Whole house vs. point-of-use: which water treatment fits your home

Home water treatment comes in two families. Point-of-entry systems, also called whole house systems, treat the water where it enters the home. Point-of-use systems treat the water at one tap, like the kitchen faucet or a shower.

Point-of-entry (whole house)

Installed on the main line, so every shower, faucet and appliance receives treated water. This is where hardness is usually treated, since limescale affects water heaters, dishwashers, glass and fixtures across the home.

Point-of-use

Reverse osmosis is usually installed at the kitchen, with its own faucet, to treat the water used for drinking and cooking. It reduces total dissolved solids, which a softener or carbon filter does not. [1] A shower filter treats a single shower, usually with carbon-type media to reduce chlorine. [2]

How to choose

• Limescale and chlorine in the whole home: a whole house system.
• Drinking and cooking water: reverse osmosis at the kitchen.
• Starting small, or living in an apartment: reverse osmosis or a shower filter.

Many homes combine a whole house system with reverse osmosis. See our Whole House, Reverse Osmosis and Shower Filter.