How to choose a whole house water softener

As respect over tap water character continue to grow, Producers throughout the country have introduced awhole house water softener to the market. whole house water softener are some of the advanced, most innovative of these alternative products, but how do you adopt the best one? Easily follow this step-by-step model to find the best whole house water softener for you.

-Step 1:

Check your specific whole house water softener needs. Are you excited in only a drinking whole house water softener or do you need a shower filter, as well?

-Step 2:

If you are interested in clean all the water of the house, remind that there is no such thing as a whole house water softener -- you have utility water and drinking water in a household situation. Therefore, you need to address each type of water need differently.

-Step 3:

You need a whole house water softener to remove dirt and sediment down to 10 microns or so (and 80% of the chlorine); you might want to add a whole house water softener to rid all the utility water of hard minerals, to protect the plumbing the fixtures and the laundry (with a whole house water softener installed on the house water, a reverse osmosis system for the drinking water is recommended, to remove the salts that the softener puts into the house water).

-Step 4:

For the safety of the drinking water, you need awhole house water softener filter (such as a solid carbon block-type) that will filter down to 0.5 microns and is certified by NSF International to remove the widest range of all contaminants possible.

-Step 5:

Decide if you want to target any specific contaminants when filtering your water. For example, if you receive water from a community water system, it is likely that chloramines are being added as disinfectants to your water, in addition to chlorine. You will want to find a whole house water softener filter that is certified to remove chloramines, as well as chlorine AND trihalomethanes (a carcinogenic by-product of chlorination).

-Step 6:

Do some independent research on water filtration. Find out what exactly a water filter does by going to NSF international  In order to understand certification claims, you will need to know a little about the process of water filtration. A few manufacturers and resellers offer useful information about water filtration on their sites but the only unbiased source is NSF, Intl. Many states, such as CA, CO, and WI use the NSF standards 42 (taste, odor, aesthetics) and Standard 53 (Health Concerns) to verify which filters are permitted to be sold in their states.

-Step 7:

Once you have learned a little about whole house water softener, water filters begin to refine your search, keeping particular filter medias and technology in mind. However, instead of getting a different filter for each potential contaminant, it's more sensible and cost-effective to get one filter that is certified to remove the widest range of contaminants.

-Step 8:

Decide on a few brands of whole house water softener that match your budget and then conduct some more in-depth research. Look into their certification, find out what contaminants they remove, and determine what percentage of contaminant removal they guarantee. However, the ultimate "guarantee" is the unbiased NSF certification.

-Step 9:

Look into consumer advocate organizations like Consumers Digest to find what other buyers have said about a particular whole house water softener. However, remember that the testing that these groups do are far from comprehensive; the recognized standard for drinking water treatment unit certifications is National Sanitation Foundation, International . Their listings are available to everyone, online, and are the best protection from ripoffs or false claims. If a unit isn't listed with NSF, don't even go there!

-Step 10:

Choose a brand of whole house water softener that removes the most contaminants. In this way, you KNOW you are covered for anything that will come down the pipe! Most manufacturers offer a money-back guarantee if you are not satisfied with the product.

-Step 11:

Choose a whole house water softener filter that has the maximum years of warranty on the housing. If you are going to invest in an under-counter model, go with stainless steel housings -- they last longer and are designed to operate under constant house pressure without any leaking or bursting problems.

-Step 12:

Check to see what the cost of cartridge replacement runs -- what may seem like a cheap entry cost to a whole house water softener filter may end up costing you hundreds in maintenance! For example, the carafe/pitcher filters are cheap to buy, but at the cost of properly maintaining them for just one year, you could have bought a top of the line filtration system in the first place!!

-Step 13:

Check out the manufacturer -- how long have they been in business? Will they be there for the long run to service you and support the product?