!44: Is a Whole House Water Filter System Also a Water Softener?

!±8± Is a Whole House Water Filter System Also a Water Softener?

When considering the purchase of a whole house water filter and / or a water softener, you should keep a few things in mind.

1. One of the first things to look for is that a whole house water filter system utilizes a multi-stage filtration process that is certified by NSF. Typically, if your home is on city water, the whole home system goes before the water softener. This is because it's important to remove chlorine before it mixes with the resins inside of the softener.

2. If your home uses well water, then chlorine is not a problem you have to deal with. In this case, it is a good idea to have the whole house filtration system treat the home after the water softener. This order helps ensure that the last system to handle the water also sends healthy filtered water to your home's water outlets.

3. Now that you know how a home water treatment system would work with a softener, let's talk about whether you need to use a water softener. The primary purpose for filtration is to make the water as healthy as possible. Since the softening process adds sodium, you are definitely not distributing the purest water possible throughout your home. The water actually becomes so full of salt that it can be tasted. If your home currently does use a softener, it is very important that the water you drink is filtered at the point of use.

4. The essential purpose of a softener is to remove high levels of "hard" minerals such as calcium. However, many whole house filters are capable of reducing iron, calcium and other hardening agents down to give microns, yet still retain healthy minerals. That means that your home water filter system won't be as effective at removing hard water but will still perform similarly to a standard softener. The big difference being that no sodium is added, which is a lot healthier for you and your family.

5. In addition to removing minerals, some softeners can also reduce other contaminants like heavy metals and sulfates. However, they don't even come close to the ultra-filtration capability of a high-quality whole house filtration system. Whole house filters like the Aquasana EQ-300 can filter out synthetic chemicals like dangerous herbicides, prescription drugs, chlorine and many more contaminants, while also softening the water. So keep in mind that a home filtration system gives many more benefits than a water softener, such as healthy drinking water, filtered showers and baths, longer-lasting appliances and less chloroform gas in the air.