How Do I Know If My Water Filter Is Working?

Conduct a Post-Treatment Test.

The Full Performance Test is the only way to evaluate the filter whereas the Post-Treatment Test will not tell you about the effectiveness of the filter, but whether or not your water is safe to drink. When conducting either test, it is important to send your water samples to an accredited water testing laboratory and to pick a water testing package that makes sense for you. Contact us if you want help picking the best water test for your needs:

Steps to Performance Testing Your Water Filter

1. Ordering Your Testing Kit 

Once you have decided which test you would like to conduct, you are ready to order your testing kit(s).  

• If you get your water from the city/public utility, consider using either the Essential City Water Test, Advanced City Water Test, or Extended City Water Test.
  

• If you get your water from a private well, consider using either the Essential Well Water Test, or Extended Well Water Test. 

Each test measures an array of different contaminants, so you should choose which test will best evaluate your filter’s effectiveness based on the contaminants that it claims to remove.

2. Preparing to Test 

If you choose to conduct either a Full Performance or Post-Treatment Test, we advise running the test shortly after installing a fresh filter and/or cleaning your system. This ensures that you’re getting your filter’s best performance data. You can expect the filter’s performance to degrade over time (typically over several months for a busy home).

If you’re particularly worried about your filter’s performance over time, then collect your water samples after the filter has been in use for several weeks or months. 

3. Testing Your Water Filter 

To test your water filter, simply follow the instructions detailed in the testing kit that you have ordered. If you are conducting a Full Performance Test, collect one sample of water before it enters your filter and one sample that has passed through your filter. If you are conducting a Post-Treatment Test, collect your water sample after the water has passed through your filter. 

• For example, if your water is treated using a point-of-entry unit in your garage and the pipes throughout your house are old and contain lead, then your “treated” water can become recontaminated as it travels through your home’s plumbing. 

You are not using the right type of filter to remove the desired contaminants.

• Not all filters are equal. Different treatment technology is suitable for different types of water quality and different contaminants. See here to learn more about water treatment and filter selection. 

Reasons Why Your Filter Isn’t Working Over Time

Your filter (or membrane) is broken, ripped, or torn and has sustained extensive wear and tear. 

• If you collected your sample without first replacing your filter beforehand, then it’s possible a break in your membrane or filters could be making it easy for water (especially under pressure) to choose the path of least resistance–the path untreated! 

Your water filter is “used up”. 

• Over time, contaminants may have collected on the surface area of the filter media until all (or most) of that surface area is covered with pollutants. When this happens, the filter must either be replaced or backwashed in order to continue removing contaminants. 

Your filter has bacteria growing in or on it. 

• Microbial growth can reduce filter performance by blocking adsorption, creating breakthrough and contaminant conduits or otherwise overwhelming the filter with other burdens.