The 10 Best Whole House Water Filters: Reviews & Ultimate Guide

This is our review of the best Whole House Water Filters of 2023.

We reviewed several whole house water filters and found out that the Aquasana EQ-1000 Whole House Water Filter is the best one overall.

There are several factors to look for when buying a whole house water filter, and to make your life easier we spent long hours reading & researching to find out the best overall whole house water filter, so that you don’t have to waste your precious time. And because there isn’t a one size fits all because each household and family has their unique situation, we also identified the best option for different situations.

You will find out the best whole house water filters available today, their pros and cons, an explanation of why they are better for specific situations and a complete buying guide with all the relevant information that you need to know to choose the best whole house water filtration system for you.

Let’s get started!

Our Top Picks for Best Whole House Water Filters

• Aquasana EQ-1000 Whole House Water Filter System (Best Overall Whole House Water Filter)
• Pelican PC600 Whole House Water Filter System (Runner Up Whole House Water Filter)
• SpringWell CF1 Whole House Water Filter System (Best Value Whole House Water Filter)
• Home Master Whole House 2-Stage Water Filter System (Best for City Water Whole House Water Filter)
• iSpring WGB32BM 3-Stage Whole House Water Filter System (Best for Well Water Whole House Water Filter)
• Express Water Heavy Metal Whole House Water Filter (Best for Heavy Metals Whole House Water Filter)
• AquaOx Whole House Water Filter (Best Longevity Whole House Water Filter)
• Culligan WH-HD200-C Whole House Water Filter (Best Budget Whole House Water Filter)
• SoftPro Carbon Whole House Water Filter (Good Choice Whole House Water Filter)
• 3M Aqua-Pure AP904 Whole House Water Filter System (Best Inline Whole House Water Filter)

10 Best Whole House Water Filters Reviewed

After investing our time researching and reviewing several whole house water filters, we identified the 10 best options for different purposes.

Buying Guide for Whole House Water Filter

Buying a Whole House Water Filter is not easy, as different households have different needs and you should buy the one that suits your family, to ensure they have access to clean and healthy water.

That is why we present a curated selection of the best whole house water filters for different situations, and we also created a comprehensive buying guide for whole house water filters so that you can understand the most important factors and be able to make the best purchase decision.

What to Consider When Choosing the Best Whole House Water Filter

When researching for a Whole House water filter to buy, these are the key features that you should consider:

Contaminants to Remove

It is important to start by knowing which contaminants you need to deal with at your home. You can do this, by checking the CCR of your water provider or by checking the water of your home by yourself, using a  water test kit.

This is relevant information to decide the type of whole house water filter that best suits your situation, as you probably won’t need the more expensive one in the market.

Cost

Purchasing a whole house water filter is not cheap, and you should consider the cost associated with it before you buy it, to ensure you make the right choice.

There are different whole house water filters in the market, and the price can vary from a few hundred dollars to more than one thousand dollars, depending on the brand, certifications, type, contaminants it removes, capacity, etc.

And you may also need a plumber to install the whole house water filter, so consider a few hundred dollars more to your budget.

Apart from these initial costs, you will need to change your cartridge filter with some frequency, so it is important to understand this recurring cost also.

Capacity

You should ask yourself how much water does your family consumes per day, to have an idea of the capacity of the water filter that you are going to need.

If you have a big family or if your family consumes lots of water, you might need a whole house water filter with a high capacity, to avoid having to replace filters too often.

Water Flow

Water flow, or flow rate, is measured by the amount of water in gallons per minute, or GPM. Because a whole water filter is going to filter water for your entire household, it is important to understand how much water you are going to need, to avoid water interruptions or low water flow.

If you need large amounts of water at the same time, is better to go with a water filter with a higher water flow, if your household is small you should be ok with a water filter with a lower water flow.

Filter Longevity

You will need to replace the filter cartridge of your whole water filter from time to time, and that activity will be determined by the longevity of the filter.

You should go for a combination of good longevity and decent price, to not have to change the filter quite often and minimize the recurring cost of changing the filter.

Certifications

Both NSF or WQA are independent third-party accredited institutions that certify water filters, which gives the consumer the trust that those products can remove certain harmful contaminants. 

Some brands will claim they are tested according to NSF standards, but we can only be sure the products were tested by a third-party accredited institution for the ones with certification.

Some of the most common NSF certifications for water filters are:

• NSF 42: for aesthetic effects, this certifies systems designed to reduce non-health-related contaminants, such as chlorine, chloramine, taste and odor, iron, manganese, particulate, and total dissolved solids (TDS).
• NSF 44: for cation exchange water softeners, certifies this type of system to reduce hardness caused by calcium and magnesium ions, replacing them with sodium or potassium ions.
• NSF 53: for health effects, certifies systems designed to reduce specific health-related contaminants, such as lead, Cryptosporidium, VOCs, and chromium.
• NSF 55: for UV systems, certifies this type of system to inactivate or kill bacteria, viruses, and cysts (Class A) or to reduce the amount of non-health-related bacteria (Class B).
• NSF 58: for Reverse Osmosis (RO) systems, this certifies RO systems designed to reduce TDS and additional contaminants, and ensures the safety of the materials in contact with drinking water, structural integrity, and efficiency rating.
• NSF 401: for emerging compounds/incidental contaminants, this certifies systems designed to remove up to 15 individual contaminants which have been identified in published studies as occurring in drinking water, such as prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, herbicides, pesticides, and chemical compounds.

System Physical Size & Space Available

Whole house water filters are not small, so you need to make sure you have enough space to install your new system in a place where you can connect it to your main water line.

And take into consideration that you need to be able to access it in the future to change filters and/or perform some maintenance activities.

What is a Whole House Water Filter?

A Whole House Water Filter is a point-of-entry (POE) system, which means that it is connected to the main water line to filter all the water at the point of entry, before it enters the household.

This way, all the water in the house is filtered and clean, both cold and hot water. You will only have filtered water in your house, so in your faucets, showers, appliances, toilets, etc., reducing the contaminants around and improving the quality of your life.

How Does a Whole House Water Filter Work?

Typically a Whole House Water Filter will have at least 3 filtering stages, but there other optional filtering stages that some filters will have:

• Pre-sediment filter: This filtering stage removes large particles like dirt, dust, impurities, and sand, which will not only remove contaminants from the water, but will also help prevent these particles from going through the filters on the other stages and reduce their expected life.
• Activated carbon filter: In this stage the water passes through an activated carbon block, removing several contaminants that become trapped in its pores, such as chlorine, chloramine, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), bad taste and odor, pesticides, etc
• Copper-zinc filter: This combined filter removes most of the remaining contaminants at this stage, like lead, mercury, chemicals, bacteria, microorganisms, and other metals.
• Post-filter (common, but optional): Not all whole house filters will have this final stage, in which the filtered water goes through a final polish before it enters the house’s main water line. If there are still some small contaminants in the water (the larger ones were removed in previous stages) this stage will filter them out, using filters with holes around 1 micron, and some whole house filters can have post-filters with holes as small as 0.35 microns.
• Water softener (optional): Some whole house filters have a water softener stage in which the water goes through an ion-exchange filter that replaces magnesium and calcium ions with sodium ions, making the water softer, but also a bit saltier. This stage can be particularly important if you have a hard water problem in your household.
• UV filter (optional): Like the water softener stage, some whole house filters have a UV filter stage that is used to kill remaining contaminants like microorganisms, viruses, or bacteria. This stage can be particularly important if your water has a high level of bacterial contamination.
• Remineralization filter (optional): Another additional stage that some whole house filters offer is remineralization, in which some healthy minerals, like calcium and magnesium, that might have been removed in the early filtering stages are added back to the filtered water at the end of the process.

The Different Types of Whole House Water Filters

There are different types of whole house water filters, and some of them we already covered in the latest section, as part of the optional stages of a whole house water filter.

But let’s go through the different types of whole house water filters:

Reverse Osmosis:

Reverse Osmosis systems are quite powerful at removing contaminants from the water, as they can remove up to 99.9% total dissolved solids (TDS) from the water, effectively dealing with highly contaminated waters, like well water.

These systems can remove most of the contaminants from the water, like impurities, chlorine, fluoride, heavy metals, chemicals, bacteria, etc.

Because these systems remove so many particles from the water, they also remove healthy minerals (if in adequate quantities) like calcium and magnesium, so some systems included at the end of the process a remineralization stage to add back some of these minerals to the filtered water.

Typically these types of systems are more expensive than other types of whole house water filter systems, and they also generate waste water during the filtration process, which will increase your water bill.

Carbon Filter:

One of the most common types of whole house filtration systems, and works well for most households that don’t have highly contaminated water. 

On average it is not as expensive as other options, and because it has fewer filtering stages, it is also easier to maintain.

This system is good for dealing with chlorine, VOCs, dust, rust, impurities, and bad taste and odors.

Water Softener / Ion Exchange: 

This type of filter’s main objective is to deal with the minerals in hard water, so it is good to replace contaminants like calcium and magnesium that can exist in excessive quantities in water but can also deal with sulfates and fluoride.

But by itself, it is not good at removing other contaminants that can impact the quality of your water, like microorganisms, viruses, and bacteria.

Ultraviolet Filter:

This type of water filter is great to deal with viruses, bacteria, and microorganisms, because it uses UV light frequencies to kill and remove those contaminants from the water.

Usually, this filter type has other filtration stages earlier in the process, to be able to remove most of the existing contaminants in the water.

Whole-House vs Reverse Osmosis Water Filtration Systems

If you are wondering if you should buy a common whole house water filter or a Reverse Osmosis water filtration system, you can check the table below to understand how they compare against each other for different features:

Feature	Whole House Water Filter	Reverse Osmosis
Filtration	Good filtration systems with multi-stage filtration, capable of removing the most common water contaminants	Reverse osmosis systems offer a higher level of filtration, removing up to 99.9% of water contaminants
Location	The system is installed at the point of entry of the water in your house	Typically RO systems are installed to generate filter water for drinking and cooking purposes, in a kitchen as an under sink or countertop water filter.
Size	Large systems as need to have the capacity to filter all the house water	Medium-sized systems that can be installed under the sink
Capacity	These systems are designed to filter all the water of your home so they will have a large capacity. The filtered water is produced on-demand without impact on the water flow, to be used for all the purposes, from heather, sinks, toilets, appliances, etc.	but they’re slow and can only produce a limited number of gallons per day.
Installation	A more complex installation process, but that you can do by yourself	Simple to medium complexity installation, depending on if it’s an under sink or countertop RO system
Cost	Expensive, but will depend on the type and capacity	Average price, typically cheaper than a whole house water filter
POE or POU	Point-of-Entry	Point-of-Use

There are also whole house RO water filters, but this is not what we are comparing on this table.

A Reverse Osmosis Whole House filter is not as common, because they are not that efficient. An RO system generates waste water, so to generate clean water for an entire household, even for uses that you don’t really need filtered water (like washing clothes or for toilets), it means wasting lots of water.

Also, most RO systems depend on a tank to store the filtered water, which is typically just for drinking purposes. If that is required for an entire household, a large system and RO tank are necessary, because they will cover the entire household water needs.

For these reasons, most RO systems are installed at POU (point of use) in a kitchen instead of at POE (point of entry), and can be combined with a normal whole house filtration system for the entire household.

Whole House Water Filter Benefits

Removes Contaminants & Impurities from Your Water

One of the main benefits of having a whole house water filtration system is to have access to clean and filtered water, in this case not only to drink and cook, like other types of water filters, but for all purposes in which you use water in your household.

A whole house water filter can remove different types of contaminants from the water, such as impurities, sediments, heavy metals, chlorine, arsenic, bacteria, viruses, nitrates, etc., ensuring access to clean water for your entire family.

Improve Water Taste & Odor

Another important benefit of a whole house water filter system is that it improves the taste and odor of your water because some contaminants are responsible for this.

For example, a common motive for the rotten egg taste of unfiltered water is the presence of hydrogen sulfide [1], which can be removed by certain whole house water filter systems.

Point-of-Entry Filter

Another benefit of a whole house water filter is the ability to filter all the water that enters your household, as it is installed at the point of entry, making sure that all the water is filtered before you use it.

So, if you need access to clean water in multiple places at your home, you will have it with a whole house water filter, while if you were using a POU (point-of-use) water filter you would have to install one in each place.

Environment-friendly

If you are a consumer of bottled water, you will heavily reduce the amount of plastic waste you create by starting using a whole house water filter, which is an environmentally friendly decision.

Apart from that, you will also save some money, as bottled water ends up much more expensive than filtered water, in the long run.

Fast Filtration

Contrary to other types of water filters, whole house water filtration systems are prepared to filter huge amounts of water without reducing its flow, so you will continue to have a normal water flow and water pressure at your home with this water filter type.

Whole House Water Filter Disadvantages

Size

Whole House water filters are not small and need to be installed to the main water line before it enters your home, so you need to choose a good location for it, and make sure you have enough space to fit the water filter.

Cost

While you can find other types of water filters at affordable prices, whole house water filters aren’t typically cheap, as they need to have great capacity and filtration power to filter huge amounts of water.

Also, because you will filter all the water and not only the water that you will drink, the recurring costs associated with replacing filters will be higher than other water filter types.

Is a Whole House Water Filter Right For Me?

If you are looking for a whole house water filter, is because you are worried about the quality of the water of your home. That being said, you probably should have a water filter, but is a whole house water filtration system a good solution for you, or should you go with a more affordable solution, like an under sink or countertop water filter?

As mentioned before, it is important to first test your water to have an idea of the water contaminants of your water. Not all tap water and well water are safe, as they can be contaminated by different local sources, from industrial compounds to agricultural components. This will help you to understand if you need a whole house water filter, and which contaminants the filter needs to remove.

If your water has a bad taste and/or smell, a whole house water filter can be a good solution as this is usually caused by water contamination. 

Another good reason to choose a whole house filter is if you and your family are currently buying bottled water. Moving to drink filtered water instead of bottled water, will save you money and will also have a positive environmental impact, as you will no longer generate lots of plastic waste.

If in general the quality of your water is acceptable, and you only want filtered water to drink and cook, you can probably choose another type of water filter. But if your water is heavily contaminated and you need to deal with the contaminants for the divisions of your house, a whole house water filter is the best choice.

Whole House Water Filter Installation

The complexity of the installation may depend on the brand, type, and size, but typically these are the 6 steps required to install a Whole House water filter system:

Step #1 – Turn off the water:

The initial step of a whole house water filter installation is to turn off the main water source and drain the water from the system.

Step #2 – Choose the water filter location:

Then, you need to choose where you want to install the whole house water filter. Make sure you select a place with enough room to install the filter and that it is before the water enters the household.

Another factor to consider is to select a location that will be easy to access to change the filter cartridges in the near future.

Step #3 – Cut the water pipe:

After selecting the place to connect the water filter, cut the pipe using a pipe cutter. You can use a bucket to get any water that might leak from the pipes.

Step #4 – Connect fittings:

Depending on the water filter, you may need to use plastic or brass fittings. You should use Teflon tape on the fittings to seal them.

In this step, it is better to check the manufacturer’s guide to make sure you are following the correct method and using the right materials.

Step #5 – Install the water filter:

Now install the whole house water filter, connecting its “In” and “Out” ports to the correct pipes. The “In” port should be connected to the side where the water pipe is coming from the exterior and the “Out” to the inside of your home.

Step #6 – Turn on the water:

In the last step, you want to check if everything is working properly. So, just turn on the water and check if there are no leaks.

If you have a shut-off valve, make sure it is diverted to the whole house water filter.

Whole House Water Filter Maintenance

To maintain a whole house water filtration system working properly, you will need to replace the filter according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Typically, these are the necessary steps to replace a whole house water filter:

• Turn off the inlet valve of the water filter
• Unscrew the housing of the filter with a wrench
• Remove the filter
• Clean the inside of the housing
• Insert the new filter
• Screw the housing back, again using a wrench
• Turn back on the inlet valve
• Let the water run for a few minutes before using the filtered water

FAQ About Whole House Water Filters

Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about whole house water filters.

What is the cost of a whole house water filter?

Let’s be clear, typically a whole house water filter is not cheap. But there are different options available, so the cost range can vary from a few hundred dollars to more than two thousand dollars.

Can I install a whole house water filter myself?

Installing a whole house water filter is not as simple as installing other types of water filters, like countertop water filters.

That being said, as you can check on the previous section about “Whole House Water Filter Installation”, you just need to complete 6 steps that are not that difficult if you have some basic DYI skills.

Make sure you follow the detailed instructions provided by the manufacturer of your whole house water filtration system, and you should be able to install it by yourself.

Do I really need a whole house water filtration system?

If you are currently using well water, or if you live in an area where the water has harmful contaminants, then a whole house water filter system is a suitable option for you, because you need to protect your family from contact with unhealthy impurities, like sediments, bacteria, chemicals, heavy metals, etc.

Another reason to buy a whole house water filter is that it will significantly improve the quality of your home water, which will make your family want to drink more water because it will taste better, and it will also improve the health of your skin and hair.

Our Verdict

Clean and healthy water is fundamental to our health, and a whole house water filter can ensure that all the water in your home is clean of harmful contaminants.

You are now aware of the important factors to look out for when buying a whole house water filter, and you should also know the best options available in the market, and how they suit different situations.

For us, the best overall choice is the Aquasana EQ-1000 Whole House Water Filter, but all the whole house water filters we have in our top are great options, so you can’t go wrong with any of them!