes water you use to bathe or clean with, as well as water you drink or cook with.

Keep in mind that if you install a whole-home filter that removes chlorine or other disinfectants, more germs may grow in your plumbing.

Consider maintenance

You will need to maintain any filter you use to keep it working properly and prevent germs from growing in it. This includes regularly changing the filters according to the manufacturer's recommendations. Wear gloves while you change filters and wash your hands afterward to avoid getting sick.

Some filters also require pre-treating water before you filter it to protect the filter and make sure it works properly. Examples of pre-treating include adjusting pH or adding powdered activated carbon.

Everyone deserves contaminant-free water. However, oftentimes there are impurities lurking. Installing a whole-house system allows you to rest assured that water concerns are being addressed at the point of entry and that the water coming out of each faucet in your home is providing your family with high-quality water. 

Identifying Water Source

Though there is a preconceived notion that because municipal water is provided by the city, there is nothing that could be concerning. However, that is not always the case. While municipal water does not typically contain anything detrimental to your health, the contaminants hiding are often less than ideal. 

Well water, however, can be much more complicated and frequently requires a filtration system to avoid serious health problems. 

Knowing your water’s composition can only be discovered through water testing and will allow you to know which filtration system is best for your specific water. No matter if you are on city water or well water, if you have any concerns about your water quality, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suggests you have your water tested.  

Municipal Water

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Municipalities often use chlorine or chloramine to disinfect water and kill harmful bacteria and viruses. While essential for water safety, these chemicals can create an unpleasant taste and odor in the water and are not ideal to consume and expose your skin and hair to daily. 

Beyond that, your water is only as good as the pipes it passes through. Depending on the age of your home, your pipes may contain heavy metals and microorganisms that have formed and are entering your water. These microorganisms can include bacteria, viruses, and parasites. As a result, you could, unknowingly, have water that would otherwise be safe. 

Well Water

If your water source is from a well, more serious concerns arise. Well water frequently contains sediments such as silt, dirt, and sand. Because well water does not undergo any sort of treatment, it is also likely nitrates and nitrites are present as they will often enter water supplies from runoff and are found in chemical fertilizers, human sewage, and animal waste and fertilizers.

Heavy metals such as lead, iron, and manganese are also common in well water which can be dangerous for your health. According to the EPA, “People that consume high levels of heavy metals risk acute and chronic toxicity, liver, kidney, and intestinal damage, anemia, and cancer.” There are also frequently high levels of fluoride in well water. 

Each of these are concerns that should be addressed to ensure you and your loved ones avoid the worry of developing health problems due to poor water quality. (Learn how to test your water quality from our previous blog here.)

Types of Filtration Systems to Protect You and Your Family 

Once you have identified your concerns, iSpring’s customer service team is here to help you select a filtration system that will best meet your needs. All of our systems are backed by a customer satisfaction guarantee and provide you with some of the most competitive prices for water filtration systems as we believe water filtration should be affordable so that everyone can enjoy safe, clean water. 

If sediment is a concern, there are two systems we suggest: WSP50ARJ and WGB32B. 

Our WSP50ARJ is a prefilter that can be used to filter our large particles and work as the first line of defense to preserving your whole-house filtration system as well as your home appliances. It is available for 50 microns, 100 microns, 200 microns and 500 microns, which can be selected based on different water conditions.

1. uses a 50-micron filter screen, filtering out up to 99% of large particulates such as sediments, dirt, rust, sand, floating objects, and other water pollutants
2. provides a 1-gallon capacity, which is 22 times larger than other sediment filters and produces an impressive maximum flow rate of 25 GPM
3. has an integrated auto-flushing module that saves time and effort on routine maintenance by allowing you to use different flushing modes for different water usage needs
4. is used to create a multi-layer gradient filtration system, removing considerable workload from the more advanced filters that follow it; this results in longer filter life
5. features 316L food-grade stainless steel precision filter mesh and explosion-proof transparent housing 
6. features easy installation with no welding or glue needed

In conjunction with the WSP50ARJ, our WGB32B uses second-stage and third-stage CTO carbon block filters to remove chlorine, tastes, odors, and cloudiness as well as sediment from your water. Additionally, this filter

1. removes up to 95% of sediment, rust, pesticides, herbicides, industrial solvents, and various other contaminants
2. meets NSF/ANSI standards
3. has a capacity of up to 100,000 gallons of water
4. protects household appliances and plumbing system from sediment, rust, dirt, sand, and large particles
5. extends the life of your standard filters

If hard water is a concern to be addressed, consider our WCS45KG central whole-house water softener. This system

1. has a high capacity for treating up to 45,000 grains of hardness
2. removes calcium and magnesium from your water at the point of entry, providing you with quality soft water for cooking, bathing and laundry
3. descales your entire water system and prevents scale buildup in water heater and pipes, protecting your household appliances and plumbing
4. calculates and designs an economical and effective soft water treatment plan based on the water source and the treated water volume, allowing you to adjust the hardness of filtered water with this system based on your preference or requirements
5. Features an automatic backwash and media regeneration feature, helping to extend the lifespan of resin and improve the system’s performance without the hassle of manual cleaning.

For individuals who are reluctant to add salt to their water or are on a low-sodium diet but still wish to tackle the problem of scale buildup, a water descaler emerges as an attractive alternative to a traditional water softener.

Our WDS150K anti-scale whole-house filter 

1. features a patented scale inhibitor that sequesters calcium and magnesium, preventing your pipes from scaling and clearing partially clogged piping
2. employs a filter media that coats the surface of your pipes, which helps stabilize chlorine and prevents it from reacting with the metal pipe 
3. is capable of filtering up to 250,000 gallons of water and can last up to 12 months, depending on inline water quality. 
4. is tested by an independent third party to meet NSF 42/60 standards
5. features effortless filter replacement with just the twist of the housing.

Another featured descaler is our electronic water descaler: EDS. This filter

1. creates an electromagnetic wave with the micro-chip, disrupting the ions to crystallize them, preventing the scale build-up
2. is eco-friendly and solves the problems caused by hard water without the need for chemicals or salt by preventing scale deposits from forming and allowing the existing scale to break down. 
3. costs roughly 36 cents per month for electricity
4. improves your water quality, protects your pipes, and extends the life of your appliances
5. features easy, 15-minute installation and requires no plumbing modifications. 
6. descales without changing the chemical properties of the water and does not add sodium or potassium

Heavy metals also become a concern for homeowners. Our ion exchange filters work to remove these impurities. 

Iron and manganese are two other minerals that many want to remove from their water. If this is the case for you, our WGB32BM three-stage, whole-house filter 

1. is independently tested and certified against NSF/ANSI standards
2. protects your family and household appliances from iron, manganese and more while extending the life of your standard filters
3. protects your plumbing system from sediment, rust, dirt, sand, and large particles
4. features a first-stage polypropylene sediment filter that is able to achieve filtration down to 5 microns, removing sediments, sand, large particles, dust, silt, dirt, and rust.
5. employs a second-stage CTO Carbon Block filter that is made of coconut shell carbon and removes chlorine, tastes and odors, harmful chemicals’ cloudiness and colors.
6. reduces iron (MAX 3.0 ppm down to 0.01 ppm) and manganese (MAX 1.0 ppm down to 0.01 ppm) 
7. features up to 15 gallons per minute of water flow

As one of the heavy metals, lead is also a serious concern in some water that should be addressed. Our WGB32B-PB is a three-stage, whole-house filter that

1. features a high capacity of 150,000 gallons of water filtration at 100ppb for lead.
2. removes sediment, chlorine, rust, pesticides, herbicides, industrial solvents, and various other contaminants
3. features up to 15 gpm flow
4. is tested by an independent third party to meet NSF and ANSI standards
5. combines with our WSP series pre-filter for better filtration results 
6. features easy, DIY installation 

For those seeking clean water with minimal maintenance, we have two recommended systems: 

Our WF150K

1. removes chlorine, lead, heavy metals, pesticides, herbicides, and various other contaminants, supplying the entire building with crispy, clean and good-tasting water
2. is tested by the water lab to meet NSF/ANSI 42 and 53 standards
3. features a patented filtration media formula that is backflushed and regenerated at the set cycles by the digital Smart Control Valve and is designed to last up to 10 years without changing filter media 
4. helps extend the lifespan of your plumbing system and household appliance
5. features a digital screen, allowing you to easily set your personalized auto-flush intervals
6. is designed to allow for minimum maintenance and can filter up to 1,000,000 gallons of water before needing to be replaced 
7. has a high flow rate of 26 gpm

Our WCFM500K Central water filtration for iron, manganese and hydrogen sulfide

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Household Pre Filtration Unit.

1. reduces iron (up to 12 ppm), manganese & hydrogen sulfide (up to 20 ppm), solids, and turbidity with 3-micron sediment filtration
2. has an automatic media regeneration feature, enabling it to last for up to 10 years without the hassle of filter replacement
3. allows you to set personalized auto-flush intervals depending on your incoming water quality and usage
4. uses only air for media regeneration; unlike similar systems from other manufacturers that use oxidizers or chemicals