[grps556]

My wife and I are just about ready to purchase some filtration systems from you, but wanted to get your advice first. Our goals are to have good tasting water and to preserve the life of our appliances (water heater, dish washer, etc.). To accomplish this task, we've been considering a whole house filtration system to remove sediment and an under the sink system to improve the drinking water's taste. We did a test on our water last night which checked the levels of nitrates, nitrites, copper, iron, and chlorine. In addition, it showed us the pH level, the alkalinity, and degree of hardness. In our case, most levels seemed acceptable, with the pH being a bit high (a 9) and the hardness being off the chart (more than 25 grains/425 ppm). Based on the research I've done so far, it looks like the Pentex US 1500 system would be good for under the sink. However, I'm a bit confused about a whole house system. My questions are:


1. Is a water softener necessary in order to extend the life of our appliances and improve the taste of our drinking water?


2. If a water softener is necessary, would you recommend a separate system, or would something like the BBFS-22 with a WS-20BB water softener filter and a sediment filter be acceptable?


3. Given our water quality and your recommendations in questions 1 and 2, would the Pentex US 1500 system be the one you'd suggest for under the sink? If not, which system do you recommend (we'd prefer to stay away from reverse osmosis systems due to the large amount of waste water involved)?


4. Lastly (thanks for your patience), which filters would you recommend for whichever under the sink system you'd go with in question 3?