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Looking for ways to purify your home’s water without breaking the bank?
We’ve got you covered.
After testing countless filtration systems and components over the years, our team at Filtered Water Guide discovered that building your own whole house water filter can be both effective and budget-friendly.
We’ll share our professional expertise to help you create a customized filtration system that delivers clean, safe water throughout your home.
Drawing from our extensive experience in water filtration, we’ll walk you through the essential steps of designing a DIY whole house water filter (also known as whole-home or point of entry water filters).
We’ll show you how to select the right components based on thorough water testing and help you build a system that meets your specific needs while keeping costs manageable.
When it comes to whole house water filtration, going the DIY route offers several compelling advantages. Our team has thoroughly evaluated both pre-built and DIY systems, and here’s what we’ve found:
Through our extensive testing and evaluation, we’ve identified several factors you should carefully consider:
Based on our professional experience, DIY whole house filtration works best for those with basic plumbing knowledge and willingness to thoroughly test their water supply first.
If this doesn’t sound like you, we suggest exploring a quality whole house water filter instead. Many manufacturers offer flexible payment plans that make professional systems more accessible.
Let’s walk through the essential steps we’ve refined through years of hands-on experience:
This isn’t just a suggestion – it’s absolutely crucial. Here’s why we insist on thorough testing:
Store-bought systems often include components to remove a broad spectrum of contaminants, which explains their higher cost.
For example, if a manufactured system includes iron filtration but your water contains no iron, you’re paying for unnecessary components. Through proper testing, you can eliminate unneeded filtration stages and reduce costs significantly.
Our experience has shown that basic home test kits don’t provide enough detail. We strongly recommend using a quality laboratory test kit for comprehensive testing your home’s water. These kits provide precise analysis of numerous contaminants, giving you the accurate data needed to design an effective system.
After extensive testing, we’ve found that the test kits made by a company called ‘Tap Score’ offer exceptional value and accuracy. Their process is straightforward: order online, collect your water sample using the provided vials, and ship it back in their prepaid envelope.
Within days, you’ll receive detailed email results that help identify which contaminants need targeting in your filtration system.
Through our installations, we’ve compiled a comprehensive list of tools and materials you’ll need beyond basic plumbing knowledge:
Building an effective DIY whole house water filter requires careful consideration of component placement and sequencing. Based on our testing, we recommend a minimum three-stage system for most applications.
When designing your system, you’ll need to consider the specific contaminants in your water and arrange filtration components accordingly. We’ve found this multi-stage approach provides the most effective filtration while maintaining good water pressure throughout your home.
Through years of testing various configurations, we’ve learned that a sediment pre-filter is absolutely essential as the first stage of any whole house system. Here’s why we insist on this:
A quality sediment filter acts as your system’s guardian, screening out larger particles before they can reach more specialized filter media. This strategic placement significantly extends the life of your downstream filters.
In our testing, we’ve found that sediment pre-filters with a 40-50 micron pore size offer the ideal balance between effective filtration and flow rate. These filters excel at removing:
For well water systems, we strongly recommend using a ‘spin-down’ sediment filter. Our field testing has shown these are much easier to maintain and provide consistent performance over time.
After extensive testing in our lab, we’ve found that the Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) filtration stage is a crucial component of any DIY whole house water filter system.
Our field tests consistently show that GAC excels at catching those stubborn fine sediment particles that manage to slip past your sediment prefilter.
Based on our professional experience, we strongly recommend installing a GAC filter with a 20-micron pore size.
This specific pore size has proven ideal in our testing for improving your water’s overall quality – effectively removing chlorine taste and odor while enhancing clarity
Through our extensive testing process, we’ve discovered that adding a CTO (Coconut Shell Carbon) filter as your secondary whole-house carbon filtration stage delivers exceptional results.
One key benefit we’ve confirmed in our flow rate tests is that CTO filters maintain stronger water pressure throughout your home compared to other carbon-based options.
From our extensive water quality analysis, we recommend choosing a CTO filter with a 5-micron pore size.
This specification hits the sweet spot – our lab results show it’s highly effective at removing chlorine while also filtering out harmful contaminants like volatile organic compounds (VOCs), pesticides, and various chemical pollutants.
Important Filter Size Guidance
Based on our extensive field testing, we’ve found that proper filter size selection is crucial for optimal system performance.
While carbon filters are available in sizes down to 1-micron, we strongly recommend following standard size recommendations.
Through our installations, we’ve discovered that using progressively smaller pore sizes in your carbon filtration stages can significantly impact your home’s water pressure.
For reliable water pressure in an average home, our testing shows you’ll want to maintain a flow rate of 8-20 GPM through your DIY system.
We recommend focusing on achieving good baseline water quality throughout your home with your whole-house system.
For superior drinking water, our experience shows that adding a quality under-sink filter, countertop unit, water pitcher, or similar point-of-use filter provides the best results.
After countless installations, here are our proven tips for setting up your DIY whole-house filtration system:
Remember, these guidelines cover basic whole-house filtration setup.
For enhanced water quality, we often recommend additional components like water softeners, UV purification systems, KDF 55 media, and specialized filters for specific issues such as iron removal and whole-house fluoride filters.
Our years of experience have shown that DIY whole-house filtration systems offer excellent flexibility.
While you can create complex custom setups, we’ve found that costs can escalate quickly with advanced configurations.
When prices climb too high, pre-manufactured whole-house systems often provide better value.
We regularly recommend keeping your DIY system straightforward and pairing it with a good reverse osmosis filter or high-quality carbon point-of-use filter.
This combination consistently delivers improved water quality throughout your home while ensuring exceptional drinking water quality after project completion.
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