How to Choose a Water Filter | Ask This Old House

Ask This Old House plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey explains the many options available for filtering drinking water. (See below for a shopping list and steps.)

Point-of-use filters, including pitcher-style, spout-style, Reverse Osmosis under sink filters, and whole-house filters with disposable cartridges are available at home centers and hardware stores. The whole-house filter that automatically cleans itself is the Braukmann filter, manufactured by Honeywell and available at specialty plumbing supply stores. The large, canister-style filter that is filled with different materials based on your local water quality is a solution installed by Culligan.

Cost:
$10 and up
Time:
5 minutes to 5 hours, depending on the filtration system
Difficulty:
Easy to Difficult. Depending on the filtration system

Shopping List for How to Choose a Water Filter:

Steps for How to Choose a Water Filter:
1. The simplest way to filter tap water is with a pitcher-style water filter, which has a granulated carbon filter that improves taste and odor, and removes some chlorine and sediment.
2. Faucet-mounted filters have a switch that diverts tap water through a granulated carbon filter. Turn on the switch for filtered drinking water; flip it off when washing dishes.
3. For greater water filtration convenience and capacity, install an under-sink, dual-filter system that has its own gooseneck faucet.
4. For optimum point-of-use filtration, consider a reverse-osmosis system. Water passes through a series of three filters, resulting in extremely clean, pure drinking water.
5. Whole-house water filters are installed near the water main and are ideal for delivering clean, filtered water to every faucet throughout the entire house.
6. There are a variety of filters available to remove a wide range of impurities.
7. Sediment filters contain a stainless-steel pre-screen filter and back-flush system that automatically cleans the filter.
8. For the highest level of water filtration, first have your tap water tested, then call in a water-treatment specialist to install a whole-house filtration system designed specifically to treat your water.

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How to Choose a Water Filter | Ask This Old House

[StewieGriffin]

This show is a national treasure. I'm so glad Bob Vila left this show ages ago.

[wameryllc]

You should always check the data chart of the product before buying one. There is a lot of marketing going on and many filters do not even have certificates. We produce water filter pitchers and we are glad to certify they trully work

[wolfpuppers]

As a totally inexperienced person, this video helped me out a ton! I learned so much.

[thelegendarykevininsales]

The whole house filter seems the best one option here for me. One stop, fix all. Changing the filter once a month is not a lot of work

[Roedygr]

Drink some of the water filtered by your candidate. No matter how expensive it is, it may taste revolting or be warm.
You have to fill the Brita filter once a day, but you can keep it nice and cold in the fridge.

[paulntraci]

Public water is perfectly safe. Yeah, tell that to the people in Flint, Michigan.

[barnandhome]

So much prep and effort for that video. Great show.

[Alphaofallalphas]

Top notch outfit "This Old House" program for decades with solid advice and knowledge. Thanks for water filtration systems, small level sys towhole house systems 👍👍👍 !!!

[XzTS-Roostro]

We had the City of OKC come over to our house to get a sample of our tap water because my mom didn't think it was clean... It's been over five years, and we never got our analysis results back.

[rogersim]

Great! So much information packed into a 4minute video. Those guys speak fast too!

[mark-]

Nothing can beat the taste of filtered water, in my house it's better than any other drink. With a healthy diet you do get all the minerals you need in the food you eat and with all the materials the filter took out as well . It's all for the delicious taste of the water.

[asnred-neck]

We got the RO system, … haven’t bought a bottle of water since the install(3years ago) …. Just doing our part..

[ICheat_ILie_ISteal]

For every gallon of water you clean.... You are flushing out 3-5gallon down the pipe. Depends on where you live that's about 0.030cent per 1gallon of water or $3+ per HCF.

If your family drink/use 10gallon a day you are looking at 300 a month. That's 900gallon of water down the pipe. 900x0.030cent= $27 a month. That's equal to 216 16oz bottle spring water(depends on brand).

If your tap water is below 80 TDS, you can save money by removing the RO membrane and use just the filters. Removing the copper taste/ bleach taste and filtering out any rust but still keep all those beneficial minerals.

[Fickoch]

Thank you for this - learned about the water waste of that particular RO system- much appreciated🙏👆

[byzidjhan]

You guys are doing amazing jobs. Quick notes, it would've been nice if guys ran some electronic water PPM tester on it to see before and after water result. Wondering which system to pick for the entire hous.

[tdmjason]

I have a prefilter that filters water going into a water softener going into a 3 stage under sink for drinking.

[ElegantCabinetsTV]

I love this show. It never gets old. Keep up the great work!

[mvblitzyo]

love this channel just had my water tested ..

[kunj]

Should consider the cost of replacement filter every 6 to 8 months or so. It can get very expensive in a hurry. Although, there are some filter replacements are available at a reasonable cost nowadays.Do your research in replacements filter costs before you plunge in to buy. RO systems tends to be more expensive in replacements filters and it also waste 2 to 3 gallons of water each day to produce filtered water. This process can get very expensive.

[SigmaTech]

That's actually very informative. I personally trust tap water- it's completely safe and all, but I absolutely HATE the taste. But I LOVE enjoying clean water! Now I know how you get that pure water taste! It's reverse osmosis rather than carbon filters!