Whole house water filtration system vs reverse osmosis

Written by: Gene Fitzgerald // Last Updated: Oct 11, 2022

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With the evolution of water filtering technology, there are now a wide variety of options available. While this provides people with plenty of flexibility when it comes to setting up a filtering system that meets their needs, it doesn’t help when they don’t know which filter works best for them in the first place.

Take whole house water filters and reverse osmosis systems for instance. Both are powerful. But which one should you use for your household?

That’s what we will answer for you in this article. We’ll discuss whole house and reverse osmosis water filter systems including their types, benefits, differences, and which one is best for you.

Contents

• Whole house water filter
• Reverse osmosis system
• Differences and commonalities of whole house water filtration systems and reverse osmosis systems
• Whole house water filters vs RO systems – which is right for me?

Key Takeaways

• Reverse osmosis systems are usually used as point-of-use filters. Whole house filtration systems always work at the point-of-entry (providing your entire home with clean water).
• An RO system is intended for purifying drinking water. The purification process is highly effective at removing a broad range of contaminants. Whole house water filters are mainly used to protect your home’s plumbing system and appliances.
• A whole house filter has an average flow rate of 10 gallons per minute, while an RO system produces less than 100 gallons a day.

Whole House Water Filter

A whole house water filter, also known as a point-of-entry water filter, is a system that’s installed where your main water line enters your home. This way, you can filter all the water going into your home through a single system instead of using separate filters for the house’s different rooms and water outlets.

Types

There’s a wide variety of whole house systems that differ by the process they use to filter water. These are:

• Sediment filters: Sediment filters target floating particles like clay, debris, sand, and flecks of rust. They work like a physical barrier for sediment.
• Activated carbon filters: The most popular type of whole house filter. They remove chlorine, herbicides, pesticides, and other chemicals using activated charcoal.
• Catalytic activated carbon: These filters are great for removing chloramines and other more stubborn chemicals which cannot be removed using activated carbon.
• Kinetic degradation fluxion filters: KDF filters are made up of a combination of copper and zinc and use electron oxidation and reduction to remove chlorine, lead, mercury, and other elements from water.
• Ion exchange filters: These filters separate certain ions from water.
• Iron, manganese, and sulfur filters: These come in 3 types depending on their filtering method: Aeration, air injection, or chemical oxidation.
• Calcite filters (acid neutralizers): Calcite systems balance your water’s pH level through natural minerals.
• Activated alumina: A system mainly used for water with high fluoride or arsenic. AA filters use aluminum hydroxide to absorb the contaminants.
• Ultrafiltration: Ultrafiltration uses mechanical barriers that remove particles as small as 0.02 microns.
• Ultraviolet light filters (UV): Chemical-free filters that kill bacteria and other pathogens through exposure to UV light. However, they don’t remove contaminants from the water.

Benefits

While the specifics will vary slightly depending on the filtering method used, you can expect these general benefits from using a whole house water filter:

• Filtered water everywhere in your home: A whole house filter system will assure you clean water from any faucet in your home.
• Better taste and smell for your water: Your water will look, taste, and smell better thanks to reduced contaminants like chlorine, sulfide, and heavy metals.
• No more need for bottled water: Reduce your waste footprint by doing away with water bottles.
• Protects your appliances and pipes: Your plumbing and appliances will last much longer thanks to reduced clogging and rust.
• Reduced repair costs: Protecting your water appliances and plumbing will also reduce your related maintenance costs.
• Healthier hair and skin: Clean water doesn’t only help your appliances; it does wonders for your body too.
• Less maintenance: Whole house filters often require less maintenance than other water filter options.
• Long-term benefits: With a whole house filter, you’ll save money on bottled water, improve your family’s health, raise the value of your property, and improve the usable life of your appliances.

Reverse Osmosis System

Treating water with reverse osmosis consists of using pressure to push water molecules through a semipermeable membrane, lowering the concentration of contaminants in the water, if not outright removing them entirely. The process typically works to remove contaminants like fluoride, lead, nitrates and sulfates, and pesticides.

This process is normally combined with other types of filtration, such as sediment or carbon filters, to achieve optimal water quality.

Types

RO systems can be categorized by their application or type of membrane.

There are two types of reverse osmosis membrane: Thin film composite (TFC) and cellulose triacetate (CTA). The former is better at dealing with standard contaminants in general, with a 98% effectiveness rate, but it can’t handle chlorine. The latter is less effective at dealing with contaminants (93%) but can handle chlorine better.

As for RO system application, there are three different types:

• Under the sink units: As the name implies, under sink RO systems are installed under a kitchen sink and connected to the cold water supply. Traditionally they have their own water tank with a dedicated faucet. They usually cost between $200 to $400.
• Countertop units: These are tankless systems that are connected directly to a faucet. While they can filter on demand, they have lower and slower flow rates. You can find a countertop RO filter for less than $200.
• Whole house units: RO filters also come in whole house sizes. These are installed at the main water line to filter water for the entire home. Additionally, they require a large storage tank and at least one pump to help maintain water pressure since RO filtering is a slow process. Depending on the size of your home, whole house reverse osmosis systems can easily be priced in the thousands.

Benefits

Among the many benefits of using an RO filter, you can find:

1. Highly effective contaminant removal: RO filters are good at their job. They can remove as much as 98% of contaminants like sodium, fluoride, chloride, mercury, lead, calcium, sulfate, and so on.
2. Energy efficient: Traditional RO filters don’t require any extra power.
3. Save you money: Like whole house filters, RO systems will help you save money on bottled water.

Differences and Commonalities of Whole House Water Filtration Systems and Reverse Osmosis Systems

There are a few differences between whole house water filters and reverse osmosis systems. For one, RO filters are usually used as point-of-use filters, while whole house systems are always point-of-entry – naturally, since they handle very different flows of water, they also have differences in their intended use.

An RO filter is intended for purifying drinking or cooking water, and whole house filters are mainly used for bathrooms, cleaning, or gardening. A whole house filter has an average flow rate of 10 gallons per minute, while an RO filter can only do somewhere around 30 to 90 gallons per day.

Finally, when it comes to their filtration capabilities, RO filters can remove pollutants down to 0.0001 microns, while whole house filters have much larger micron ratings typically ranging from 5 to 50.

Whole House Water Filters vs RO Systems – Which Is Right for Me?

So, whole house water filter vs reverse osmosis system – which is right for you?

Well, there’s no universally correct answer, as this will depend on your water quality and what kind of filtering you need. You also have to consider your budget, as whole house systems would be significantly more expensive than a point-of-use unit like a reverse osmosis filter.

In general, RO systems are much more powerful, so if your main concern is drinking water for your kitchen, then they are a solid choice. However, your pipes and appliances and other parts of your home won’t receive the benefits of filtering.

Whole house water filtration, on the other hand, will give you clean water that you can use for a wide variety of things, such as cleaning and showering, while also protecting your plumbing and appliances.

You could opt for a whole house RO system to get the best of both worlds, but that would be a pricey choice.

How to Achieve Complete Water Filtration

If you want the most thorough filtration possible, you shouldn’t choose between one system or the other. Instead, you should combine a whole house water filter with a point-of-use RO system so that they can counteract their weaknesses.

If you have any questions about whole house water filters vs reverse osmosis systems please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below!

About the Author Gene Fitzgerald

Gene Fitzgerald has been with BOS since the very beginning. She is head of content creation and has fully immersed herself into the home water treatment industry only to become an expert herself. Outside of BOS, Gene loves reading books on philosophy & social issues, making music, and hiking.
Learn more about Gene and the rest of the BOS Team.

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