Our Recommended PFAS Chemicals Water Filters
Concern about PFAS and other “forever chemicals” in our water supply and the short and long-term effects of ingestion or exposure to them continue to grow with homeowners and health experts. In a recent blog post, we looked at the broad class of PFAS chemicals, what they are, and their potential health impacts.
In this post, we’ll focus on home water treatment products that our water quality team at Save Home Heat Company currently recommends and installs to remove PFAS chemicals, lead, and heavy metals for homeowners in the Denver-Boulder metro area.
The Brita PRO PFAS Titanium Water Filtration System
The whole-house PFAS water filtration product we recommend for homeowners in the Boulder-Denver area is the PFAS Titanium Series from Brita PRO, an established, highly reputable manufacturer of quality water treatment products that are well-supported in our market. Titanium Series water filters feature a versatile filter housing design that can accommodate high flow rates to handle whole-house applications, and can be fit with various filter combinations to effectively reduce other key water contaminants in addition to PFAS chemicals.
The Titanium filter housing can provide single-stage, 2-stage, or 3-stage water filtration. The combination of filters depends, not surprisingly, on the water quality issues that have been identified and are being addressed. Sediment prefilters and specially treated carbon are among the options that may be employed.
PFAS, Lead, and Chloramine Filtration
In addition to PFAS removal, the same Titanium filter housing can be equipped to provide highly effective remediation of lead (99.97% removal) and chloramines. Lead is essentially a zero-tolerance water pollutant: No level of lead in our water is acceptable to the EPA and public health authorities. Chloramines, according to the EPA, are disinfectant chemicals used to treat drinking water (and swimming pools) as an alternative to traditional chlorination methods. There are growing concerns in the scientific community about the use of chloramines and what are considered healthy levels of these chemicals.
The PFAS Titanium Series water filter is also effective at reducing potentially dangerous levels of Class 3 pharmaceuticals (including codeine, anabolic steroids, benzphetamine, and more), and the Lead Titanium Series filter also effectively removes VOCs from water, in addition to lead.
Industry Certified and Built in the U.S.
The Titanium Series water filtration system from Brita PRO is certified by the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO), one of the leading plumbing and mechanical industry product certification associations in North America. Their products are built in the U.S. in an ISO 9001-certified manufacturing plant.
A Promising Product:
The HALO Defender
The HALO Defender, from HALO Water Systems, is another PFAS water filter that our team is keeping an eye on as its presence grows in our market. This whole-house system is certified to NSF/ANSI standards for the reduction of lead, PFAS, cysts, and chlorine. NSF certification is a sanitation certification for commercial food equipment that ensures that equipment design and construction meets stringent food safety and environmental health standards. While its flow rating is significantly lower than the Brita PRO Titanium Series, performance and testing data on the HALO Defender give our team reason to believe that this product will continue to carve a niche in the home water treatment landscape.
Maintenance Needs for Whole-House PFAS Water Filters
The routine maintenance needs of the PFAS and other water filters we install and maintain – in particular, how often it’s needed – vary by the specific product and the nature of the home’s water quality issues. However, each product has a manufacturer-specified “gallon usage rating” that allows you to keep track of water flow thru the unit and dial in exactly when the internal filter components should be replaced.
Of course, if you use significant amounts of water on a regular basis, that usage rating number will be reached sooner than a home whose water consumption is more frugal. Once an experienced water quality specialist has had a chance to learn more about the specifics of a home and a family’s usage habits, it may be possible, generally speaking, to predict how often filter components may need to be replaced – but this is NOT a guarantee or a substitute for closely monitoring the system to determine what’s most appropriate your home.
Our Recommended Point-of-Use PFAS Water Filtration Products
If a whole-house filtration system isn’t the right fit for you, point-of-use, reverse osmosis (RO) water filters are also a popular choice for homeowners who desire to safeguard their home’s water supply against PFAS and other potentially harmful chemicals and substances. Highly effective RO filters are a great water quality solution for kitchens, bathrooms, and other priority areas in the home, and one of the nice things about these products is that, unlike the whole-home systems described above, they can easily be taken with you when you move to a new residence.
Just like whole-house systems, proper routine maintenance of RO water filters is critical in order to achieve the purest water, and each product and home varies in terms of its specific needs. Our RO water filters of choice continue to be made by Vertex Water Products.
Your Denver-Boulder Area Water Quality Experts
Municipal water supplies are routinely tested for the presence of PFAS and many other chemicals and substances, and are professionally treated as needed to maintain the presence of these products below EPA-established levels. It’s worth noting that these benchmarks are occasionally updated to reflect new science.
Equally important – if not more so – our team is aware that PFAS chemicals and certain heavy metals have been found in a number of private water wells in nearby foothills communities. The levels vary. This underscores the importance of residents in those towns and rural mountain areas learning more about the potential risks of these substances, along with testing services that are available. A starting good place to learn more is the Colorado state lab, or other local laboratories that specialize in residential water testing. Having your water tested is always the best first step before considering a water treatment product.
To learn more about home water filtration products and which one is the best solution for you and your home in the Boulder-Denver metro area, please reach out to our team at Save Home Heat Company today.
Please contact me to schedule a free quote for water filtration!
