To choose the best whole-house filter out of the 42 options I reviewed, I used Drinking Water’s seven-point review process and received critical feedback and industry insight from our in-house water quality expert, James Layton.
Here are our recommendations:
Best Overall Whole-House Water Filter: SpringWell CF1 (9.7/10)
The SpringWell CF1 is the best whole-house water filter on the market because of its effectiveness against the most harmful and common contaminants in city water as well as its lifetime warranty.
PROS
The SpringWell CF1 is my #1 recommendation because it does exactly what it’s designed to do: it removes 99% of chlorine, chloramine, VOCs, PFAS (and other forever chemicals), and many other common city water contaminants.
It does this using a four-stage filtration process that allows for more-effective contaminant removal than traditional two- or three-stage filters.
This means if you have city water with junk in it, such as chlorine, chloramine, VOCs, PFAS, herbicides, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, or more, installing the CF1 will eliminate these contaminants at a higher rate than other filters and deliver high-quality, great-tasting drinking water to every tap in your home.
Here’s a side-by-side comparison of water test results before the CF1 was installed and after. There’s a lot I could say here, but the numbers speak for themselves.
The next biggest upside of the SpringWell CF1 is that it requires very little maintenance.
The only regular maintenance required is swapping out the sediment filter, which you should do every six to nine months. The main filter media needs almost no attention. It will last a decade in most homes.
However, the biggest selling point for me on the SpringWell CF1 was the lifetime warranty that SpringWell offers on all of its products. No one else on the market even comes close to this. Aquasana and APEC offer 10-year warranties, which is the second best out there. GE only warranties its filters for a year.
If you want a whole-house water filter that will last for as long as you own your home or more, get the SpringWell CF1.
CONS
The biggest downside of the CF1 is that it doesn’t treat hard water or filter microbes or fluoride. It’s also not suitable for well water; wells are rarely contaminated with what’s found in city water, and vice versa.
Remember I said whole-house filtration requires matching a filter with your water? This is a perfect example. The CF1 does extremely well at removing a number of contaminants, but it doesn’t do so well at others.
The good news is that there are plenty of options for these other contaminants that are just as good as the CF1. Check out my reviews below for hard water and well water and see the additional options section for top choices for removing other contaminants.
OVERALL: 9.7/10
The SpringWell CF1 is the market leader for whole-house water filtration because it uses four-stages to remove 99% of chlorine, chloramine, VOCs, forever chemicals such as PFAS, herbicides, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and other common city water contaminants.
It’s true that it doesn’t tackle other stuff, such as hard water, microbes, or fluoride, and doesn’t work on well water. This is likely not an issue for the vast majority of you, but it’s also backed by a lifetime warranty that no other product on the market offers.
To get clean, pure, great-tasting water in your home, get the SpringWell CF1.
OR…
If you want additional information, read my full review of the SpringWell CF1. In this review, I go into more detail about the filter media, maintenance, controller head, backwashing, and more, giving you all the information you need to make this important decision.
Best for Hard Water: SpringWell SS1 (9.6/10)
The SpringWell SS1 is the best whole-house filter for hard water, aka the best water softener, because it offers superior softening capabilities along with high efficiency and an industry-best lifetime warranty.
PROS
There are five major reasons why the SpringWell SS1 is the best water filter for removing calcium.
The first is that the SpringWell SS1 delivers on its promise and softens water no matter how hard it is.
To do this, the SS1 relies on ion exchange, a chemical process in which hardness minerals in your water (calcium and magnesium) are exchanged for sodium. This is the most effective way to soften water and works no matter how hard your water is. It can even soften “very hard” water with a hardness measure of 15 grains per gallon (gpg) or more.
The SS1 far outperforms what the alternatives can do. Most of these alternatives are so-called “salt-free softeners” and are offered by big names, such as Aquasana. But a softener that doesn’t use salt isn’t a softener at all because it doesn’t remove calcium and magnesium. Instead, it transforms these minerals so they don’t stick to your pipes, appliances, fixtures, etc. This does eliminate scale buildup, but it does not affect the other annoyances of hard water, such as poorly lathering soap, streaks and stains on your dishes and glasses, and that dry, sandpaper feeling on your skin.
This means that if you have hard water and suffer from scale buildup, bad soap, stains and streaks, and it feels like you’re showering with sand, you should get the SpringWell SS1 and eliminate all these problems.
The second biggest upside of the SpringWell SS1 is that it uses smart monitoring to improve overall efficiency and reduce waste and cost.
It does this by limiting how much salt and water the softener uses. Salt is used in all water softeners to regenerate the media, which involves flushing it with salt water to maintain the proper chemical composition for ion exchange to happen. The more often a softener regenerates, the more salt it uses and the more water it wastes.
The SpringWell SS1 is designed to minimize this process and save water and salt.
The next biggest upside of the SpringWell SS1 is that it comes in three different sizes to work even in very large homes. The SS1 is best for homes with 1-3 bathrooms, the SS4 is best for those with 3-6 bathrooms, and the SS+ is designed for homes with 6+ bathrooms.
Another major benefit of the SpringWell SS1 is that it is easily combined with SpringWell’s whole-house filters to make a packaged system that can filter and soften your water.
City water users can get the CSS-1, which combines the CF1, the highest-rated whole-house filter on the market, with the SS1 in a single unit that takes up little space and will filter and soften your water.
Well owners can get the WSSS1, which combines the WS1, the highest-rated well water filter on the market (reviewed below), and the SS1 into a single system, though this unit has two tanks.
If you would like more information on combo units, read my detailed review of the best whole-house filter and softener combo.
Thy the biggest selling point of the SpringWell SS1 is the lifetime warranty.
Many of the other options I looked at don’t even come close to this kind of warranty. SoftPro, Fleck, Culligan, and Pro+Aqua each only offer 10 years, while Rheem offers five, and GE and Aquasana only offer one-year warranties.
In a world where products are designed to break, and you have to spend more money on repairs and replacements, it’s not a surprise to see such limited warranties from other companies, but it makes SpringWell’s warranty all the more impressive.
If you get a SpringWell SS1 today, it’s going to be the one and only water softener you ever buy, which will save you money in the long run and give you the peace of mind these products are meant to provide.
CONS
There are two main downsides to the SpringWell SS1 that you should consider.
First, as a salt-based softener, the SpringWell SS1 does add a small amount of sodium into your water.
The reason for this is the ion exchange. When calcium and magnesium ions are removed, the laws of science dictate other ions must go back into the water, which is why sodium is added. There’s no other way around it and it’s how all salt-based, ion-exchange softeners work.
How much salt gets added depends on how hard your water is, but even very hard water (15 gpg) only ends up with about 30 mg of sodium in an eight-ounce glass. For comparison, a whole avocado has about 15 mg, and an unseasoned boiled egg has close to 80 mg. For most people, the added sodium is unnoticeable and not an issue.
The second downside of the SS1 is that it doesn’t include any sort of pre-filter automatically, not even a sediment filter to protect the components from silt and other particles.
Most filters, to include water softeners, come with a sediment pre-filter to remove sand, dirt, dust, clay, etc. from your water, but the SS1 does not. You will need to buy this separately. But if you also want to filter your water, you may want to consider testing it first to find out what’s in it. Then, you can buy a sediment filter and a softener at the same time to build a complete water treatment system.
OVERALL: 9.6/10
The SpringWell SS1 is the highest-rated solution for hard water compared to all the others I reviewed. It completely softens water of any hardness level efficiently, combines well with top-rated filters, and can work in homes of all sizes.
It’s true that it adds a small amount of sodium to your water, but this is not really a concern for 95%–99% of you. And the fact it has a lifetime warranty sets it apart from the competition.
If you want to truly soften your water and remove scale buildup, improve soap lathering, eliminate streaks and stains on your glasses and plates, and stop showering with sandpaper, then get the SpringWell SS1 salt-based softener for your home.
Best for Well Water: SpringWell WS1 (9.6/10)
The SpringWell WS1 is the best well filter on the market because it uses dual filtration to remove high levels of the most common well contaminants and also has an industry-best lifetime warranty. It’s also the best whole-house water filter for rust.
PROS
The SpringWell WS1 is the industry leader in well water filtration for five main reasons.
First, the SpringWell WS1 is my #1 recommendation for well water because it delivers on its claim and is highly effective at removing sulfur, iron, and manganese, the most common well water contaminants. It uses dual filtration to remove up to 8 ppm of iron, 7 ppm of sulfur, and 2 ppm of manganese.
The WS1 is so effective because it combines two filtration methods that are usually used on their own. The first is air induction oxidation (AIO), which works by spraying water over an air pocket to allow sulfur, iron, and manganese to become solid particles that can then be filtered out.
The other is greensand, which has a similar effect and also traps the solid particles in its bed. Each method is very effective on its own, but the WS1 combines them both to pack a more powerful punch and handle higher levels of sulfur, iron, and manganese than competing filters, such as the Aquasana Rhino and the Pro+Aqua well filter.
This means that if your water stinks like rotten eggs or leaves ugly reddish brown or black stains on your sinks, tubs, and appliances, installing the SpringWell WS1 will remove these issues and deliver clean, clear, odor-free water to your entire home.
Another thing that stands out about the SpringWell WS1 is that it’s a 100% chemical-free water filtration solution.
Traditional iron, sulfur, and manganese filters rely on a number of nasty chemicals. For example, the age-old solution is to use a chlorine injector because chlorine reacts with iron, sulfur, and manganese to produce an effect similar to the AIO feature of the WS1. But this makes your water go from smelling like rotten eggs and staining your fixtures to being clean to drink and clear but smelling and tasting like a pool. Hardly an improvement. The WS1 uses regular air to produce these effects, so it has no impact on taste.
This means the SpringWell WS1 can filter out sulfur, iron, or manganese without exposing you to nasty chemicals or affecting the taste or smell of your water.
A huge upside of the SpringWell WS1 is that it requires very little maintenance and is therefore inexpensive to maintain.
The AIO part of the filter runs entirely automatically. And the greensand filter, which eventually becomes saturated with iron, sulfur, and manganese particles, is automatically flushed on a regular basis. Once you install the WS1, you will have to spend very little to no money and time making sure it’s working optimally, and you can trust it’s delivering clean, clear water at all times.
The fifth pro of the SpringWell WS1 is that it easily combines with a water softener to allow you to treat hard water and remove sulfur, iron, and manganese.
SpringWell sells this combo unit as the SpringWell WSSS1, which includes the WS1 and the SS1, the salt-based softener reviewed above that earned the top spot in my ranking for hard water solutions.
Lastly, the biggest selling point for me on the SpringWell WS1 is SpringWell’s lifetime warranty.
No other water filter company out there even comes close to this kind of commitment to its customers.
In a world where most companies make you talk to robots for an hour before getting to a real person, and where the majority of the things we buy end up in the trash before the next leap year, it’s extremely refreshing to see SpringWell go the opposite direction by building something that can last and also by standing behind its products for such a long time.
If you want a well water filter that is going to age well and last as long as you own your home — and maybe longer — then get the SpringWell WS1.
CONS
The SpringWell WS1 is an excellent product, but it has two things that hold it back from a perfect score.
First, the SpringWell WS1 is designed to remove iron, sulfur, and manganese, which means it is not effective against hard water, microbes, salt, herbicides, and pesticides, and nitrates. If you have hard water and combine the WS1 with the SpringWell SS1, you can build a system that will completely treat and filter your water. But if you have any of these other contaminants, the WS1 will not be the most effective solution on its own.
This is why it’s so important to test your well water. If you know you have more than just iron, sulfur, and manganese in your well, read my review on the best whole-house filter for well water to see my top picks for all the different contaminants that can be found in wells.
Another drawback of the WS1 is that the sediment filter could be inadequate for some wells. It comes with a 152-micron spindown filter.
The advantage of this filter is that it has larger pores so it won’t get clogged as often, and it also uses a mesh screen you can remove and clean. The downside for this is that finer sediment particles may come through.
If you need more guidance on this, read my review of the best sediment filters for well water. In that review, I discuss different types of sediment filters and the advantages and disadvantages of each.
OVERALL: 9.6/10
The SpringWell WS1 is the best well water filter on the market and is the best whole-hose filter for rust because its dual-filtration design removes 8 ppm of iron, 7 ppm of sulfur, and 2 ppm of manganese and requires little to no maintenance.
Some of you may need to explore additional pre-filter options, but most of you will not. Still, the lifetime warranty is a big upside that cannot be overlooked.
If your well water smells like rotten eggs or leaves reddish brown and black stains on your tubs, sinks, and appliances, get the SpringWell WS1 to enjoy clean, clear, odorless, and great-tasting water at every tap in your home.
OR…
If you want to dive even deeper into this filter, check out my full review of the SpringWell WS1. In this article, I talk even more about the technology behind the dual-filtration design and also share additional insights on the warranty and installation process.
The Bottom Line
The bottom line is that if you have city water, the SpringWell CF1 is the best option for you thanks to superior multistage filtration and a lifetime warranty. If you have a well, 94% of you will be able to install the SpringWell WS1, which uses chemical-free dual filtration to remove even high levels of sulfur, iron, and manganese.
If you have hard water, the SpringWell SS1 is the way to go. Additional options include the SpringWell CSS-1 (city water and softener combo) and the SpringWell WSSS1 (well filter and softener combo). All of these models offer superior performance and an industry-best lifetime warranty.
Whole-house filtration can be a bit complicated, but if you start by testing your water and then match the filter you buy with the contaminants you want to remove, you’ll find clean, clear, and great-tasting water right around the corner.
