Water Filter Buying Guide



The best water filter will have:

  • A good flow rate
  • Filter out a good amount of chlorine per minute, for example a good figure is 7.8-9.7l/min
  • Have a good micron rating
  • NSF approval
  • the ability to filter out all your contaminants
  • Brass fittings

When you buy a water filter you must make sure know:

  • How many litres/minute it filters chlorine
  • How many microns it is
  • If it is approved by NSF
  • the cost of replacement cartridges and maintenence

A good place to start is to ask the sales rep for these figures. If they are not stated in their marketing information then they are probably an inferior product that do not want to admit it!

Micron Rating

The micron is a unit of measumerment. The micron rating describes the size of a particle that will fit through a filter medium. For example bacteria are 0.004 to -0.1 microns, therefore they will not pass through a filter of this rating or less. The lower the number in the rating, the cleaner the water will be. The micron rating shows how effective the filter is.

Unfortunately, normally the lower the micron rating means a denser filter. This will often slow the flow rate.

Flow Rate

Flow rate describes the amount of water that can flow through the filter. A good flow rate is usually between 7.5lt/min-9.7lt/min. A good way to consider the flow rate, is it is the rate at which the filter can rid the water or solvent of chlorine. Basically a faster flow rate requires a larger filter.

A good filter will have an effective micron rating, with a reasonable flow rate. 

Eg. Micron rating with 0.5 and flow rate of 7.5-9.7lt/min, accredited by the NSF, is a really good quality filter

Information you need to know when choosing a water filter

To get the right water filter for you, you need to know:

  • What is in your tap water?
  • What is your water source?
  • What is in your local annual water report?
  • What contaminants do you need filtered?
  • Do you need a whole house or point of use filter/s
  • How much do you want to spend?
  • What flow rate do you require?

First of all, you need to know what is in your tap water. Does it contain any dangerous and unregulated chemicals? You can find out by doing a simple test at home, find out more HERE.

Some at home tests are not incredibly accurate. You can back up your knowledge by consulting your local municipal water report, you can look online or ask your local  council/commune or government department. We have many available HERE.

Knowing exactly where your water comes from is also important. The Nature Conservacy has a brilliant resource, where you click on the map where you live and they provide you with your local water sources, find out more HERE.

Once you know what contaminants there are, you can consult this chart and look at what organisms and elements the different water filters can remove. Check out the water filter comparissons table HERE.

Find out what contaminants are and what health effects they have HERE

Make sure the water filter you intend to buy is certified. Water filters are certified for a good reason, they are tested properly and you know what you are getting. Find out about the certification bodies HERE.

Need to know how they rate and certify water filters, find out HERE.

Find out who is responsible for monitoring your water, HERE

For any more information, or if you are simply too busy to do this yourself CONTACT US for more information or a recommendation on the water filter that is right for you, HERE