Choosing the Right Whole House Water Filter for Your Well Water: A Buyer’s Guide

Need to choose the right whole house water filter for well water in your New Hampshire home? Whether you’re new to the battle waging in the NH environment for clean drinking water — you may be just buying your first home! — or you’ve been in it since the first mention of PFAS in Merrimack or at the firefighter training center, there are a few things you need to know about our local water sources, especially if you have a well and use groundwater for your home:

• Nearly half of all Granite State residents obtain their water from a well.
• Dug wells are more likely to have bacteria, low pH, road salt, and nitrate issues.
• Depending on where you live — even within the same town — different wells can have variations on which contaminants are detected, which changes how you need to eliminate the risk!

Let’s take a deeper dive into why you need well water filtration, the different types of water filtration systems, and how they differ in helping you have the best quality long term.

Why you need a whole house water filter in New Hampshire

Well water filtration is essential in New Hampshire for a few different reasons. From removing contaminants to regulatory compliance for homes and loans, you must ensure your family consumes safe drinking water. Here are a few reasons to shop for the best whole home water filtration system for you.

1. Salt From the Roads. Sodium and chloride from salt used on roads during winter weather or used in drinking water treatment systems are detected in many residential wells, and statewide concentrations in groundwater are generally increasing.
2. Agricultural Runoff. Many NH towns that use private wells are rural and have a significant agricultural industry. From fertilizer to pesticides, large amounts of rain and snow can move these chemicals from their intended targets to various groundwater regions. Nitrate from septic systems and landscape fertilizer can be detected at levels of concern in residential wells.
3. Industrial Runoff. Poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are the most notable industrial runoff causing health issues in the Granite State. It is in products that are used in domestic, commercial, institutional, and industrial settings. PFAS-based firefighting foam has also affected wells throughout New Hampshire. Still, the PFAS problems are more frequently detected at elevated levels in southern New Hampshire, closer to the Saint-Gobain site. The right filtration system can help remove these contaminants.
4. Natural Contaminant Removal. Common elemental contaminants include radon, arsenic, nitrates, bacteria, viruses, and more. You can ensure your family is safe from these carcinogenic compounds.

Factors to consider when choosing a whole house water filter for well water

When shopping for a whole home water filter, you must consider your specific water quality issues after you conduct a water test, as different systems do better at getting rid of particular contaminants. Also, you must consider your flow rate when installing the system to ensure that your home maintains sufficient water supply and system efficiency to keep the system working at optimal levels! Since this purchase should last your family for years to come, consider future expansion or changes to the home before installing a whole home filtration system. The last thing to take into account is your budget. While you could choose a lower-cost solution, it will often only tackle some of the chemical contamination issues or may not last as long as you need. Be sure to choose the best quality and most comprehensive solution you can afford to keep your home and your water running at optimal levels for years to come.

The five most common types of water filters

When choosing the right filtration system for your well, you have options! The most common filtration systems include activated carbon filters, sediment filters, reverse osmosis, ultraviolet (UV), and water softeners. Here is more about each of these kinds of filtration systems and their pros and cons.

Sediment Filters

These filtration systems are made of pleated polyester, paper, ceramic, polypropylene, acrylic fiber, glass fiber, polyester, spun cellulose, or rayon.

Pros: They can do the hard work of removing sand, silt, and other sediment as the water passes through the filter. They can be installed at either the point of entry or at a specific point of use. Cons: While these filtration systems are affordable and easy to install, they do not remove all chemical contaminants or microorganisms like bacteria. The sediment pre-filter also may need to be frequently replaced (every 3-6 months) to maintain effectiveness. We do not offer these systems due to their low effectiveness and maintenance requirements.

Carbon Filters

Carbon filters, made with activated carbon, absorb and remove contaminants such as chlorine, volatile organic compounds or VOCs, some chemicals, and pesticides. You can install them at the point of entry (for whole home filtration) or point of use.

Pros: This filtration can improve the taste and odor of your water, removing many chemical carcinogens as well as organic compounds. as they have a pretty long lifespan, they are relatively affordable for the amount of filtration they can offer.

Cons: The only cons are that they may require periodic Replacements to continue being effective. But compared to other filtration systems, they definitely don’t have to be maintained as often.

NH Tap created a proprietary well water filtration system that eliminates 99% of toxins, including PFAS. The NH Tap Absolute™ Well Water Filtration System is a series of specialized filtration systems, specifically chosen to remove the contaminants found in your well. Each Absolute™ unit in your system targets a single contaminant — ensuring clean water for a longer service life at an unmatched price.

And the NH Tap Pure™ PFAS Filtration System is an ideal solution for your Well Water Filtration System needs. Remove all trace elements of PFAS with a superior carbon filtration media.

Reverse Osmosis Filters

Reverse osmosis or RO systems are unique in that they use a semi-permeable membrane to eliminate many contaminants. As the water is forced through the membrane, only pure water molecules pass through while blocking bacteria, viruses, minerals, and other impurities.

Pros: Many people love using an RO system in their kitchen to produce high-quality drinking water with better taste, odor, and clarity.

Cons: These kinds of filtration are typically effective only at the point of use, not able to purify the water used for cleaning and bathing. They can be relatively expensive to use in comparison with other filtration systems that can purify the entire home’shome’s water. But this may be a viable option if you are a renter or cannot install a complete whole home system.

Our 4-Stage Reverse Osmosis (RO) system is better than a typical RO system because it removes 99% of leading contaminants and includes a superior water pressure regulator, automatic leak detector shut-off valve, and simpler filter changes.

Ultraviolet (UV) Disinfection Systems

The UV disinfection system uses a unique technology that takes ultraviolet light to kill bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms. The water passes through the UV chamber, exposing it to the UV light. If you are concerned about bacteria, this helps to provide safe drinking water for your well water home.

Pros: UV systems effectively eliminate many microorganisms without using chemicals to disinfect. They also require low maintenance, and they do not alter the chemical composition or the taste of the water.

Cons: UV systems don’tdon’t remove chemicals, heavy metals, or sediment. They must also be properly installed, with regular UV lamp replacements, to continue effectively treating the water.

The NH Tap Whole Home UV Water Purifier System is the most affordable and effective Whole House Water Sterilization System. It kills microbiological contaminants from your city or well water and provides safe water for you and your loved ones.

Water Softeners

Water Softeners use ion exchange to soften the water quality, removing hard minerals like calcium and magnesium from the water. When they remove the minerals, they inject sodium or potassium ions. These systems are typically installed at the point of entry.

Pros: If you’re struggling with hard water, water softeners will prevent scale buildup in your pipes, fixtures, and appliances, improving their efficiency and lifespan. You also will enjoy feeling cleaner and having softer skin as it increases the effectiveness of soap while limiting soap scum.

Cons: Water softeners cannot remove other contaminants. it also may add some sodium or potassium while requiring regular replenishment of salt pellets. Note: Our company provides regular maintenance of water softeners to eliminate additional stress to the homeowner.

The NH Tap’sTap’s smart water softener system is more reliable and virtually maintenance-free. Enjoy a full-service water softener solution from installation to regular salt exchanges.

Choosing the Right Whole Home Filtration System

When you want to ensure safe and clean drinking water for your home, working with the most experienced business is so important. Your water experts at NH Tap work only with New Hampshire clients and have created specific solutions targeted at New Hampshire water needs. Our incredible whole home filtration systems are the most effective, eliminating over 99% of contaminants. Contact our team today to get your water tested or review your water test results. We can help you determine which whole home filtration system is the best fit for your well water needs.