There are a few reasons why you would be considering installing a filtration system that services the whole house. There are also a few things to consider when making the choice.
If you are having a read of this today, hopefully we can assist you in making a better choice. We have installed many different systems for a vast number of reasons over the years and we thought we would share our most common asked questions to help guide you.
WHY SHOULD I CHOOSE TO TREAT THE WHOLE HOUSE?
The most common reasons to treat the home are usually the following.
1. Old pipework, discoloured water, staining on amenities.
2. Skin, hair, or other sensitivities to chemicals in the supply water.
3. Tank, bore or spring water.
4. Hard water affecting white goods and appliances.
Let’s address the water source first. If your home is connected to the mains or town water, then you may need to address the following issues.
Old pipework can leave staining from iron deposits and hard water (calcium bi carbonate and lime) can leave a blue, green, or white deposit on fixtures. This can sometimes lead to damage, mostly it’s just a pain to clean up.
Most white goods manufactures state in their warranty manual to install a filter to protect the appliance from hard water. If you notice some of the above deposits around the home, then filtration to the home may save you money and time in the long run.
Town water in most places is notorious for the chlorine levels present. This is a requirement by local council to transport the water safely to your home. However, we don’t need it after that.
There is a little controversy over exactly how much chlorine is absorbed through your skin when showering or bathing. Yes, it is absorbed into your skin to what degree is debatable, and as far as we are concerned any chemical other than what your body produces is probably not good.
If you are concerned about the levels of chlorine in the water, whether you drink or wash in it, or if you have skin allergies, then whole house filtration is a good choice for your family.
Tank water. The most loved water! Tank water is usually free from chemicals in high numbers. It tastes and feels the best. Tank water can still have its downfalls. If your home is situated near heavy traffic areas, construction, coal trains or there are a lot of trees around. We would recommend filtering the tank water.
Heavy transport exhaust can leave lead deposits on the roof washing into the tank.
Construction sites leave heavy dust deposits and coal trains leave a black coal in the water. Trees can leave a bad taste, smell and also invite unwanted pests into our tanks.
All the above reasons are good reasons to treat your tank water.
WATER FILTER SYSTEMS WHICH ONE IS BEST?
There is no one size fits all answer here. Though filter technology is getting pretty good these days and cover a wide range of issues.
There are a lot of companies and products on the market that make a lot of claims. Let’s just stick to some facts and proven products.
If you do require filtration on your home which we do recommend, lets breakdown the questions and answers.
I have town water and need to treat the chlorine only for hair skin taste and smell?
A single or twin filter is probably all you need. A good quality carbon filter 5 microns or less will do the job in this scenario. The purpose of a twin filter setup might be to either run a sediment filter prior to the carbon to protect the life of the post filter if the incoming water is dirty. Another reason is to step stage the filtration. For example. Install a 5 micron and then a 1-micron filter. This will treat the water well but may limit your water pressure. Carbon filters do vary from manufactures but usually treat, heavy metals, chlorine, chloramines, taste and smell. When you get down to sub microns. (less than 1 micron) You can treat things such as E. coli and cysts. Carbon alone will not treat hard water or fluoride.
I have hard water or require specific filtration for health reasons?
A triple system is best here and would usually consist of a sediment filter, a carbon filter then a mixed media filter to treat specific chemicals such as calcium or fluoride for either hard water or specific health requirements.
Filters such as Aragon use ion exchange polymers to assist in treating hard water along with poly phosphate. Aragon is also great at treating water for viruses, bacteria etc.
The use of UV treatment is sometimes implemented but these systems are intended as the last step, to polish if you will. UV lamps are a great device however. They can lose their efficacy fairly quickly due to the quarts sleeve either scaling from hard water or due to the clarification of the water. The last reason is they require power. If your power is out or the lamp efficacy is reduced you don't have a means of disinfection. This is why if you are treating the water for the purpose of disinfection, filters should be your first method.
If your water has high iron or calcium above the normal range you may need a water softener installed. These systems are nothing new and are pretty much the standard for treatment of Iron, Calcium, sulphur. These systems are commonly referred to as Ion Exchange. There is plenty of lessons on the internet explaining how these work.
NATURAL SPRING OR BORE WATER TO THE HOUSE.
This ones a little more involved. Please see our website article link below for further information.
We hear it all the time! Can't i just put a filter on my bore and use it? Maybe? The first questions i always ask the customer is have you done a recent (Last 2 years) water test. This should always be where you start when dealing with an unknown water source. Don't skip this step. Your local council water treatment plant will give you some free sterilised containers which you can then return for analysis. This can cost between $150-$400 depending on what you wish to analyse. If you are not going to drink the water a standard chemical analysis will do. If you wish to drink the water make sure you ask for a microbial analysis.
After you have a water sample we can look at this and determine the best solution for you. We have seen almost perfect bores that require nothing more than a carbon filter and we have seen bores that require commercial reverse osmosis systems and chemical dosing. This is definitely not a one size fits all approach.
