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Water · Best-of

Best Whole-House Water Filter

Bottom line

Most whole-house filters reduce chlorine and sediment well but are not system-certified for health contaminants - pair one with a certified point-of-use filter for drinking water.

A whole-house filter treats every tap in the home, mainly for chlorine, sediment, and taste - good for showers and laundry as much as the kitchen. Here's the catch to know going in: many are built from NSF-certified media but aren't certified as a complete system, which are not the same thing. We score what the system as a whole can actually back up, not just the parts inside it.

How we score: We rank whole-house systems by overall score and call out plainly whether a unit is certified by its media only or as a complete system - the distinction that decides what it can really claim.

  1. 13.7
    SpringWell CF1 Whole House

    The SpringWell CF1 Whole House is a whole house water filter. It carries no accredited NSF, WQA, or IAPMO certification - its contaminant claims are "tested to" lab results, not certifications. It is also marketed for chlorine taste and odor, chloramine, VOCs, PFAS, pesticides, herbicides, lead, arsenic, fluoride, for which we found no accredited third-party certification (so we award no certification credit; this is not a finding that it fails to reduce them). Running cost works out to about $0.000 per gallon.

    • Certified to reduce: nothing certified (claims are 'tested to' only)
    • Cartridge life: 1,000,000 gallons
    • Cost per gallon: $0.000
  2. 23.4
    Aquasana Rhino EQ-1000 Whole House

    The Aquasana Rhino EQ-1000 Whole House is a whole house water filter. It is third-party certified (WQA) to reduce . It is also marketed for chlorine taste and odor, chloramine, sediment, rust, VOCs, herbicides, pesticides, for which we found no accredited third-party certification (so we award no certification credit; this is not a finding that it fails to reduce them). Running cost works out to about $0.001 per gallon.

    • Certified to reduce: nothing certified (claims are 'tested to' only)
    • Cartridge life: 1,000,000 gallons
    • Cost per gallon: $0.001

FAQ

Does a whole-house filter remove lead or PFAS?
Most don't, and few are system-certified for health contaminants - so don't count on one to handle lead or PFAS on its own. The reliable setup is to keep the whole-house filter for chlorine and sediment, then add a point-of-use filter certified for that specific contaminant at your drinking tap.

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