Why You Should Consider a Whole-House Carbon Water Filter
The water we consume and use for washing, bathing, and so many other purposes around the house, is a critical component in our daily lives – one that’s often taken for granted. As research and science continue to look closer at our municipal and private well water supplies, ways in which we can help ensure our health and protect against unwanted contaminants continue to be developed.
In this post, our water quality team at Save Home Heat Company, led by our staff Master Water Specialist, would like to talk about whole-house carbon water filters and the benefits they can provide.
It Started Over a Century Ago With Chlorine
In brief, it all started with chlorine, when In the early 1900s municipalities around the U.S. and other developed countries began using chlorine to treat drinking water supplies in order to combat – and virtually eliminate – diseases like typhoid fever, cholera, and dysentery. Since then, chlorine, and its cousin monochloramine, has commonly been used as a disinfectant in water supplies. However, as we have seen in some cases of technological and scientific progress, occasionally there are tradeoffs, and chlorine is another example. Fortunately, in the case of household water, carbon filters can help mitigate the potential impact and related concerns of having chlorine in your home’s water supply.
Jump Back to Today: Why Homeowners Consider Carbon Water Filtration
As mentioned above, there are some potential drawbacks that come with water that’s been treated with chlorine, issues which, fortunately, a carbon water filter can help remedy. These issues may include:
- Taste and smell issues in the water
- Dry skin, hair, eyes, and nasal passages, resulting from bathing and washing with chlorinated water
- The possible formation of potentially harmful “disinfection byproducts” (DBPs), which can occur when there is a reaction between chlorine and other components that may be present in the water, notably organic compounds
Neutralize VOCs, Pesticides & THMs, Too!
In addition to neutralizing chlorine in your water, carbon water filters are also very effective at removing other potentially harmful substances such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and organic pesticides, which may be present in varying levels at different times of the year.
Another substance worth mentioning in particular are “THMs,” short for Trihalomethanes (tri-halo-methanes). THMs are a certain type of disinfection byproduct, as introduced above. Chloroform, a name that’s familiar to many of us – and not in a good way – is an example of a THM. Unfortunately, current research points toward increasing concern over a variety of potentially serious negative health impacts associated with THMs in drinking water. This is another class of substances that carbon filters can neutralize.
What Is a Whole-House Carbon Water Filter?
A whole-house carbon water filter is essentially an inline cartridge filter, sized to handle full household demand and flow rates thru the filter assembly and the filter. The carbon filter is installed where the water enters your home from your municipal or well water supply (i.e. the “point of entry”). Designed to treat all the water entering your home, it contains an activated carbon filter media that effectively absorbs a broad range of impurities from the water flowing through the filter. Carbon filters also act as a catalyst to change (and neutralize) the chemical composition of some contaminants.
Deciding Between Whole-House, Point-of-Use, or Pitcher Style Carbon Water Filters
The type of carbon water filter you choose depends on your specific needs and goals. For example, if you’re in a fairly short-term living situation, you might be best served by a pont-of-use carbon filter installed below the kitchen sink (that you could potentially take with you when you leave), as opposed to a whole-house product – or it might work out using a water pitcher/filter product that incorporates an effective carbon filter (if this is you, make sure you go with a proven product).
Whether long or short term, it may make sense to consider investing in a point-of-use (under-sink) reverse osmosis water filter, which incorporates activated carbon with a highly effective, multi-stage filtration system. With an RO filter, an additional carbon filter is not needed at that water source location.
If your water quality concerns encompass a variety of potential issues all around your home, then a whole-house carbon filter may be the most appropriate solution, and it may or may not be all that’s needed. The first step is having your home’s water supply tested.
Municipal Water vs. Private Water Wells
Carbon water filters are often a good fit for many urban and suburban homes in the Boulder-Denver area, where chlorine and chloramine are used regularly to treat municipal water supplies. For homes up in the foothills or a bit more rural locations, homeowners who have a private well on their property may also benefit from these filters. It’s noteworthy that in some of these latter cases, a different approach may be required to accomplish the complete water treatment job that’s needed, and activated carbon is often part of the solution. This underscores the wisdom of having your water tested as the first step in determining what water treatment product/s, if any, are the right fit for your needs and your home.
Along with a full range of proven water treatment products, our team at Save Home Heat provides complete, dependable, no-hassle water testing services.
Carbon Filters & Water Softeners Are a Great Water Treatment Team!
It’s not unusual for a carbon filter to be included when a new, whole-house water softener is installed, or for one to be added to an existing water treatment system, if the situation warrants. The combination of removing hardness from your water while also providing the benefits of carbon filtration, is a growing trend in the residential sector.
Water Softeners & Water Heaters
Of note, water softeners are becoming increasingly common with new water heater installations. One of the several benefits of adding a whole-house water softener to your system is reducing long term, low-level scaling and sediment deposits inside the water heater. This helps ensure the efficiency and performance of the heater – and also helps extend equipment life!
Routine Maintenance Needs
Not surprisingly, how often the activated carbon water filter cartridge needs to be replaced depends on the amount of usage. We find that annual replacement of the activated carbon filter cartridge is fairly typical with many homes. With a new installation, it normally takes a couple of years to get a handle on how often makes the most sense for the particular home and family. Our team works closely with our customers on both the front and back ends to make sure that their systems are doing the job and receiving the appropriate routine maintenance for their specific circumstances.
Our Water Treatment Team is Led By a Certified Master Water Specialist
Our water quality team leader, Chip Howes, is a Water Quality Association certified Master Water Specialist, whose extensive experience, broad knowledge, and high level of expertise in the water quality field is at the top of the industry. Chip is one of a very small number of Master Water Specialists in the state of Colorado. In the Denver-Boulder area, you can rely on our water quality team at Save Home Heat to provide you with the full benefit of Chip’s abilities.
Our Full Line of Water Quality Services
In addition to carbon water filters, we offer a complete line of water treatment services and products, tailored to the specific needs of each of our customers. These include standard and enhanced performance water softeners, reverse osmosis (RO) water filters, ultraviolet (UV) treatment of harmful bacteria in your water, PFAS water filters, lead and heavy metals filtration, complete water testing services, and more.
Your Denver-Boulder Water Quality Experts
Whether you’re on municipal water or you have a private well on your property, the recommended starting point for a discussion of your home’s water quality is having your water tested. In the Boulder-Denver metro area, our team at Save Home Heat Company is ready to assist you with reliable, professional water testing, and if needed, solutions that are the right fit for you and your home. Install quotes are always highly informative, low-pressure, and free. Please reach out to us today for service you’ll appreciate!
Please contact me to schedule water testing or a water treatment install quote!
