We’ve told our fellow Houstonians about the importance of having good water quality in the home. We’ve talked about hard water versus soft water, and recommended a water softener to get rid of the minerals and other rough particles that clog up pipes and appliances and ruin clothes and dishes. But remember: water quality doesn’t stop there. Read on to find out why!

Even though it’s true that Houston water meets the EPA’s standards and carries a certification that deems it drinkable, there are still some minerals, chemicals, and even bacteria in there that a water softener or a fixed-point filter cannot tackle alone. These can all cause health problems and can shorten the life of your appliances.

Benefits of a Whole House Water Filtration System in Houston

“Your water carries things like arsenic, copper, lead, and zinc,” Joe Bany said, senior manager and master plumber for John Moore Services. “There is also coliform, which is fecal matter. We recycle our water through the system, so there is animal fecal that runs through and gets into the water at the plant, which then gets back into your home. Chloramine is in there too. It’s basically chlorine on steroids, which has been beefed up with ammonia to help it live longer through the system so it kills viruses and bacteria, but there are a lot of chemicals that they add to the water to kill these bacteria that end up making it to your house.”

Wait a minute, did he say fecal matter? That’s an eyebrow-raiser, to say the least.

According to a study by the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Geological Survey, seven chemicals classified as carcinogens were detected in water samples throughout the country at higher concentrations than Maximum Contaminant Level’s (MCL) in both private and public wells. They areTrichloroethene, Ethylene Dibromide, Methylene Chloride, Dibromochloropropane, Perchloroethene, 1,2-Dichloropropane, and Vinyl Chloride. If those words don’t mean much to you, don’t worry, because what’s important is this: all seven are associated with problems in the liver, increased risk of cancer and some can even cause reproductive problems. All have the potential to get into your glass of water, your skin, or your family’s home cooked meal.

Chemicals such as these and other pollutants are in Houston’s main water system, so they are in your household water supply, too. Bany said that one of the known chemicals found in our Houston water is arsenic, which studies have shown increases the risk of bladder, lung, skin, kidney and liver cancer, as well as harming the nervous system and causing birth defects and other reproductive problems. The best solution to have the cleanest and safest water for you and your family is to have a whole house water filtration system in your home.

A whole house water filter installed by a certified technician is connected to the water line that goes in your house and filters all of the water in your home right at the source, ridding it comletely of all those gross, harmful pollutants. That means that every single outlet for water in your home — faucets, baths, showers, kitchen and washing machine — use only filtered, pure water. There are two great whole house filters that a John Moore Services technician can install to have you on your way to a 100% filtered home:

Non-regenerating Valve: This is a great option for people who rent homes. A John Moore tech will plug it into your water line and the filter cleans, cleans and cleans until it gets full of trash and then stops working. It is about a 500,000 gallon line, which is roughly a 5-year lifespan for an average family. Around the 5-year mark, all you have to do is call John Moore and a tech will be there in no time to get a new one up and running.

Regenerating Valve: This whole house filter has a 10-year lifespan. With this one, it doesn’t matter how many people live in your home or how much water you use because it cleans itself periodically. The system will get all dirty and then in the middle of the night it will backwash itself, and start the next morning with a clean filter.

Both work wonders and get rid of any chemicals and debris (and let’s not forget the animal feces!) completely from the water you use every day for the things that matter to you most. It will keep your laundry clean and your dishes scum-free since you won’t have harsh chemicals and hard minerals wearing them away.

Bany said that Houston is way behind the curve when it comes to dealing with its water. If you live in an older home and you have galvanized pipes, the water is so corrosive that it eats the pipes from the inside out. Different areas of town have higher PH, or acidity, levels than others. If you have copper pipes, that high PH will turn them into tarnished, blue-green pipes. If you ever notice some black rubber floating around inside your toilet tank, that’s the chlorine forming and eating at the rubber. That’s why your faucets drip after they get old, won’t turn off at all or why the toilet starts to run. That’s what chemicals are doing to the working parts of your plumbing system.

A whole house water filter also protects you if the city’s main water system encounters problems like breakdowns or contaminations.

“A couple of years ago we had the water main break, so those guys went down and put it all back together real fast and turned the water back on,” Bany said. “Well, that sent water with dirt, rock and other debris into people’s houses which gets into a faucet, toilet, washing machine, you name it.”

Say goodbye to drinking and showering in contaminated water!

Faucet filters will give you clean water, but the problem is that you don’t really know when they stop working. If they malfunction you won’t know if you are getting filtered water or not. Even then, you are still washing your clothes, hair and body with the same water.

“If you took your shower head off and looked at what was in there, I guarantee that you would say, ‘Holy cow, that’s going on my head while I’m showering!” Bany said.

Bottled water is fine for drinking, but what about the water you use for showering, bathing and laundry? Not to mention that constantly buying and re-buying bottled water and frequently replacing sink faucet filters can be more costly in the long run. You would spend just as much on bottled water in one year as you would on a filter system that lasts five years. A whole house filter will ensure you are not only drinking, but also using pure water 24 hours, 7 days a week. It will even get rid of weird-smelling water (remember that rotten-egg smell?) and it will taste better too!

By now you have learned the dangers that contaminated water can bring and the many benefits that come with a whole house filtration system. Remember, the most important thing is your health. Bany asks an important question:

“If chemicals in your water are doing that to your pipes, and you consume it on a regular basis, what’s it doing to you?”

Don’t find out! Choose a complete solution that will guarantee that every drop of water in your house is pure. Frankly, we can’t think of anything better than a John Moore Services whole house water filter, which will do exactly that.