Whole House Filters and Smaller Water Filters

Best Water Filters for the Whole House:

Whole House Filters and Smaller Water Filters

Finding the Best Fit for Your Water Filter Needs

by Josh Day

Best water filter begins with a whole house water filter. "Nineteen hundred and forty-six. Nineteen forty-six, Mandrake [when fluoridation first began in the United States]. How does that coincide with your post-war Commie conspiracy, huh? It's incredibly obvious, isn't it? A foreign substance is introduced into our precious bodily fluids without the knowledge of the individual. Certainly without any choice. That's the way your hard-core Commie works [...] I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids."

- General Jack D. Ripper, portrated by Sterling Hayden in Dr. Strangelove

Not to sound like the general up there, but it's not just chlorine or fluoride lurking in your tap water.

Heavy metals, bacteria, dust particles, and a range of other undesirable elements (including antidepressants and other drugs) may be hitching along for the ride from the treatment plant to your faucet. This is why so many people are turning to home water filters in the last few years.

As a keeper of tropical fish, both marine and freshwater, I know a little something about water. Chlorine is deadly to fish tanks. Not necessarily to the fish, although it may burn gills in higher concentrations, but to the beneficial bacteria residing in the filter bed and across submerged surfaces. A special chemical is required to "dechlorinate" the water before it can pass through the filter.

Carbon, the primary means of filtration in the vast majority of home water filters, is the mainstay for pulling chlorine away from water. Positively activated, the element of carbon is attractive, which means it locks onto negatively charged molecules and pulls them from water. Carbon also effectively removes microscopic sediments and VOCs -- volatile organic compounds.

When combined with ion-exchanged resins, activated carbon is an excellent means of chemically filtering the water from your tap. When I use a high quality activated carbon with resins, the water in my tank appears sparkling within hours.

You'll taste the difference too with home water filters. Trust me, you'll never want to drink chlorine-laden water again.

The difference between a whole house filter and a countertop water filter, or one that attaches to your faucet, is that the whole house system is attached right where your water line enters your house. All of your water is filtered -- the water you use through the garden hose, the water that flushes your toilet, your shower water, etc.

If you have the know-how, setting up a whole house water filter would be a great investment. It involves a fair amount of plumbing knowledge so you may want to consult your handyman or plumber.

Having a countertop water filter on top of your whole house system is the best way to go. Your water is doubly purified, and you won't have to change the filter cartridges as much as you would without the whole house system providing pre-filtration.

Disclaimer: Throughout this website, statements are made pertaining to the properties and/or functions of food and/or nutritional products. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and these materials and products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.