You’ve made your decision and there’s no going back. This is the year that you’re buying a new water treatment system no matter what. Maybe you just got tired of the smell your clothes were always giving off after you pulled them from the dryer. Maybe you’re done with tasting metal every time you get up for a glass of water. Regardless of the reason, you’ve had enough.

But before you hop on the phone and buy the most comprehensive water treatment system on the market, there are at least 3 important factors that you may want to consider.

The Reason Why You’re Considering a Water Treatment System

If there was one approach to water treatment that could rule them all, you wouldn’t have to pick and choose your system.

As a result, you could change your water treatment system because you don’t like the taste of your tap water, but it’s probably cheaper to address that with a filtered water pitcher. However, if your problem is that your house has hard water in it, your solution is more likely to be a water softener than a filter.

If you’re clear on the issues you’re fixing, it’s a lot easier to find solutions that make sense for your situation and for your wallet.

What Kind of Chemicals You Have in Your Water

Picture this.

At first, you were just trying to change the taste of your water. But after doing some investigating, you discover chlorine in your water supply. On paper, this would make a granulated active carbon (GAC) filter seem like an easy solution.

But that’s not the full story. The Minnesota Department of Health observes that a GAC filter isn’t able to filter out iron or nitrate. Nobody wants to spend months or years drinking water with harmful contaminants because they picked the wrong filter.

That’s why it’s important to understand that your filtering needs may change depending on the chemicals you’re trying to remove.

Your Budget

The cost of a water treatment system can sometimes go beyond buying the raw material components themselves.

A whole-house system, for example, may require modifications to your plumbing as well as the help of a water treatment system installation expert. At the same time, however, a filtered water pitcher isn’t going to do much if the hard water in your home is taking a toll on your water pipes and your skin.

Depending on your finances, you may have to work around budget constraints or save until you can implement the solution you need. But, depending on your needs, you may have more leeway in terms of cost than you think.

Conclusion

Whether your issue is tastes or the recent discovery of potentially harmful contaminants, a water treatment system isn’t the type of purchase that most people make lightly.

Installation of a water treatment system alone could require anything from creating counter space for your new water filter to making a total overhaul of your current plumbing.

So how do you avoid being the homeowner who finds out halfway through the install that they need something different? You explore your options before the installation begins.